Universty of Colorado : Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering

Environmental Engineering Program

Find out more about the Environmental Engineering
Program at CU Boulder

The graduate program in Environmental Engineering leads to the degrees of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy. Students studying toward the M.S. degree can pursue a thesis or a course work option of 30 semester hours. The Ph.D. degree requires additional course work beyond M.S. degree as well as a dissertation.  More details are available in our guide for prospective students.

Faculty

Angela Bielefeldt, Associate Professor, Ph.D., University of Washington. Environmental microbiology, biodegradation, engineered biodegradation systems, appropriate treatment technology. website

Mark Hernandez, Professor, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley. Environmental microbiology, bioaerosols, acid mine drainage. website

Imma Ferrer, Research Scientist, Ph.D., University of Barcelona. Analytical methodology using advanced mass spectrometry for emerging contaminants

Karl Linden, Professor, Ph.D., University of California, Davis. Environmental Engineering. Advanced water treatment, water reuse, ultraviolet light processes, disinfection, advanced oxidation, emerging organic contaminants, appropriate treatment technology. website

Diane McKnight (Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research) Professor, Ph.D., MIT. Stream ecology and hydrology, reactive solute transport, biogeochemistry. website

Joseph Ryan, Professor, Ph.D., MIT. Contaminant fate and transport in natural waters, colloid and biocolloid transport, acid mine drainage characterization. website

Fernando Rosario Ortiz, Assistant Professor, D.Env., UCLA. Environmental chemistry, monitoring and treatment of emerging organic contaminants, natural organic matter. website

JoAnn Silverstein, Professor, Ph.D., University of California, Davis. Biological process engineering in water, wastewater, and soils. website

Scott Summers, Professor, Ph.D., Stanford University. Drinking water quality and treatment, natural organic matter, disinfection by-products, emerging organic contaminants, appropriate treatment technology.

E. Michael Thurman, Research Scientist, Ph.D. University of Colorado, Boulder. Advanced mass spectrometry, characterization of humic substances, quantification of emerging contaminants.

Affiliated Faculty

Mike Hannigan (Mechanical Engineering), Assistant Professor, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology. Air quality. 

Daven Henze (Mechanical Engineering), Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology. Air quality.

Jana Milford (Mechanical Engineering), Associate Professor, Ph.D., Carnegie-Mellon University. Air quality modeling, urban air quality, alternative fuels, forest fires.

Shelly Miller (Mechanical Engineering), Assistant Professor, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley. Indoor air pollution and modeling, exposure to air pollutants.

Areas of Study

Acid Mine Drainage Characterization and Treatment
Air Quality Monitoring and Modeling
Aquatic Ecology in Alpine and Arctic Ecosystems
Biodegradation and Bioremediation
Biological Processes in Wastewater Treatment
Contaminant Transport in Natural Waters
Drinking Water Treatment
Photolysis and Oxidation in Water
Environmental Mass Spectrometry
Engineering in Developing Communities

Course Offerings

Graduate level courses in environmental engineering include:

CVEN 5323 Applied Stream Ecology
CVEN 5404 Environmental Engineering Chemistry
CVEN 5414 Water Chemistry Laboratory
CVEN 5424 Environmental Organic Chemistry
CVEN 5434 Environmental Engineering Design
CVEN 5444 Environmental Engineering Processes
CVEN 5454 Quantitative Methods in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
CVEN 5474 Hazardous and Industrial Waste Management
CVEN 5484 Environmental Microbiology
CVEN 5494 Surface Water Quality Modeling
CVEN 5524 Drinking Water Treatment
CVEN 5534 Wastewater Treatment
CVEN 5537 Numerical Methods in Civil Engineering
CVEN 5544 Solid Waste Management and Resource Recovery
CVEN 5700 Sustainability and the Built Environment
CVEN 6404 Advanced Aquatic Chemistry
CVEN 6414 Aquatic Surfaces and Particles

Environmental engineering students also take many courses in Water Resources Engineering.

Undergraduate Course Prerequisites for Graduate Admission

Before taking graduate courses, the following undergraduate prerequisites must be taken.  More details are available in our guide for prospective M.S. students.

• mathematics (calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations)
• physics (two semesters)
• chemistry (two semesters)
• geology (one semester)
• solid mechanics and fluid mechanics
• fundamentals of environmental engineering
• construction methods (one semester; for Engineering in Developing Communities)

Transfer Credits

For the Master of Science program, the Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering Department will accept up to 9 credit hours of graduate-level course work from other institutions.  For the Doctor of Philosophy program, up to 15 credit hours of graduate-level course work from another institution (or up to 21 credit hours of course work from the University of Colorado at Boulder) may be transferred.

Facilities

• Environmental Engineering Laboratories (4,000 square feet)
• Center for Drinking Water Optimization Laboratory (1,200 square feet)
• Student Water Quality Laboratory (700 square feet)