Any civilization inevitably generates a waste stream. If not properly managed, this waste can lead to pollution of our water, soil, and air, which can endanger human life, harm ecosystems, and reduce our ability to thrive as a society. Environmental engineers are charged with managing these residuals of civilization. This responsibility includes cleaning up existing pollution from our water and soils, developing technological solutions to reduce the presence or risk of pollutants from future human activities, and providing a safe supply of water for domestic, industrial, and agricultural use.
Competency as an environmental engineer requires an understanding of the complex pathways through which pollutants can move, the chemistry of contaminants, the biology of microbes that can consume and transform them, and the various technological and societal solutions we can employ to clean our water, air, and soil and reduce the amount of pollutants emitted into the world. This work is necessarily interdisciplinary, and environmental engineers must learn how to work with planners, industry, environmental advocacy groups, government regulators, and others. They must develop competencies in a range of scientific fields, from chemistry to biology to renewable energy. They also require the basic quantitative proficiency, judgment, and design skills expected of engineers in other specialties.
Environmental Engineering is uniquely designed to produce graduates who can respond to these needs. The curriculum introduces the best available practices into the planning, design, analysis, and operation of natural and engineered water systems, and the management of our air and earth resources. The environmental engineering curriculum strongly emphasizes water resource and water quality engineering, which deals with flood control, environmental issues in groundwater and surface waters, and the planning, management, design, and operation of water supply, treatment, and distribution systems. It also emphasizes environmental assessment, principles of water management and treatment, remediation of surface water, groundwater and soils, biotechnology, and contaminant transport. Students graduate with social awareness, a breadth of real-world experience, and well developed numerical and communication skills which will suit them to many tasks.
Areas of Study
The Environmental Engineering plan covers diverse study areas such as environmental assessment and modelling, engineering hydrology, pollution treatment and control, and environmental energy systems.
Administration
Managed by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), Environmental Engineering is an interdisciplinary plan involving resources from the faculties of Engineering, Science, and Environment. Students apply directly to Environmental Engineering.
Academic Curriculum
Legend
| Key |
Description |
| CSE |
Complementary Studies Elective course |
| TE |
Technical Elective course |
Term 1A (Fall)
Term 1B (Spring)
Term 2A (Winter)
- ENVE 223 Differential Equations and Balance Laws
- ENVE 224 Probability and Statistics
- ENVE 275 Environmental Chemistry
- ENVE 280 Fluid Mechanics
- ENVE 298 Seminar
- ERS 215 Environmental and Sustainability Assessment 1 (List A-Impact Courses CSE)
Term 2B (Fall)
Term 3A (Spring)
Term 3B (Winter)
- ENVE 335 Decision Making for Environmental Engineers
- ENVE 376 Biological Processes
- ENVE 383 Advanced Hydrology and Hydraulics
- ENVE 391 Law and Ethics for Environmental and Geological Engineers (List D-Other CSE)
- ENVE 399 Seminar
- TE 1 Approved Technical Elective
Term 4A (Fall)
- ENVE 400 Environmental Engineering Design Project 1
- ENVE 498 Seminar
- TE 2 Approved Technical Elective
- TE 3 Approved Technical Elective
- TE 4 Approved Technical Elective
- CSE 1 Approved Complementary Studies Elective
- WKRPT 400 Work-term Report
Term 4B (Winter)
- ENVE 401 Environmental Engineering Design Project 2
- ENVE 499 Seminar
- TE 5 Approved Technical Elective
- TE 6 Approved Technical Elective
- TE 7 Approved Technical Elective
- CSE 2 Approved Complementary Studies Elective
Electives
Each student is responsible for selecting their own combination of electives, in keeping with their ultimate career objectives after graduation. The combination must satisfy the requirements of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), which meet engineering accreditation requirements such that students are eligible to count their undergraduate education towards a professional engineering license. This includes having to meet minimum requirements in mathematics, natural sciences, engineering sciences, engineering design, and complementary studies.
Exceptions to courses on the Faculty of Engineering CSE lists and the Environmental Engineering TE and Specialization Lists require the approval of the CEE associate chair undergraduate studies. Some courses of interest may require prerequisite knowledge that is not part of the core curriculum in Environmental Engineering. Students may require extra courses or may need to seek enrolment approval from the course instructor if the prerequisites have not been satisfied.
Complementary Studies Electives
Two complementary studies elective (CSE) courses in approved non-technical subjects must be taken. The CSEs are in addition to those courses which are part of the core curriculum and contain complementary studies material, such as ENGL 191/SPCOM 191 (List D), ERS 215 (List A), ENVE 392 (List B), and ENVE 391 (List D). The CSE courses are organized on a Faculty basis and detailed in this Calendar, on the Complementary Studies in the Faculty of Engineering page.
The two CSE courses must be chosen from List C-Humanities and Social Sciences Courses.
Technical Electives
Students are required to complete seven technical elective (TE) courses with the following restrictions:
- At least four TEs must be from TE List A (Engineering Design Intensive Technical Electives)
- The remaining three TEs may be from TE List A or B
The Technical Elective Lists for Environmental Engineering are provided below. Note that the offering of these courses is contingent upon sufficient demand and/or available teaching resources. There may be courses added and changes made to the content, term of offering, or meet times from what is listed below. Special Topics Courses (ENVE 495 and ENVE 497) are offered as resources and faculty availability permit. Further information is available from the CEE Undergraduate Office or CEE website.
Legend for TE List A and B
Term courses are offered: F=fall term, W=winter term, S=spring term
TE List A - Engineering Design Intensive Technical Electives
Choose at least four
| Course |
Title |
Term |
| CHE 361 |
Bioprocess Engineering |
F,W |
| CHE 514 |
Fundamentals of Petroleum Production |
F |
| CHE 516 |
Energy Systems Engineering |
F |
| CHE 571 |
Industrial Ecology |
F |
| CHE 572 |
Air Pollution Control |
W |
| CHE 574 |
Industrial Wastewater Pollution Control |
W |
| CIVE 241 |
Transport Principles and Applications |
F |
| CIVE 341 |
Transportation Engineering Applications |
W |
| CIVE 495 |
Design Intensive Special Topics in Civil Engineering |
as offered |
| EARTH 438 |
Engineering Geology |
W |
| ENVE 495 |
Design Intensive Special Topics in Environmental Engineering |
as offered |
| ENVE 577 |
Engineering for Solid Waste Management |
W |
| ENVE 583 |
Design of Urban Water Systems |
W |
| GEOE 354 |
Geotechnical Engineering 2 |
F |
| GEOE 554 |
Geotechnical Engineering 3 |
W |
| ME 452 |
Energy Transfer in Buildings |
W |
| ME 571 |
Air Pollution |
W |
| SYDE 532 |
Introduction to Complex Systems |
W |
| SYDE 533 |
Conflict Resolution |
F |
| SYDE 575 |
Image Processing |
F |
TE List B - Technical Electives
Choose a maximum of three
| Course |
Title |
Term |
| BIOL 354 |
Environmental Toxicology 1 |
F,S |
| BIOL 364 |
Mathematical Modelling in Biology |
F |
| BIOL 447 |
Environmental Microbiology |
F |
| BIOL 455 |
Ecological Risk Assessment and Management |
F |
| BIOL 462 |
Applied Wetland Science |
F |
| BIOL 470 |
Methods of Aquatic Ecology |
F |
| BIOL 488 |
Ecotoxicology from a Watershed Perspective |
W |
| CHEM 237 |
Introductory Biochemistry |
W,S |
| CHEM 262 |
Organic Chemistry for Engineering |
F,W |
| CIVE 422 |
Finite Element Analysis |
W |
| CIVE 440 |
Transit Planning and Operations |
W |
| CIVE 507 |
Building Science and Technology |
W |
| EARTH 221 |
Geochemistry 1 |
W,S |
| EARTH 342 |
Geomorphology and GIS Applications |
F |
| EARTH 421 |
Geochemistry 2 |
F |
| EARTH 439 |
Flow and Transport Through Fractured Rocks |
W |
| EARTH 440 |
Quaternary Geology |
F |
| EARTH 444 |
Applied Wetland Science |
F |
| EARTH 456 |
Numerical Methods in Hydrogeology |
W |
| EARTH 459 |
Chemical Hydrogeology |
W |
| ENVE 497 |
Special Topics in Environmental Engineering |
as offered |
| ENVE 573 |
Contaminant Transport |
W |
| GEOG 209 |
Hydroclimatology |
W,S |
| GEOG 305 |
Fluvial Geomorphology |
F |
| GEOG 371 |
Advanced Remote Sensing Techniques |
F |
| GEOG 381 |
Advanced Geographic Information Systems |
W,S |
| GEOG 409 |
Energy Balance Climatology |
W |
| GEOG 471 |
Remote Sensing Project |
W |
| ME 354 |
Thermodynamics 2 |
W,S |
| ME 459 |
Energy Conversion |
F,S |
| ME 559 |
Finite Element Methods |
F,S |
| SYDE 411 |
Optimization and Numerical Methods |
F |
| SYDE 531 |
Design Optimization Under Probabilistic Uncertainty |
W |
Specializations
The Faculty of Engineering recognizes specializations with the Environmental Engineering BASc degree. Students who satisfy the specialization requirements (courses and grades) will have the specialization designation shown on their transcript and diploma. Specializations are intended to recognize success in a concentration of electives within the Environmental Engineering degree specification. In other words, specializations focus the selection of electives required for the base degree and do not require extra courses.
The Environmental Engineering plan has three specializations recognized by the Faculty of Engineering. Each specialization requires students to select technical electives with a common theme. Students are responsible for meeting the TE requirements of the Environmental Engineering degree when pursuing a specialization. Each specialization requires the successful completion of a minimum number of TEs specified by the specialization with a minimum average of 60%. Students must declare a specialization for it to be recognized as part of their degree and appear on the transcript and diploma.
The specialization course requirements are provided below. Exceptions to the listed courses require the approval of the CEE associate chair, undergraduate studies.
Energy Specialization
The Energy Specialization requires a minimum of four TEs from the list below.
| Course |
Title |
Term |
TE List |
| CHE 516 |
Energy Systems Engineering |
F |
A |
| CIVE 495 |
Design Intensive Special Topics in Civil Engineering
Topic: Building Energy Analysis
|
F,S |
A |
CIVE 495
|
Design Intensive Special Topics in Civil Engineering
Topic: HVAC Energy Efficiency (Low-Energy Building System)
|
W |
A |
| CIVE 507 |
Building Science and Technology |
W |
B |
| GEOG 409 |
Energy Balance Climatology |
W |
B |
| ME 354 |
Thermodynamics 2 |
W,S |
B |
| ME 452 |
Energy Transfer in Buildings |
W |
A |
| ME 459 |
Energy Conversion |
F,S |
B |
Hydrology Specialization
The Hydrology Specialization requires a minimum of four TEs from the list below.
| Course |
Title |
Term |
TE List
|
| BIOL 470 |
Methods of Aquatic Ecology |
F |
B |
| EARTH 439 |
Flow and Transport Through Fractured Rocks |
W |
B |
| EARTH 444 |
Applied Wetland Science |
F |
B |
| EARTH 459 |
Chemical Hydrogeology |
W |
B |
| ENVE 573 |
Contaminant Transport |
W |
B |
| ENVE 583 |
Design of Urban Water Systems |
W |
A |
| GEOG 209 |
Hydroclimatology |
W,S |
B |
| GEOG 305 |
Fluvial Geomorphology |
F |
B |
| GEOG 371 |
Advanced Remote Sensing Techniques |
F |
B |
| GEOG 381 |
Advanced Geographic Information Systems |
W,S |
B |
| SYDE 532 |
Introduction to Complex Systems |
W |
A |
| SYDE 533 |
Conflict Resolution |
F |
A |
Pollution Treatment and Control Specialization
The Pollution Treatment and Control Specialization requires a minimum of four TEs from the list below.
| Course |
Title |
Term |
TE List |
CHE 361
|
Bioprocess Engineering |
F,W |
A |
| CHE 571 |
Industrial Ecology |
F |
A |
| CHE 572 |
Air Pollution Control |
W |
A |
| CHE 574 |
Industrial Wastewater Pollution Control |
W |
A |
| ENVE 573 |
Contaminant Transport |
W |
B |
| ENVE 577 |
Engineering for Solid Waste Management |
W |
A |
| ME 571 |
Air Pollution |
W |
A |
Faculty Options
The Faculty of Engineering recognizes options within the BASc degree. Students who satisfy the option requirements (courses and grades) will have the option designation shown on their transcript and diploma. Options are intended to recognize success in a field of study outside of the basic degree. Consequently, students must usually take extra courses to complete an option.
Options recently completed by students in Environmental Engineering are the Management Sciences Option, Physical Sciences Option, and Statistics Option. Complete details of designated options available to Engineering students are provided in this Calendar in the section entitled Options, Specializations and Electives for Engineering Students.
Accelerated Master's Program in Engineering
The Faculty of Engineering offers an Accelerated Master's program. See Accelerated Master's Programs in Engineering for more details.