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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

$78,657
457
100–78%
$79,537
929
78–30%
$86,978
452
30–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$78,618
356
400–1250
$80,004
737
1260–1400
$87,898
372
1400–1600
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings vs. selectivity rank

$71,481p10 $89,304p90 Military STEM Non-Research Liberal Arts Public University Religious University Private University Public University 1–25 Private University 21–40 Private University 1–20 United States Military Academy · $79,318 Florida Polytechnic University · $72,510 Bucknell University · $85,125 Juniata College · $76,320 Cal State Long Beach · $83,475 University of California, Irvine · $85,255 Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo · $86,311 University of South Florida · $76,748 San Diego State University · $86,649 University of Washington · $88,558 CUNY City College · $78,707 Clemson University · $78,185 Florida International University · $79,037 University of California, Davis · $86,527 Florida Atlantic University · $75,823 University of Connecticut · $81,627 Pennsylvania State University · $85,308 Tarleton State University · $70,231 University of Arkansas at Little Rock · $73,160 Central State University · $59,030 University of Pittsburgh · $78,515 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry · $72,579 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities · $72,767 Central Michigan University · $81,736 University at Albany · $78,013 Texas Tech University · $88,340 University at Buffalo · $74,767 Louisiana State University · $66,219 University of Colorado Boulder · $84,918 Missouri University of Science and Technology · $76,698 Temple University · $78,479 Texas A&M University - Kingsville · $69,973 University of Delaware · $82,285 University of Oklahoma - Norman · $77,932 University of Vermont · $71,254 Michigan Technological University · $77,977 Oregon State University · $81,214 University of Alabama · $77,092 Northern Arizona University · $70,453 University of New Hampshire · $80,259 Metropolitan State University of Denver · $73,075 Portland State University · $80,709 University of Nebraska, Lincoln · $78,396 University of Toledo · $80,182 Cal Poly - Humboldt · $81,168 Colorado State University - Fort Collins · $77,901 Indiana University of Pennsylvania · $75,146 Kennesaw State University · $89,466 University of Iowa · $77,475 Iowa State University · $80,170 Montana Technological University · $76,749 Saint Cloud State University · $74,904 University of Arizona · $79,974 University of Cincinnati · $85,187 University of Massachusetts - Lowell · $86,051 University of Nevada, Reno · $81,568 University of California, Riverside · $81,979 University of Wisconsin - River Falls · $65,514 Arizona State University · $70,312 University of Wisconsin - Platteville · $74,875 Florida Gulf Coast University · $79,256 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee · $75,190 North Dakota State University · $77,522 Utah State University · $75,865 Kansas State University · $78,037 New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology · $79,483 University of California, Merced · $83,194 West Texas A&M University · $75,500 Montana State University · $76,835 Shawnee State University · $70,493 University of Notre Dame · $74,431 Southern Methodist University · $83,535 Siena Heights University · $72,604 Saint Francis University · $78,358 Saint Vincent College · $74,368 Loyola University Chicago · $82,627 Marquette University · $79,359 Gannon University · $68,694 Benedict College · $53,809 Valparaiso University · $76,798 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · $88,236 Syracuse University · $71,481 Wilkes University · $69,726 Clarkson University · $73,390 Drexel University · $78,581 Marietta College · $78,594 Georgia Tech · $86,952 University of California, Berkeley · $95,327 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor · $88,990 University of Florida · $74,218 University of Georgia · $79,972 Purdue University · $77,195 Colorado School of Mines · $83,766 University of Texas at Austin · $87,158 University of Wisconsin - Madison · $83,013 Texas A&M University - College Station · $82,887 University of Central Florida · $81,842 University of California, San Diego · $89,053 Ohio State University · $84,092 North Carolina State University · $84,092 Washington University in St Louis · $86,286 University of Southern California · $96,173 University of Miami · $79,131 Lehigh University · $86,092 Stevens Institute of Technology · $89,304 Worcester Polytechnic Institute · $77,145 MIT · $125,333 Johns Hopkins University · $122,821 Stanford University · $100,030 Duke University · $102,648 Carnegie Mellon University · $106,196 Yale University · $94,787 Northwestern University · $97,970 Cornell University · $87,212 Columbia University · $96,793 Tufts University · $84,190 Military: mean $79,318 STEM Non-Research: mean $72,510 Liberal Arts: mean $80,723 Public University: mean $78,156 Religious University: mean $74,458 Private University: mean $76,668 Public University 1–25: mean $84,183 Private University 21–40: mean $85,689 Private University 1–20: mean $101,798 All colleges: p10 $71,481 All colleges: p90 $89,304
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl Earnings Employment
Environmental Engineering 119 1,838 44% / 56% 5% $80,471 97%
Environmental Engineering 112 1,722 44% / 56% 5% $80,130 97%
Environmental and Ecological Engineering 1 59 47% / 53% 5% $77,195 100%
Earth and Environmental Engineering 1 20 35% / 65% 15% $96,793
Environmental Engineering Science 1 13 46% / 54% 0% $95,327
Environmental and Sustainable Engineering 1 8 25% / 75% 25% $78,013
Environmental Systems Engineering 1 6 50% / 50% 0% $100,030
Earth System Science and Environmental Engineering 1 5 40% / 60% 20% $68,183
Environmental Engineering Science (Course 1-ENG) 1 5 20% / 80% 20% $125,333