Programs of Study
For students in the M.S. Thesis and Non-Thesis options, ESE offers areas of emphasis for study that correspond to areas of significant career opportunities for graduates as well as expertise and active research by ESE faculty and staff. Each area of emphasis is designed to give students a rigorous, in-depth background in the subject matter relevant to the area while allowing opportunity, through electives, for breadth and exploration of related areas. Backgrounds for current areas of emphasis along with area-specific curriculum are outlined below.
Water
Treatment, Reclamation and Reuse. Water treatment, reclamation
and reuse focuses on the provision of safe public and industrial water
supplies, proper treatment and disposal of wastewaters and solid wastes,
and control of water pollution. Physical, chemical or biological treatment
processes can be used on water and waste streams to remove chemical contaminants
and infectious microbes. Process scientists and engineers are employed
in both the public and private sectors for the feasibility analysis and
design of treatment systems, development of innovative treatment technologies,
operation and monitoring of water and wastewater facilities, or regulatory
compliance of water and waste facilities. Potential employers include
environmental consulting firms, industry, and local, state or federal
governments. Example areas of specialization in this area include water
supply engineering, wastewater treatment, water reclamation and reuse,
natural systems for water and wastewater treatment, and ecology / toxicology
of receiving waters. The program of study for this area of emphasis is
outlined below. In addition to the general program prerequisites, recommended
background includes a working knowledge of fluid mechanics and differential
equations.
Academic Study Plan for 2006-2007 and prior (pdf)
Academic Study Plan for 2007-2008 and latter (pdf)
Contaminant
Hydrology and Water Resources. The U.S. EPA currently promotes
a watershed-scale philosophy for protecting water quality. Human impacts
on water resources include introducing contaminants to the hydrologic
system, withdrawals and additions of water from and to watersheds, and
the anthropogenic influence on water-resources sustainability. To properly
assess the impact of pollutants on surface waters and groundwater resources,
it is critical to understand contaminant transport and fate processes
from site to watershed scales. For water quantity, we need to balance
water withdrawals with development, and to assess and control human activities
that can increase runoff and impact groundwater levels. The Contaminant
Hydrology and Water Resources area of emphasis provides students with
a fundamental curriculum for examining these issues, and quantitative
tools to implement solutions to real-world problems. Examples of specialization
in this area include organic-contaminant transport, fate, and remediation,
acid-mine drainage problems, watershed and ground-water modeling, and
water-quality assessment and modeling. Our students find employment in
environmental consulting, federal government including the USGS and U.S.
EPA, state environmental agencies, and private industry, including the
petroleum and mining industries. The program of study for this area is
outlined below. In addition to the general program prerequisites, recommended
background includes a working knowledge of fluid mechanics and physical
hydrology.
Academic Study Plan for 2006-2007 and prior (pdf)
Academic Study Plan for 2007-2008 and latter (pdf)
Applied
Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology. The field of applied
environmental microbiology and biotechnology is growing rapidly due to
the development of tools that allow detailed analyses and physiological
manipulation of environmentally important plants and microorganisms. Enzymatic
technologies are now able to minimize greatly the pollutants generated
by chemical manufacturing, agriculture, and fuel combustion. This area
prepares students for careers in such areas as bioremediation, biological
treatment of wastewaters, enzymatic synthesis of fuels, plastics, dyes,
and other products, agricultural biotechnology, and the manipulation of
plant and microbial physiology and genetic structure to optimize specific
activities. In particular, this area of emphasis provides an excellent
pathway for students with engineering backgrounds to enter the environmental
biotechnology field. Potential employers include environmental consulting
firms, biotechnology companies, and government and academic research laboratories.
Example areas of specialization in the area include: biogeochemical cycling
and processing, biofuels development, bioremediation, and environmental
microbiology. The program of study for this area of emphasis is outlined
below. In addition to the general program prerequisites, recommended background
includes a college course in biology and organic chemistry.
Academic Study Plan for 2006-2007 and prior (pdf)
Academic Study Plan for 2007-2008 and latter (pdf)
Environmental
Characterization and Risk Analysis. Environmental characterization
spans a broad range of activities focused on determining the attributes
of the geoenvironment for different purposes such as defining the nature
and extent of contamination and design of appropriate remedial actions.
Risk analysis is broadly defined to include risk assessment, risk characterization,
risk communication, risk management, and policy relating to risk. This
program provides students with a foundation in characterizing environmental
conditions and evaluating risks to human health and environmental quality
and basis for applying strategies and technological controls for risk
management. The curriculum provides a useful skill set for a professional
working in the areas of public health, toxicology, environmental remediation,
water and wastewater treatment, and environmental modeling. Example areas
of specialization in this area include human health risk assessment, ecological
risk assessment, environmental toxicology, environmental policy, and risk
communication. The program of study for this area of emphasis is outlined
below. In addition to the general program prerequisites, recommended background
includes a college course in biology.
Academic Study Plan for 2006-2007 and prior (pdf)
Academic Study Plan for 2007-2008 and latter (pdf)
Site Remediation
and Environmental Restoration. During the 1970's, the adverse
health effects of environmental contamination from commercial, industrial,
and government sites became front-page news as a result of discoveries
at catastrophic sites such as Love Canal, Times Beach, and Valley of the
Drums. Over the past 20 years, ~500,000 sites with potential contamination
have been reported and during the next 50 years or more, over $200 billion
will be spent cleaning up contaminated land in the U.S. Graduates with
an area of emphasis in remediation can become involved in projects concerning
site characterization and risk assessment, treatability studies, remediation
alternative selection and design, facilities construction and operations,
performance monitoring and reporting, technology research and development,
and expert testimony. Employment opportunities exist with environmental
consulting firms, state and federal government agencies, and private industry.
Example areas of specialization in this area include environmental characterization
and visualization, remediation of soil and groundwater, recycling and
resource recovery, and reclamation and restoration of abandoned mines
and disturbed lands.
Academic Study Plan for 2006-2007 and prior (pdf)
Academic Study Plan for 2007-2008 and latter (pdf)
For more details: See the complete description of the tracks (pdf).