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DEGREE Environmental Engineering, BS

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Major in environmental engineering

As an environmental engineer, you’ll directly influence areas that include lakes and rivers, clean drinking water, environmental pollution, alternative energy, climate change and more. And you’ll learn how to design, construct and operate the sustainable systems and smart infrastructure that will help make these things a reality.

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At a glance

Civil and environmental engineering department

30
Professors of practice who mentor our students
9
civil engineering undergraduate ranking among public universities
15
environmental engineering undergraduate ranking among public universities
Facts & stats

Program and Degree Information

Determine what kind of student you will be and learn more about what information you need to apply.

Freshman A freshman includes anyone who is currently a student in high school or who has not taken college coursework since graduating from high school.

Transfer Student A transfer student is anyone who has attended another college or university after graduating from high school and wishes to enroll in an undergraduate degree program at UW–Madison.

Cross-campus Student Cross-campus transfer students are students who are currently enrolled in another school or college at UW-Madison who wish to transfer into the College of Engineering.

Reentry Student Students who previously attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison as an undergraduate and would like to complete their first undergraduate degree will need to apply for reentry admission. Reentry students are those who have not been enrolled in courses for a semester or more.

Tuition and segregated fee rates are always listed per semester (not for Fall and Spring combined).

 

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The College of Engineering is committed to recognizing the potential and accomplishments of incoming and enrolled students by supporting their education through a variety of scholarships at the college and departmental level.

 

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This new program will seek accreditation from the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org. Application for accreditation will be made at the earliest opportunity, in 2024, with an ABET decision in 2025. If accreditation is awarded, it may be retroactively applied to those who graduated in Academic Year 2023-24.

Educational Objectives
We recognize that our graduates will choose to use the knowledge and skills that they have acquired during their undergraduate years to pursue a wide variety of career and life goals, and we encourage this diversity of paths. Whatever path our graduates may choose, we expect them to be meeting the following objectives at least three to five years after graduation.

  1. Design and construct both natural and built processes and systems to efficiently meet determined needs using technical knowledge; modern tools; design principles; ethical practice; and communication, leadership, and team skills.
  2. Utilize measurement and analysis tools along with experimental data in investigating natural and built systems.
  3. Understand and incorporate economic, environmental, political, social, safety and global considerations in design, investigation and construction of natural and built systems.
  4. Engage in lifelong learning to keep pace with the continuous evolution of policies, procedures, technologies and tools for engineering analysis, design, and decision making.
  5. Serve others through participation in professional and/or civic activities and responsibilities.

Learning Outcomes

  1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
  2. an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
  3. an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
  4. an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
  5. an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
  6. an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
  7. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies

Degrees

View the Undergraduate Guide for information on requirements, four-year plans and more.
View the Guide

Civil and environmental engineering news

Our research is making a global impact, especially in mobility, water and building, and energy, infrastructure and environmental considerations thread through everything we do.
All department news
College of Engineering graduate recognition celebration 2023
May 15, 2023

In festive form, college honors hundreds of Badger engineering grads

Banani Lake in Dhaka, Bangladesh
May 5, 2023

Untreated wastewater implicated in elevating world’s methane emissions

Tyler Bennett lifts a case overhead with help from an exoskeleton
April 18, 2023

Exosuits may ease strain on construction industry

Become a Badger Engineer