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Environmental Engineering

Environmental engineering uses the principles of engineering, chemistry, biology and physics to address a wide variety of environmental problems from safe drinking water supplies to climate change.

Why Choose Environmental Engineering?

This badge signifies our environmental engineering masters program is a stem-designated program.

Environmental engineering is a broad and diverse discipline that applies scientific principles to solve real-world environmental problems. As a graduate of this program, you’ll be prepared for careers in private industry, environmental consulting firms and government agencies, and work to solve the many challenges of providing safe and reliable drinking water, clean air and waterways, proper disposal of solid and hazardous waste, effective environmental site restoration, and responsible management of our natural resources.

Our environmental engineering program is recognized nationally for producing well-prepared environmental engineers. The program dates back to 1939 and proudly boasts that several of its alumni have been inducted into the National Academy of Engineering.

Flexibility in Completing Your Degree

Make a Difference

Environmental engineering is a field that’s never been more important to the sustainability of our region and our planet. As an environmental engineer, you can apply your engineering skills to work on projects relating to drinking water treatment, surface water quality, groundwater quality, air pollution, municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, hazardous waste management, stormwater management, coastal resiliency and climate change mitigation.

Graduate Internship Program

We offer a graduate internship program in which you work for a local engineering firm for three days a week and take classes at Manhattan College for two days a week. These internships are paid for by the engineering firm and include either a tuition scholarship or tuition discount. The internships typically last 16-18 months, corresponding to three academic semesters or the length of time required for most students to earn their master’s degree.

Engineering firms that have participated in this program by sponsoring interns include:

  • AECOM
  • CDM Smith
  • CH2M Hill
  • Con Edison
  • Dvirka & Bartilucci
  • Environmental Protection Agency
  • Gannett Fleming
  • Hazen and Sawyer
  • HDR

Graduate Assistantship Program

In addition to the graduate internship program, we also offer fellowships, research assistantships and laboratory assistantships which offer scholarships and stipends. More details about these programs can be found in Graduate Admissions and Financial Aid.

Program Customization

You can customize your graduate program by selecting a specific area of specialty. This allows you to explore various disciplines within environmental engineering and focus on the area you’re most interested in:

3-Course Focus Area:

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Treatment Process Engineering
  • Water Quality Modeling
  • Geo-environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Construction Management
  • Water Resources

Combined, 5-Course Focus Area:

  • Environmental Engineering and Project Management

What Will You Learn?

Our environmental engineering program offers both master’s of engineering (M.E.) and master’s of science (M.S.) degrees. In your studies, you will learn the engineering principles and design applications for:

  • drinking water treatment
  • municipal and industrial wastewater treatment
  • surface water quality modeling
  • groundwater engineering
  • environmental sustainability
  • climate change resiliency
  • water reuse and resource recovery
  • air pollution control systems
  • recycling
  • waste disposal technologies

See degree requirements

Admissions Requirements

Review the requirements and application process for this graduate program.

What Will You Do?

An environmental engineering degree will prepare you to work in a wide variety of sectors in numerous different roles. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field is growing at a faster-than-normal rate: from 2014-24, and employment is expected to jump 12%.

When I graduated in 2009, I was doubtful that I would be able to find a job after the financial crisis of 2008. That was, until my advisers Dr. Richard Carbonaro and Dr. Kevin Farley wrote me incredible references. Together with the network of alumni at local engineering firms, I was able to get my dream job within a month of graduation.

Stephen Papageorge ’09, ’11 (M.S.), Environmental Engineer at Langan Engineering & Environmental Services