Environmental Engineering degree

Graduates often pursue careers that can positively impact the environment around us such as consulting, operations, and more. They typically work in government, for cities, and for environmental consulting firms.

Recent graduates

• Environmental Consultant — Pottinger Gaherty Environmental Consultants
• Water Resources Specialist — Golder Associates
• Environmental Specialist — Public Works Government Services Canada
• Project Coordinator — David Schaeffer Engineering
• Geomatics Analyst — Monteith Sutherland Geospatial Solutions
• Operations Specialist — CLEAResult
• Water Resource Engineer in Training — AECOM

Possible professional designation

• Professional Engineer

Learn about the future of careers in engineering.

What's the difference between Environmental Engineering and Environmental Sciences?

Engineering is more than advancing tech and machinery. In Environmental Engineering, you’ll create practical solutions to environmental challenges. You'll use science, math, and engineering to design systems and implement technologies that prevent or reduce pollution, improve water and air quality, and manage waste. Environmental engineers often work with other professionals to advance projects that promote environmental sustainability. With two years of co-op experience under your belt, you can graduate with hands-on experience in engineering consulting, government agencies, and technology-driven private firms. 

Environmental Sciences focuses on understanding natural processes that occur in the environment. You’ll look at how ecosystems function; how pollutants impact air, water, and soil; how climate change affects the Earth; and the interactions between living organisms, like plants and animals, and their surroundings. You'll investigate ways to protect and preserve the environment through research and analysis. With 25+ field courses to choose from, you’ll graduate with the hands-on skills needed for careers in fields including government and research, resource management, and environmental or ecological consulting. 

Both programs aim to protect the environment, but they take different approaches. Environmental Engineering is solution-focused and applies engineering principles to design systems solving environmental problems. Environmental Sciences is exploration-focused and studies natural processes to understand environmental issues and inform policy and conservation efforts. Engineers build tools and technologies, while scientists uncover data and insights to guide their use.

What's the difference between Environmmental Engineering and Geological Engineering?

If you’re invested in solving pressing environmental issues affecting vulnerable populations, Environmental Engineering may be for you. In this program, you’ll use math, chemistry, physics, and environmental engineering to model ecosystems, analyze pollution, and design sustainable solutions for mitigating and adapting to climate change, decreasing biodiversity, inaccessible clean drinking water, and more. You’ll learn to develop systems that protect human health while protecting and restoring the environment, whether that be through designing water treatment and distribution systems or building more eco-friendly cities. 

If you want to work outdoors while creating a safer world and better infrastructure, you’ll feel at home in Geological Engineering’s tight-knit community. By taking civil engineering, earth sciences, math, chemistry, and physics courses, you’ll come to understand geotechnical design, rock and soil mechanics, hydrogeology, and geophysics. You'll use your expertise in the real world to develop sustainable energy and mineral resources to ensure the safety of infrastructure, remove groundwater contaminants, and more. Plus, you’ll graduate with the academic qualifications for two professional designations: Professional Engineer and Professional Geoscientist. 

While both programs address challenges related to the Earth and environment, their approaches are different. Geological Engineering focuses on the subsurface, working from the ground down to understand and manage rock, soil, and groundwater systems. This work supports safe infrastructure and responsible resource development. Environmental Engineering overlaps with Geological in some areas, such as groundwater remediation, but generally takes a ground-up approach, designing systems that improve air and water quality, reduce pollution, and protect ecosystems and human health. Both fields contribute to a safer and more sustainable world, but they do so through different lenses. 

Civil, Architectural, Environmental, and Geological Engineering comparison