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Environmental Engineering (EVEN) B.S. Degree

Overview

The four-year Environmental Engineering (EVEN) BS degree is the standard curriculum offered by the Environmental Engineering Program. When you complete this curriculum, you will be granted a "Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering" degree. The EVEN BS provides preparation for professional proficiency or graduate training in environmental engineering in a four-year curriculum. All of the information provided on this web page is available in the current Environmental Engineering (EVEN) Degree Guidelines.

Description

The EVEN BS curriculum (see the curriculum table) represents a "contract" of sorts with incoming students - for students entering the program during the current academic year, completion of the curriculum with a satisfactory grade point average is the requirement for graduation. The curriculum also represents a guarantee that the courses listed (or acceptable substitutes) will be available in the semesters listed.

Many required courses in the EVEN BS curriculum offer a set of courses from different engineering departments as choices. Students may choose any of the offerings from different departments for these required courses; however, students should evaluate these choices carefully depending on their major interest in environmental engineering.

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Curriculum -- 2007-2008 Academic Year
(for curricula for other years, see the previous Guidelines above)

Courses offered only semester shown ®

 
         
First Year Fall
Credits
 
First Year Spring
Credits

APPM 1350 Calculus 1 for Engineers
4
  APPM 1360 Calculus 2 for Engineers
4
CHEN 1211 General Chemistry
3
  GEEN 1400 Engineering Projects
3
CHEM 1221 General Chemistry Lab
2
  H&SS Elective II
3
EVEN 1000 Intro to Environ Engr
1
PHYS 1110 General Physics 1
4
GEEN 1300 Intro to Engr Computing
3
  Technical Elective I
3
H&SS Elective I
3
   

 
16
 
 
17
         
Second Year Fall
Credits
 
Second Year Spring
Credits

APPM 2350 Calculus 3 for Engineers
4
  APPM 2360 Intro Diff Eqns Lin Alg
4
CVEN 3414 Fund of Environ Engr
3
  CHEM 4521 Phys Chem for Engrs
3
H&SS Elective III
3
  CHEN 2120 Matl & Energy Balances
3
PHYS 1120 General Physics 2
4
  H&SS Elective IV
3
PHYS 1140 Experimental Physics 1
1
  Solid Mechanics
3

 
15
 
 
16
         
Third Year Fall
Credits
 
Third Year Spring
Credits

CVEN 3454 Water Chemistry
4
  CVEN 4424 Environ Organic Chem
3
Engineering Economics
3
  Heat Transfer
3
Fluid Mechanics
3
  CVEN 4484 Intro Environ Microbiology
3
Required Communication Course
3
  MCEN 4131 Air Pollution Control
3
Thermodynamics

3

  Probability and Statistics
3

 
16
 
 
15
         
Fourth Year Fall
Credits
 
Fourth Year Spring
Credits

Option Course I

3

  CVEN 4434 Environ Eng Design
3
CVEN 4444 (5834) Env Eng Processes
3
  Air/Earth Science Lab/Field Course

3

H&SS Elective V
3
  CVEN 4333 Engineering Hydrology
3
Option Course II
3
  Option Course III
3
Technical Elective II
3
  Technical Elective IV / Senior Thesis
3
Technical Elective III / Senior Thesis
3
     

 
18
 
 
15
         
     

Total Credits:

128

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Table Explanations


Courses available in different departments The following required courses may be taken from any of the departments listed. Note that this list changes frequently as departments change instructors and semesters for courses. In some cases, you may need to be flexible about which course you take to complete your degree on time.
Solid Mechanics
CVEN 2121 Analytical Mechanics 1 (Fall, Spring)
GEEN 3851 Statics for Engineers (Summer)
MCEN 2023 Statics and Structures (Fall)
Thermodynamics CHEN 3320 Chem Engr Thermodynamics (Fall, required for Chemical Processing Option)
GEEN 3852 Thermodynamics for Engineers (Summer)
MCEN 3012 Thermodynamics (Fall, required for Air Quality Option)
AREN 2100 Thermodynamics (Fall)
Fluid Mechanics CHEN 3200 Chem Engr Fluid Mechanics (Spring)
CVEN 3313 Theor Fluid Mechanics (Spring)
GEEN 3853 Fluid Mechanics for Engineers (Summer)
MCEN 3021 Fluid Mechanics (Fall)
Probability and Statistics APPM 4570 Statistical Methods (Fall, Spring)
CHEN 3010 Applied Data Analysis (Fall)
CVEN 3227 Prob, Stat, and Decisions (Spring)
Heat Transfer CHEN 3210 Chem Engr Heat Transfer (Fall)
MCEN 3022 Heat Transfer (Spring)
Engineering Economics EMEN 4100 Business Methods and Econ for Engrs (Fall)
CVEN 4147 Engineering Economy and System Design (Fall)
Processes CVEN 4444 (5834) Special Topics -- Environmental Engineering Processes (Fall)(contact Prof. Scott Summers) or
CHEN 4670 Environmental Separations (Spring)
Air/Earth Science Lab/Field Course A 3(+) credit hour course with a significant laboratory or field component related to air quality or earth science.
A total of 18 credit hours of humanities and social sciences electives is required. At least nine hours must be at the upper division (3000 or 4000) level (including the Required Communication Course, see below). Advice and list of eligible humanities and social science electives is available on HOMER.
Required Communications Course The Required Communication Course is aimed at improving your communication (writing and presentation) skills. It must be taken at the 3000-level. Alternatives include WRTG 3030 Writing on Science and Society and two-semester sequence of courses in the Herbst Humanities Program in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, HUEN 3100 Humanities for Engineers 1 and HUEN 3200 Humanities for Engineers 2 (to satisfy the Communication requirement, both of these courses must be taken; taking both of these courses satisfies the upper division H&SS requirement).
Technical Electives The first technical elective course (scheduled during the First Year in the standard EVEN BS curriculum) may be a lower division environmental science elective in atmospheric science, biology, chemistry, ecology, or geology. The remaining technical elective courses must be 3000- and 4000-level (or above) courses in engineering, mathematics, or the sciences. These electives should have substantially different content than the required courses.
Option Courses The five specified Option sequences are listed below. Nine credits of course work must be selected from the following lists. A Special Option, formulated by the student, is also available by petition.
Senior Thesis To better integrate research experience in the EVEN curriculum, the faculty encourage seniors to consider using six credits of technical electives as independent students (EVEN 4840) to do a Senior Thesis (consecutive independent studies on the same topic with the same faculty advisor).
The senior thesis can be funded with grants from the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) and the College's Discovery Learning Apprenticeship (DLA) Program.


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Option Courses

Five areas of concentration in Environmental Engineering are offered as sets of "Option" courses. These Option courses appear in the curriculum in the sixth, seventh, and eighth semesters. By the sixth semester, students must choose a set of option courses.

In addition, a Special Option is available for students who wish to identify a set of three courses that provide depth in another area of environmental engineering (such as energy, engineering for developing communities, public health, etc). This set of four courses may contain no more than two courses at the 3000 level. The set of three courses must be approved by petition before the sixth semester. The set of courses can be changed only with your advisor's permission.

Air Quality Option
ATOC 3500 Air Chemistry and Pollution (3 credits, Fall)
ATOC 4720 Introduction to Atmospheric Physics and Dynamics (3 credits, intermittent)
CHEM 4541 Physical Chemistry Lab(2 credits, intermittent)
MCEN 4042 Thrmal Systems Design (3 credits, Spring)
MCEN 4141 Indoor Air Pollution (3 credits, intermittent)
MCEN 4152 Introduction to Combustion (3 credits, Spring)
MCEN 4162 Energy Conversion (3 credits, check schedule)
MCEN 4228 Environmental Modeling (3 credits, fall)

Applied Ecology Option
CVEN 3434 Introduction to Applied Ecology (required for this option; 3 credits, Spring)
EBIO 2040 Principles of Ecology (4 credits) EBIO 3270 Ecosystem Ecology (3 credits, Spring)
EBIO 4020 Stream Ecology (3 credits, Fall)
EBIO 4030 Limnology (3 credits, Spring)
EBIO 4160 Introduction to Biogeochemistry (3 credits)
GEOG 4311 Watershed Biogeochemistry (2 credits; spring)

Chemical Processing Option
CHEM 3311 Organic Chemistry 1 (4 credits)
CHEM 3331 Organic Chemistry 2 (4 credits)
CHEN 3220 Chemical Engineering Separations and Mass Transfer (required for this option, 3 credits, Spring)
CHEN 4330 Reaction Kinetics (required for this option, 3 credits, Spring)
CHEN 4670 Environmental Separations (3 credits, Fall, every other year)

Environmental Remediation Option
CVEN 4353 Groundwater Engineering (3 credit hours, Fall)
CVEN 4474 Hazardous and Industrial Waste Management (3 credit hours, Spring)
EVEN 4100 Environmental Sampling and Analysis (3 credits, intermittent)
GEOL 3030 Introduction to Hydrogeology (3 credit hours, Fall)
GEOL 4716 Environmental Field Geochemistry (2 credit hours, Spring)

Water Resources and Treatment Option
CVEN 3323 Hydraulic Engineering (3 credits, Fall)
CVEN 3424 Water and Wastewater Treatment (3 credits, Spring)
CVEN 4323 Water Resources Engineering Design (3 credits, Spring)
CVEN 4343 Open Channel Hydraulics (3 credits)
CVEN 4353 Groundwater Engineering (3 credits, fall)
GEOG 4501 Water Resources and Water Management of Western United States (3 credits, Spring)
MCEN 4228 Environmental Modeling (3 credits, fall)

Graduation Requirements

To graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the Boulder campus, students must meet the following minimum requirements:

  1. Satisfactory completion of the required and elective courses in the Environmental Engineering Bachelor of Science curriculum. Students must satisfactorily complete 128 credit hours, of which the last 45 credit hours shall be earned after admission to the College of Engineering and Applied Science as a degree student.
  2. A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.000 for all courses attempted and for all courses that count toward graduation requirements, excluding "P" grades for courses taken Pass/Fail.
  3. A minimum cumulative major grade point average of 2.000. This major grade point average includes only course work in engineering courses.
  4. Successful completion of the Minimum Academic Preparation Standards (MAPS) requirement of the College of Engineering and Applied Science.
  5. Completion of the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination during the final academic year.
  6. Submission of a completed Diploma Card (available in the Dean's Office) to the Program Coordinator.

Graduation will be postponed by failure to complete these requirements.  Any exceptions to these requirements will require approval of the Environmental Engineering Program Director and the Dean's office by petition.  To be sure that all requirements are met, students can consult with the Environmental Engineering Program Coordinator, Director, and their faculty advisors. Students must be aware that meeting graduation requirements is ultimately their own responsibility.

Fundamentals of Engineering Exam

One of the requirements for graduation with the EVEN BS degree is that students must take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam. This test serve two purposes: (1) it provides students with the opportunity to complete the first step toward Professional Engineer (PE) status and (2) it provides the Environmental Engineering Program with a useful assessment of engineering proficiency attained by EVEN graduates. Students usually take the FE Exam during their final semester.

The Fundamentals of Engineering Examination is the first step toward achieving licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE), a particularly important credential for engineers working as consultants. The FE Exam is administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). The FE Exam is offered semi-annually, in April and October. Students can register to take the FE Exam in the Dean's office. Registration notices will be distributed by the EVEN Program Coordinator.

The exam consists of two parts, the morning and afternoon "specifications." The morning specification covers engineering, science, and mathematics fundamentals. The afternoon specification is discipline-specific. Beginning with the April 2002, exam, Environmental Engineering will be offered as the afternoon specification. The NCEES offers general information, study materials, and sample questions for the FE Exam. Numerous review books for the FE Exam are also readily available at web booksellers.

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