Environmental Engineering (MEN)

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Graduate Catalog 2022-2023

Description

The Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering specializes in environmental, geotechnical, and structural engineering. Environmental engineering is a multidisciplinary field that integrates the principles of physical, chemical, and biological processes with engineering concepts to design solutions to environmental issues. Master of Environmental Engineering is a graduate degree designed for the pursuit of advanced environmental engineering studies in water and wastewater treatment, physical and chemical processes, biological unit operations, hazardous waste treatment, pollution prevention, and other environmental topics. The program is focused on developing future leaders for the engineering profession and academia. It prepares students for careers as consulting engineers, engineers in industry and government, and researchers at universities and industrial laboratories.

The Master of Environmental Engineering has the following objectives:

Graduates of our program should work as practicing engineers/professionals.
Graduates of our program should create practical engineering designs and develop sustainable solutions or research projects that are sensitive to economic and social needs and address environmental, public safety, and sustainability concerns.
Graduates of our program should actively participate and seek leadership positions in professional societies, other worthy organizations, and their workplaces.

Admission to the program requires a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a similar field. The students should have a good knowledge of inorganic chemistry and general biology and should be proficient in physics. Applicants holding non-engineering degrees are considered for admission, but depending on their background, some students may need to fulfill prerequisites or take engineering or math courses such as fluid dynamics, differential equations, thermodynamics, or mechanics.

The Master of Environmental Engineering, like all the graduate engineering degrees in the College of Engineering & Science, may be completed through either a thesis or a non-thesis option.

Students wishing to continue in a doctoral program should see the description for the Doctor of Philosophy with a major in Civil and Environmental Engineering. For more information, click here.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

analyze and design a complex engineering system or component (Technical Competence)
independently investigate an engineering topic and make conclusions about its effect on designs (Research Skills)
present an engineering solution (Effective Communication)

Traditional Master vs. 5-year Bachelor/Master

Students may enter the master program one of two ways: Traditional (for new master students or Detroit Mercy undergraduate students who did not apply to or qualify for the 5-year bachelor/master program) and 5-year bachelor/master (for Detroit Mercy undergraduate students).

Traditional Master Program

New master students or Detroit Mercy undergraduate students who did not apply to or qualify for the 5-year bachelor/master program may apply for the graduate program online. Typical (but not absolute) minimum requirements include an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 and a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry or a closely related discipline. Although the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (if applicable) are not required as part of the application, they can be useful in facilitating the admission process.

5-year Bachelor/Master Program

New Detroit Mercy undergraduate students and seniors in Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, or Civil Engineering programs that are within two to three terms of graduating, with a GPA of 3.25 or better, and who will finish their undergraduate program in four years, may apply for the 5-year bachelor/master program. If accepted in the 5-year bachelor/master, students can use up to nine graduate credits to double-count toward their bachelor and master programs. Students, especially in Biology, Biochemistry, or Chemistry, should consider this early since there are a number of additional courses they will need to complete in order to prepare for the graduate degree.

For more information on the 5-year bachelor/master programs, go to:

5-year Civil (BCE)/Master of Environmental Engineering

5-year Biology (BS)/Master of Environmental Engineering

5-year Biochemistry(BS)/Master of Environmental Engineering

5-year Chemistry (BA)/Master of Environmental Engineering

5-year Chemistry (BS)/Master of Environmental Engineering

Master of Environmental Engineering Degree Requirements (30 credits)

The Master of Environmental Engineering may be completed by a thesis or non-thesis option. At least half (15 credits) of the program must be selected from graduate-level only options.

The thesis option includes 24 credit hours of coursework as outlined below and six credit hours of thesis effort (CIVE 5990) for a total of 30 credit hours. The thesis is a research project conducted under the supervision of a faculty member and is typically spread across two semesters. It represents an original research contribution to the field and includes a presentation (defense) of the work conducted. After a final formal presentation to the College faculty and students, a properly formatted and approved written report must be submitted. See an advisor for additional details.

The non-thesis option consists of 30 credit hours of course work chosen according to the course requirements listed below. All courses are three credit hours except when noted otherwise.

Foundation courses - Required (18 credits)

CIVE 5500 Water and Waste-Water Engineering (if not taken at the undergraduate level) (3 credits)
CIVE 5780 Physicochemical Unit Operations (3 credits) *
CIVE 5840 Environmental Chemistry (3 credits)
CIVE 5860 Environmental Microbiology (3 credits)
ENGR 5020 Design of Experiments (3 credits) *
ENGR 5872 Sustainable Engineering (3 credits) *

Environmental Electives (choose 2 classes/6 credits)

CIVE 5480 Advanced Soil Mechanics (3 credits) *
CIVE 5530 Applied Hydraulics and Hydrology (3 credits)
CIVE 5630 Environmental Risk Analysis and Design (3 credits) *
CIVE 5722 Engineering Geology (3 credits)
CIVE 5800 Biological Unit Operations (3 credits) *
CIVE 5820 Hazardous Waste (3 credits)
CIVE 5850 Project Management and Costing (3 credits)
CIVE 5862 Soil Remediation (3 credits) *
CIVE 5864 Landfill Design (3 credits) *
CIVE 5866 Groundwater (3 credits)
CIVE 5868 Environmental Engineering Graduate Capstone (3 credits) *
CIVE 5880 Solid Waste (3 credits)
CIVE 5890 Design of Earth Retention (3 credits)
CIVE 5910 Geographical Information Systems (3 credits) *
CIVE 5990 Civil Engineering Master's Thesis (instructor permission required) (6 credits) *
ENGR 5300 Advanced Engineering Mathematics (3 credits) *
MENG 5810 Alternative Energy Systems (3 credits)

General Electives (6 credits):

Any courses in CIVE, ENGR, or EMGT * (excluding any co-op related courses)

* Courses are offered at the graduate-level only. At least 15 credits must be selected from these options.

Program Contact Information

Utpal Dutta, Ph.D., P.E.
Chair, Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering Department
Office: Engineering 262
Email: duttau@udmercy.edu
Telephone: 313-993-1040