Environmental Engineering

Program
Duration
Location
Application
OP Score
Entry Requirements
International Availability
Accreditation
Fees

Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental)
4 Years full-time
St Lucia
QTAC code 717001
Qld OP 6 / Rank 90; ATAR 89.00 (2011 entry)
Qld Yr 12 or equivalent; English; Mathematics B; Chemistry or Physics
UQ International
Engineers Australia and The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
What it costs

UQ's Environmental Engineering major will be combined with Civil and Chemical Engineering

While all areas of engineering consider sustainability to some extent, it is a primary concern of environmental engineering. Environmental engineers consider the environment at the design stage of project development. They act to reduce the impact of industry and other activity and to implement ways to reduce or eliminate existing and potential environmental impacts.

The origins of environmental engineering are in the areas of water resources management, water/wastewater treatment, and solid waste management and these are still major areas of practice for the profession. However, applications have gone on to include human impacts more broadly on the environment (e.g., air, water and soil), and the development of approaches to minimise these.

Environmental engineers have the grounding to work with other engineers as well as ecologists, economists and regulators.

Graduates estimate and predict the effect of human activities on the environment, use their skills to design processes and infrastructure to minimise environmental impact, and promote sustainable development. Environmental engineers work closely with a range of other environmental professionals, and the community.

The UQ Environmental Engineering specialisation offers an integrated curriculum with components of chemical and civil engineering, the sciences of biology, ecology and chemistry, as well occupational health and toxicology. UQ environmental engineers are unique in Australia in that they are qualified to work as Chemical Engineers (i.e., the degree is accredited by IchemE). The program has been designed for students who want to:

design a sustainable future
be professional engineers
work with industry and government while cultivating their interest in the environment.

What are the applications?

The professional skills of an environmental engineer might be used in:

renewable energy (e.g., solar, biomass, geothermal, wind etc)
providing clean water supplies
treating wastewater and solid waste
developing technologies to minimise industrial pollution
recycling waste materials into new products and recovery of energy from waste
managing water resource systems.

What does the future hold?

The vast number of environmental problems confronting society demand immediate solutions. Water resource management involves the possible use of technologies like recycling, reverse osmosis and drought-proofing strategies. Wastewater and solid waste management for growing and urbanizing populations is a critical issue and environmental engineers are ideally suited to developing solutions. The emerging fields of waste reduction and resource recovery, particularly for toxic wastes, will be growth areas of the profession. The minimisation of air and water pollution and the maintenance of healthy environments will continue to be a major driver for the need for professional environmental engineers.

Employment Opportuntites

Career opportunities are excellent for environmental engineers. Consulting firms and processing companies continue to recruit graduates with environmental qualifications at an increasing rate, for work both in Australia and overseas. Government departments and agencies are also common employers of environmental engineers.

Visit our Careers in Environmental Engineering page for further information.

UQ Bonus Rank Scheme

The UQ Bonus Rank Scheme offers students who complete Year 12 in Australia a chance to improve their rank to gain entry to their preferred program. For more information please click here.

Full program details and entry requirements

Credit for Previous Studies

Non-Award Enrolment

If you have the skills and background to enrol in individual courses, but you are not qualified to enter an award program, you may be eligible to enrol as a domestic non-award student on a fee-paying basis, for training purposes. This option is not available to international students.

The University's Enhanced Studies program allows students in selected high schools to enrol in first year level university courses, while completing their Year 12 studies.

Full list of BE courses

Study information for Environmental Engineering students