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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

$82,342
468
100–80%
$84,597
945
80–30%
$90,118
465
29–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$83,762
400
400–1240
$84,068
803
1250–1410
$91,489
387
1410–1600
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings by acceptance rate and institution category

$76,425p10 $94,972p90 STEM, Business & Military Liberal Arts Public University Religious University Private University 20–30% 10–20% 0–10% Stevens Institute of Technology · $89,535 Worcester Polytechnic Institute · $82,321 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · $79,250 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry · $87,004 Florida Polytechnic University · $86,081 Clarkson University · $79,367 Missouri University of Science and Technology · $70,971 Montana Technological University · $93,509 Michigan Technological University · $78,934 New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology · $85,233 Bucknell University · $93,012 Juniata College · $83,189 University of Georgia · $87,473 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · $90,128 San Diego State University · $87,622 North Carolina State University · $84,232 University of South Florida · $80,755 University of Washington · $79,862 Clemson University · $88,567 University of Central Florida · $79,172 Purdue University · $86,363 University of California, Davis · $83,407 Ohio State University · $93,285 Texas A&M University - College Station · $86,142 Tarleton State University · $85,444 University of Connecticut · $89,085 Pennsylvania State University · $82,753 CUNY City College · $90,919 Florida Atlantic University · $79,666 West Texas A&M University · $83,832 Central State University · $74,371 University of Pittsburgh · $87,631 Florida International University · $77,240 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities · $72,228 University at Albany · $84,598 Texas Tech University · $92,631 University of Colorado Boulder · $83,639 Louisiana State University · $89,163 University of Alabama · $85,465 University of Delaware · $78,975 University of Vermont · $81,370 University of Illinois Chicago · $85,189 University of Oklahoma - Norman · $85,074 University of New Hampshire · $77,262 Oregon State University · $84,388 Kennesaw State University · $90,717 University of Iowa · $83,227 Metropolitan State University of Denver · $85,932 Portland State University · $83,981 University of Nebraska, Lincoln · $87,101 University of Toledo · $87,893 University at Buffalo · $73,005 Indiana University of Pennsylvania · $87,909 University of North Dakota · $94,972 University of Nevada, Reno · $93,373 University of Arizona · $82,038 Saint Cloud State University · $82,721 University of Massachusetts - Lowell · $88,936 University of California, Riverside · $95,654 Temple University · $82,708 Iowa State University · $86,358 University of Cincinnati · $89,197 University of Wisconsin - Platteville · $89,532 Arizona State University · $69,182 Colorado State University - Fort Collins · $76,714 Florida Gulf Coast University · $74,888 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee · $86,667 Northern Arizona University · $80,001 Texas A&M University - Kingsville · $82,045 Central Michigan University · $84,068 North Dakota State University · $88,673 Utah State University · $85,683 Cal Poly - Humboldt · $75,312 Kansas State University · $87,623 University of California, Merced · $81,177 Montana State University · $87,412 Southern Methodist University · $91,014 Saint Francis University · $84,370 Loyola University Chicago · $90,644 Marquette University · $86,549 Gannon University · $87,046 Benedict College · $74,672 Valparaiso University · $86,227 Case Western Reserve University · $80,863 Syracuse University · $70,130 Marietta College · $89,629 Drexel University · $89,176 Wilkes University · $75,573 Lehigh University · $86,894 University of Florida · $87,256 University of Texas at Austin · $88,512 University of California, San Diego · $87,780 University of California, Irvine · $75,496 Colorado School of Mines · $81,773 Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo · $90,471 Tufts University · $84,860 Carnegie Mellon University · $115,591 University of Southern California · $97,136 Washington University in St Louis · $88,403 University of Miami · $81,376 University of California, Berkeley · $99,198 Georgia Tech · $91,961 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor · $87,965 United States Military Academy · $86,132 Yale University · $94,895 Caltech · $120,814 Stanford University · $98,098 MIT · $121,573 Columbia University · $96,874 Duke University · $107,808 Johns Hopkins University · $118,279 Brown University · $90,836 Northwestern University · $93,939 Cornell University · $96,313 University of Notre Dame · $76,425 STEM, Business & Military: mean $83,221 Liberal Arts: mean $88,101 Public University: mean $84,416 Religious University: mean $85,789 Private University: mean $81,074 20–30%: mean $85,455 10–20%: mean $92,514 0–10%: mean $101,441 All colleges: p10 $76,425 All colleges: p90 $94,972
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl Earnings Employment
Environmental Engineering 121 1,878 44% / 56% 5% $86,259 97%
Environmental Engineering 114 1,759 43% / 57% 4% $85,974 97%
Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering 1 63 57% / 43% 0% $86,363 97%
Environmental Engineering Science 1 15 47% / 53% 7% $99,198
Environmental Systems Engineering 1 14 21% / 79% 0% $98,098
Earth and Environmental Engineering 1 13 38% / 62% 23% $96,874
Environmental and Sustainable Engineering 1 10 90% / 10% 50% $84,598
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering 1 2 100% / 0% 100% $80,863
Earth System Science and Environmental Engineering 1 1 100% / 0% 0% $75,619
Environmental Engineering Science (Course 1-ENG) 1 1 100% / 0% 100% $121,573
Public Health Engineering 1 0 $85,716
Water Resources Engineering 1 0 $99,645 96%