DEEE Programs - Bachelor of Science

THE B.S. IN EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING prepares students for careers in industry and government agencies concerned with primary materials, water, energy and the environment. Graduates are also well trained to continue with further studies in Earth/environmental sciences and engineering, business, public policy, international studies, law, and medicine.

The Earth and Environmental Engineering B.S. program was one of the first engineering programs of its kind to be accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), in the summer of 2001. Accreditation is retroactive to program graduates as of May 2000.

Provide students with the necessary tools (mathematics, chemistry, physics, Earth sciences, and engineering science) to understand and implement the underlying principles used in the engineering of processes and systems.
Prepare students for engineering careers in industry, government agencies and other organizations concerned with the environment and the provision of primary materials and secondary materials and energy, as well as graduate studies in related disciplines.

Teach the basic concepts and skills needed for the practice of Earth and environmental engineering, including measurement and control of material and contaminant flows through the environment, assessment of environmental impact of past, present and future industrial activities, and analysis and design of processes for remediation, recycling, and disposal of used materials.

Ensure that the technical training of our students is based on a strong liberal arts core, professional ethics and responsibilities are well understood, and written and oral communication skills honed.

It is now recognized by the U.S. and other nations that continuing economic development must be accompanied by intelligent use of the Earth resources and that engineers can contribute much to the global efforts for sustainable development. The technologies that have been developed for identifying, extracting and processing primary materials (minerals, energy, and water) are also being applied to the 21st century problems of resource recovery from used materials, pollution prevention and environmental remediation. The EEE undergraduate program encompasses these technologies. It trains engineers who can provide leadership in the intelligent use of both virgin and recycled materials.

The first two years of the program are nearly the same as other engineering program. In addition to the basic sciences, students are provided with a strong liberal arts core. The junior and senior years of the program consist of a group of required courses in engineering science and a broad selection of technical electives that allow students to concentrate on materials processing or geo-environmental engineering (water resources, land remediation).

Other Columbia departments contribute courses to the new program such as Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Earth and Environmental Sciences (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory). EEE students are required to work as a summer intern in industry or agencies on projects related to Earth and environmental engineering and the Department assists them to get summer internships.

Descriptions of most of the EEE courses can be found by clicking here. For a full description of the EEE curriculum and engineering courses please look up the Bulletin of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. For information on undergraduate engineering programs please look up SEAS Undergraduate Admissions where you can fill an on-line request for application materials describing life in the Big Apple and study at Columbia University. For more information on the EEE undergraduate program, please contact our Department Administrator, Ms. Kimberly Labor, kjl2006@columbia.edu, (212) 854-2905, #918 Mudd, 500 West 120th St., NY, NY 10027. She will answer your questions or direct you to a faculty member who can.