Environmental Engineering Curriculum What is Environmental Engineering?
Environmental Engineering at SFU
An Overview of the Major:
The Environmental Engineering curriculum at Saint Francis University prepares the student for a challenging and rewarding career through five major curricular means:
- a vibrant General Education program, a keystone of Saint Francis University
- a robust foundation in mathematics and the basic sciences
- a well founded core of engineering course work with a Renewable Energies emphasis
- a specific sequence of specialized environmental laboratory work
- a significant Environmental Engineering Design capstone
Saint Francis University has a strong General Education program core that includes two courses each in philosophy, English, religion, history and fine arts, as well as a single course in macroeconomics, speech, language, psychology, political science and sociology. Since a major goal of engineering is to contribute to the welfare of society, students are better prepared to meet such expectations when they have a broad liberal arts education that helps the student develop an understanding of world history; political and economic systems; the ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity of the peoples of the earth, as well as provide them excellent skills in written communication and public speaking.
The Environmental Engineerings curriculum is built on a solid foundation of basic mathematics and science, which are mainly taken in the first two years at the University. The course work provides the student with the breadth necessary to solve the multidisciplinary problems faced everyday in the life of an Environmental Engineer. Most of the science courses include an extensive laboratory component. General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Microbiology are some of the basic science classes. In addition, students take Ordinary Differential Equations, Statistics and three semesters of Calculus to provide the mathematical underpinnings necessary to be successful and to handle the rigors of the engineering discipline.
Coursework in environmental engineering begins in the student's junior year after the necessary foundation in mathematics and basic sciences has been achieved. Lecture-based courses prepare students to apply basic principles of science and mathematics in the context of environmental systems while a series of project-based courses give students hands-on experiences where they use the skills they have learned to solve real engineering problems. The culmination of the students' design experience is a capstone design course in which students are required to see a project through all phases from the initial proposal to the final design.
A unique focus of Saint Francis University's program is the Renewable Energies Concentration. Students will take specialized course work in energy conversion, storage, and distribution and will have opportunities for internships and other interactions with SFU's Renewable Energy Center.
The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics reports in their 2006 Occupational Outlook Handbook that Environmental engineers should have favorable job opportunities. Employment of environmental engineers is expected to increase much faster than the average for all occupations through 2014. More environmental engineers will be needed to comply with environmental regulations and to develop methods of cleaning up existing hazards. A shift in emphasis toward preventing problems rather than controlling those that already exist, as well as increasing public health concerns, also will spur demand for environmental engineers. |
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