Environmental Engineering

Davis Hall of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. 

Why Graduate School?

    Although college graduates with a degree in a natural science or mathematics occasionally may qualify for some engineering jobs, a degree in engineering is required for almost all entry-level engineering jobs. Thus, with the lack of an engineering curriculum at Carleton, very few students are able to obtain an engineering career without going into more school. There are two tracks for students to enter engineering from Carleton, one is the 3-2 engineering program, and the other is to enter another undergraduate or graduate engineering program after graduating from Carleton. And, if direct admission into a graduate program is at all possible, it is often the preferred route compared to going into another undergraduate program. Similarly, environmental engineering also requires training in the engineering disciplines in addition to knowledge in environmental sciences. And the most direct and common route is to enter a graduate level environmental engineering program.

    Having the professional skills of an environmental engineer may be fairly desirable to the job market. According to the US Department of Labor, "environmental engineers should have employment growth of 25 percent during the projections decade, much faster than the average for all occupations. 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 resulting from population growth, also are expected to spur demand for environmental engineers. Because of this employment growth, job opportunities should be good even as more students earn degrees. Even though employment of environmental engineers should be less affected by economic conditions than most other types of engineers, a significant economic downturn could reduce the emphasis on environmental protection, reducing job opportunities. "

Master vs. PhD

    In general, it takes about 1-3 years to get an engineering master degree and 4-7 years for a PhD (doctorate) degree. In addition to the difference in time required, master programs focus on course work while a PhD program is more demanding in the research part. For environmental engineering, it is possible to get a PhD without getting a master degree first. This works differently for each program. Some schools require all students to begin as master's candidates, with a very high retention rate of master students going on to PhD. Others will offer master's status to some entering students, but Ph.D. status to others. When you attend a combined program, you complete master's-level work as part of your doctoral requirements.

     Whether you want to go straight for your PhD depends much on your career goals, i.e. what kind of jobs do you want to have in the future. Students interested in teaching, research, or industrial R&D type of jobs will usually go for the PhD. A doctorate degree will help you becoming someone who decides what gets research or developed, instead of someone who receives projects from others. However, a master degree is adequate for many other engineering or managerial positions in the industry.

    There are also other considerations when you are choosing between master and PhD degrees. For example, doctoral candidates often get more funding. Over 90% of doctorate engineering students are funded, whereas only about half of the master students get funding or financial aid. Moreover,pursuing each degree separately can take longer and you will need to go through the application process twice. On the other hand, if you are not completely dedicated to your area of study, or if you are continuing your education as a mean of changing careers, getting a master first will let you have a chance to explore the discipline more before making a five-year-commitment.