Overview
That first-grader who organizes his family’s recycling bins and sets up a backyard compost unit seems almost destined for a major in environmental/environmental health engineering. People with a devotion to environmental causes know it long before college; they not only believe in the ideals of preservation and conservation, though. They live them out. Keeping our air and water clean, developing systems to minimize health risks from hazardous waste, and promoting regulations for industries all fall under environmental/environmental health engineering. In this major, you’ll learn about the impact of different industries on the environment, possible strategies for reversing damaging effects, ways to provide potable water and reduce air pollution, and the safest methods of waste disposal. You’ll tackle the specific ways that our environment affects our health and what measures we can take individually and as a society to . Special interests might include hydrology, hazardous substance treatment, hydraulics, or geostatistical modeling. Some programs will even have you drafting mock legislation that, for example, protects wildlife reserves.
According to Tufts University, environmental health has three components: biological, physical, and social. By the time you’ve completed your studies, you’ll be better able to understand the health-to-environment relationship and how it can (and should be) optimized.
Studies in environmental/environmental health engineering involve many different, often overlapping fields: infectious disease, biology, chemistry, biostatistics, epidemiology, toxicology, nutrition, and math. In most programs, you’ll enhance your classroom knowledge with hands-on research and laboratory work.
- $58,058 Tuition
- 1290 Avg SAT
- 2,513 Enrolled
- $36,430 Tuition
- 1320 Avg SAT
- 21,653 Enrolled
- $54,335 Tuition
- 1300 Avg SAT
- 6,224 Enrolled
- $46,954 Tuition
- 1190 Avg SAT
- 4,566 Enrolled
- $22,467 Tuition
- 1270 Avg SAT
- 59,548 Enrolled
- $25,770 Tuition
- 1210 Avg SAT
- 19,338 Enrolled
View All Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering Schools
SAMPLE CURRICULUM
Air Pollution Control
Biology of Populations
Biostatistics
Calculus
Environmental Engineering Processes
Environmental Biology
Environmental Toxicology
Fluid Mechanics
Hazardous Materials Management
Health Effects and Risk Management
Hydrology
Parasites
Pollution Prevention
Water and Wastewater Plant Design
Water Contaminants
HIGH SCHOOl PREPARATION
You’ll best prepare yourself to be an engineer with courses in math, chemistry, physics, biology, and other sciences. The higher the level, the better. (You’ll get a head start in your college course work by taking calculus and trigonometry.) Computer courses are also important. Look into environmental clubs at your school or local volunteer work that would give you experience with environmental concerns.
GRADUATE PROGRAMS & CAREERS