Why Environmental Engineering?
Environmental engineers apply fundamental science (chemistry, physics, thermodynamics, mass and energy balance, multiphase flow etc.) and engineering design principles to solve some of the most pressing environmental problems of our time, including problems related to climate change, renewable energy, water scarcity and water and air quality.
We face global crises in climate and biodiversity, and grand challenges in delivering sustainable, resilient and safe infrastructure. In the environmental engineering program, we prepare students to design systems that improve our well-being and protect the natural world. This includes mastering traditional methods to deliver clean air and drinking water, treat wastes and prevent flooding as well as innovating new environmental systems to meet new challenges (like extreme weather, micro-plastics, renewable energy supply and energy from wastes), and planning for a future unlike the past.
Courses in Environmental Engineering
You’ll take a mix of foundational engineering and mathematics courses in first year. After first year, most of your classes will be Environmental Engineering courses covering topics such as environmental chemistry, air quality, biological processes, environmental modelling, water resources and design of water, waste and soil treatment systems.
Sample first-year courses
This is a sample schedule. Courses are subject to change.
| Fall Term (September to December) | Spring Term (May to August) |
|---|---|
Upper year courses
For information about courses past your first year, check out the Undergraduate Academic Calendar.
Customize your degree with options and specializations
Options
Options are a way to provide you with a path to expand your degree and get a secondary emphasis in another subject or area. Students should decide if they are interested in taking options as they enter second year. Some available options are:
Specializations
A specialization is recognition of selected elective courses within your degree. Specialization offerings are unique to your engineering program and are listed on your diploma. Specializations that are available to Environmental Engineering students include:
Co-op for Environmental Engineering students
You’ll have an unrivalled opportunity to gain paid work experience before you even graduate. We’ll help you navigate job applications, résumés, and interviews; you’ll have the added benefit of trying out different roles and/or industries to find the one that fits you while building your work experience and reinforcing your in-class learning out in the real world. It all adds up to a competitive advantage after graduation.
Starting in first year, you'll normally alternate between school and work every four months, integrating your classroom learning with real-world experience. You can return to the same employer for a couple of work terms to gain greater knowledge and responsibility or work for different employers to get a broad range of experience.
| Year | September to December (Fall) | January to April (Winter) | May to August (Spring) |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Study | Co-op | Study |
| Second | Co-op | Study | Co-op |
| Third | Study | Co-op | Study |
| Fourth | Co-op | Study | Co-op |
| Fifth | Study | Study | - |
Your first work term will be halfway through first year. Learn more about co-op.
Example co-op positions for Environmental Engineering students
- Drainage design engineering assistant
- Environmental engineering assistant
- Technical writer
- Tides and water levels assistant
- Field engineering/project coordination
- Industrial wastewater engineer
- Program developer
2023 Engineering co-op student of the year
Frances Hallen, Environmental Engineering student
By combining her strong analytical skills and desire to solve social issues, Frances was able to make an impact while continuing her learning. As a junior renewable energy developer, Frances demonstrated exceptional collaborative, design and research skills in raising awareness about renewable energy. Her accomplishments include:
- Organizing a solar site visit that included more than 20 employees from across Canada and United States to increase partner support.
- Designing research on the dispersion of acres occupied by corn ethanol, resulting in more than $7000 in social value savings.
- Preparing environmental review presentations to gain political support for EDF’s projects.
Example careers for Environmental Engineering graduates
- Bioremediation expert
- Water resource engineer
- Water project management
- Green building engineer
- Air pollution control system design
- Environmental consultant
- Environmental specialist
- Geomatics analyst
Capstone design projects in Environmental Engineering
Capstone Design is the culmination of the engineering undergraduate student experience, creating a blueprint for innovation in engineering design.
Supported by numerous awards, Capstone Design provides Waterloo Engineering students with the unique opportunity to conceptualize and design a project related to their chosen discipline.
A requirement for completion of their degrees, Capstone Design challenges students teams to push their own boundaries, and apply the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom and on co-op work terms. It reinforces the concepts of teamwork, project management, research and development.
For a full list of previous capstone design projects, see our Capstone Design website.
Greene Planet International (Capstone 2023)
Matthew Linehan, Rudy Krysakowski, Kyle Macdonald, Luke Vandenberg
The design team, Greene Planet International, worked with the International Support Network for African Development to support the organization’s plans to develop a new office space and community library in Ibadan, Nigeria. The client sought to reduce the building’s life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. The design team worked with the client on an integrated design process related to impacts of the building envelope, construction and material selection, mechanical and electrical systems, water supply, energy supply, and energy storage.
Wildfire Warriors (Capstone 2024)
Savita Das, Anna Van Der Heide, Harvir Sidhu, Jaida Wilson
The severity and frequency of wildfires in British Columbia have increased dramatically, putting communities within the province at heightened risk. To address this, our team Wildfire Warriors is creating a tool that will assess a property's fire risk level, propose a series of fire mitigation measures and determine the environmental, economic and social impacts of those measures. This helps to make fire safety more accessible to homeowners as it educates them on the benefit of fire mitigation measures and improves the ease of implementation.
Student design teams
The Sedra Student Design Centre consists of over 20,000 square feet of space dedicated to design teams and student projects. There are more than two dozen design teams, all of which are student-led, and many of which represent Waterloo internationally.
Some examples include:
Warrior Home
Warrior Home is a multidisciplinary student team that designs and builds high-performing, net-zero energy, affordable, and sustainable homes for community housing organizations.
Midnight Sun
The Midnight Sun Solar Car Team designs, manufactures, and races solar-electric cars capable of travelling on public highways. Their mission is to educate the public and promote innovation in sustainable energy technologies.
UWAFT
UWAFT (University of Waterloo Alternative Fuel Team) continuously breaks new ground in the field of sustainable transportation through innovation, technology, and student engagement.
Environmental Engineering alumni
Iolanda Montagnese
Iolanda (class of 2017), "I enjoyed bouncing between courses and co-op placements every four months as it was a nice balance of both life experience and knowledge."
Read more about Iolanda's time in Environmental Engineering.
Michael Wong
Michael (class of 2019), "I liked working with numbers but wanted to combine that with my passion about the environment and resource management."
Hear more about Michael's time in Environmental Engineering.
Janice Stonebridge
Janice (class of 2015), "I reached out to the team from my last co-op term at the end of my Master's program to see if they would be hiring. And the rest is history!"
Hear more about Janice's time in Environmental Engineering.
Philip Schmidt
Philip (class of 2005), "Waterloo gave me opportunities I never considered, particularly to get involved in really interesting research starting in second year."
Hear more about Philip's time in Environmental Engineering.