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Environmental Engineering

Colleges offering this major Rankings Trends

What you'll do in college

Environmental engineering combines chemistry, biology, and engineering to solve problems like polluted water, contaminated soil, air quality, and climate change. You'll study the same core engineering classes as civil or chemical majors, plus environmental chemistry, hydrology, microbiology, and policy. Labs and field work involve sampling rivers, modeling pollutant flows, and designing treatment systems.

Many programs require an internship or capstone project tied to a real environmental challenge in your area, like a brownfield cleanup or a stormwater redesign.

What you'll do after college

Grads work for environmental consulting firms, government agencies (like the EPA or state environmental departments), water and wastewater utilities, energy companies, and nonprofits. Day-to-day work might involve designing a water-treatment plant, conducting site assessments at contaminated properties, helping a factory cut emissions, or writing impact reports for new developments.

The mission-driven nature of the work draws students who want to make a tangible difference, and demand is rising as climate concerns grow.

Famous graduates

  • Jenna Jambeck — MacArthur Fellow known for global plastic waste studies; B.S. in Environmental Engineering from University of Florida

Selectivity vs. earnings

By acceptance rate

$78,679
468
100–79%
$79,239
935
79–30%
$85,876
483
29–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$79,319
387
400–1260
$79,982
780
1260–1410
$86,813
397
1410–1600
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings vs. selectivity rank

$72,459p10 $90,150p90 Military STEM Non-Research Liberal Arts Public University Religious University Private University Public University 1–15 Private University 1–30 United States Military Academy · $80,980 Florida Polytechnic University · $72,847 Bucknell University · $87,809 Juniata College · $80,371 University of California, Irvine · $81,212 Colorado School of Mines · $82,237 Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo · $77,899 San Diego State University · $77,060 University of South Florida · $76,489 University of Washington · $85,835 CUNY City College · $75,733 Clemson University · $80,820 Florida International University · $72,459 University of Central Florida · $79,683 University of California, Davis · $83,317 Ohio State University · $86,726 Texas A&M University - College Station · $83,970 Florida Atlantic University · $73,837 University of Connecticut · $78,990 Pennsylvania State University · $88,644 Tarleton State University · $76,014 Central State University · $76,444 University of Pittsburgh · $79,491 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry · $75,782 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities · $72,230 Central Michigan University · $80,854 University at Albany · $75,653 Texas Tech University · $92,632 University at Buffalo · $73,393 Louisiana State University · $71,285 University of Colorado Boulder · $82,245 University of Alabama · $79,746 Temple University · $74,810 Texas A&M University - Kingsville · $68,843 University of Delaware · $81,651 University of Oklahoma - Norman · $80,541 University of Vermont · $71,992 Oregon State University · $77,394 University of New Hampshire · $76,199 Missouri University of Science and Technology · $80,655 Kennesaw State University · $90,719 University of Iowa · $79,662 Metropolitan State University of Denver · $78,130 Portland State University · $80,121 University of Nebraska, Lincoln · $80,498 University of Toledo · $85,224 Cal Poly - Humboldt · $71,830 Colorado State University - Fort Collins · $76,993 Indiana University of Pennsylvania · $78,562 University of North Dakota · $83,071 University of Nevada, Reno · $82,386 Iowa State University · $80,604 Montana Technological University · $77,341 Saint Cloud State University · $74,223 University of Arizona · $80,072 University of Cincinnati · $89,200 University of Massachusetts - Lowell · $83,178 Michigan Technological University · $78,540 University of California, Riverside · $74,716 Arizona State University · $69,183 University of Wisconsin - Platteville · $79,406 Florida Gulf Coast University · $76,817 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee · $79,282 Northern Arizona University · $69,287 North Dakota State University · $79,819 Utah State University · $78,955 Kansas State University · $80,513 University of California, Merced · $78,754 New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology · $79,421 West Texas A&M University · $76,933 Montana State University · $80,164 University of Notre Dame · $76,459 Southern Methodist University · $83,538 Siena Heights University · $77,218 Saint Francis University · $83,150 Loyola University Chicago · $80,597 Marquette University · $79,928 Gannon University · $80,252 Benedict College · $74,957 Valparaiso University · $79,148 University of Miami · $78,472 Syracuse University · $70,130 Stevens Institute of Technology · $87,800 Worcester Polytechnic Institute · $73,929 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · $85,545 Wilkes University · $70,671 Clarkson University · $69,344 Marietta College · $80,957 Drexel University · $77,999 Georgia Tech · $87,140 University of California, Berkeley · $90,150 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor · $88,541 University of Florida · $73,947 University of Georgia · $82,702 Purdue University · $78,615 North Carolina State University · $86,093 University of Texas at Austin · $85,714 University of Wisconsin - Madison · $81,479 University of California, San Diego · $85,062 MIT · $126,827 Stanford University · $99,903 Yale University · $95,233 Duke University · $107,198 Columbia University · $94,868 Johns Hopkins University · $117,821 Carnegie Mellon University · $106,496 Northwestern University · $97,409 Cornell University · $83,584 Washington University in St Louis · $86,701 Tufts University · $84,529 University of Southern California · $97,378 Case Western Reserve University · $67,065 Lehigh University · $84,843 Military: mean $80,980 STEM Non-Research: mean $72,847 Liberal Arts: mean $84,090 Public University: mean $78,901 Religious University: mean $79,472 Private University: mean $77,205 Public University 1–15: mean $83,944 Private University 1–30: mean $96,418 All colleges: p10 $72,459 All colleges: p90 $90,150
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl Earnings Employment
Environmental Engineering 123 1,900 44% / 56% 5% $81,000 97%
Environmental Engineering 116 1,781 43% / 57% 4% $80,782 97%
Environmental and Ecological Engineering 1 63 57% / 43% 0% $78,615 100%
Environmental Engineering Science 1 15 47% / 53% 7% $90,150
Environmental Systems Engineering 1 14 21% / 79% 0% $99,903
Earth and Environmental Engineering 1 13 38% / 62% 23% $94,868
Environmental and Sustainable Engineering 1 10 90% / 10% 50% $75,653
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering 1 2 100% / 0% 100% $67,065
Earth System Science and Environmental Engineering 1 1 100% / 0% 0% $72,764
Environmental Engineering Science (Course 1-ENG) 1 1 100% / 0% 100% $126,827