New environmental engineering B.S. introduced beginning 2024

By James Cancelarich     2/27/24 10:11pm

A new environmental engineering bachelor of science degree is set to begin in Fall 2024, according to an email sent out to civil engineering students. Currently, environmental engineering is included under the civil engineering program, but the launch of the new program will formally separate the two programs into different degrees.

Kalil Erazo, an assistant teaching professor in civil and environmental engineering, said that he led the development of the new degree.

“Environmental engineers, in general, try to come up with solutions for pressing environmental challenges and problems,” Erazo said.

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According to Erazo, most of Rice’s peer institutions have well-established environmental engineering programs because of the high amount of research being done in the field. Erazo also said that environmental engineers are in high demand for industry jobs and that he noticed a demand for the programs from undergraduates.

“We think that there is a big demand from the student side, and we hope to be able to fill that gap,” Erazo said. “Environmental engineering is also one of the top-ten in demand for engineering disciplines … and it is in the top-ten for high-paying engineering jobs in industry.”

Erazo said that Rice is well suited to launch the program because of its already strong environmental engineering resources.

“Our environmental faculty is very strong. Our graduate program is ranked 12th in the country by the U.S. News ranking … The coursework that we offer is very strong,” Erazo said. “We are at a point where we do not need new faculty or new courses for the breadth that is required for the program.”

Daniel Cohan, an associate professor of civil engineering, was also a part of the planning committee for the new degree. He said the program was designed to mirror the civil engineering B.S.

“The degrees are set up to provide fundamental math and science courses — core courses within our department — and then ensuring that students are taking a breadth of courses across four focus areas and specializing in one of those areas,” Cohan said. “Area one focuses on water quality, area two on air, climate, energy and sustainability, area three on infrastructure and disasters and area four on environmental management.”

Erazo said that civil and environmental engineering are often grouped together because of civil engineering’s history of attending to pollution and environmental damage.

“Most of the waste generated at the beginning when society is starting to develop came from civil infrastructure, [like] buildings and industries,” Erazo said. 

A B.A. program for civil and environmental engineering is also offered, which Erazo said is a program for students interested in environmental engineering but not planning to pursue engineering careers.

The new environmental engineering program will not be accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology during the first few years of its implementation. Erazo says that ABET accreditation will take at least five years for the process to begin. According to ABET, graduating from an accredited program is almost universally required for an engineer to pursue licensure, which allows them to work on projects that offer a service to the public. However, Erazo says that licensure is not as important for environmental engineers as it is for other engineering disciplines.

“Although we have a long-term objective of getting accredited, initially it is not that big of a deal … because most of the graduates for the environmental track do not work on developing new designs that could put public safety in danger,” Erazo said. Erazo said that most of the work is in consulting, where a license is not required.

Wiess College senior Carrie Hashimoto said that she pursued a B.S. in civil engineering because of her interest in environmental engineering and is supportive of the new program.

“I think it’s really exciting that Rice has decided to add an environmental engineering major,” Hashimoto said. “I definitely wish it had been earlier because then I would have been able to have that major.”

Jenny Karsner, a Wiess freshman, said that she also chose to pursue a B.S. in civil engineering because of the environmental angle, but that she has mixed feelings about the changes.

Karsner said that based on her experience in civil engineering, many of the women in the program were drawn to the environmental aspect, and that a split in the major may lead to a gendered divide between the two majors. 

“Civil [engineering] is a very female-dominated engineering [program] … I think that is because of the environmental aspect tied into civil [engineering],” Karsner said. “I think when they split it up [there may be] a very prominent divide between women in environmental engineering … and in civil engineering.”

Cohan said that while the possible gender distribution of the majors was not considered during the creation of the major, he does not think that it will lead to any larger divide within the engineering department.

“This is a new degree offering within our civil and environmental engineering department. Many of the courses are the same … [and] students will be a part of all departmental activities and student clubs,” Cohan said.

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