Stanford University

The mission of the undergraduate program in Environmental Systems Engineering is to prepare students for incorporating environmentally sustainable design, strategies and practices into natural and built systems and infrastructure involving buildings, water supply, and coastal regions. Courses in the program are multidisciplinary in nature, combining math/science/engineering fundamentals, and tools and skills considered essential for an engineer, along with a choice of one of three focus areas for more in-depth study: coastal environments, freshwater environments, or urban environments. This major offers somewhat more flexibility in the curriculum than the Civil Engineering degree program, and requires fewer units. The program of study, which includes a capstone experience, aims to equip engineering students to take on the complex challenges of the twenty-first century involving natural and built environments, in consulting and industry as well as in graduate school.

Undergraduates in the Civil Engineering and the Environmental Systems Engineering programs are expected to achieve the following learning outcomes through their major.  These learning outcomes are used both in evaluating students and the department's undergraduate programs.  Students are expected to demonstrate the ability to: 

1. identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science and mathematics.

2. apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.

3. communicate effectively with a range of audiences.

4. recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.

5. function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.

6. develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.

7. acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Bachelor of Science in Environmental Systems Engineering

For undergraduate studies focusing on Environmental Engineering, two options are available.  The undergraduate Civil Engineering major (which is ABET-accredited) offers the ability to focus on environmental topics, and the Environmental Systems Engineering major (which is not ABET-accredited) offers a choice of focusing on coastal environments, freshwater environments, or urban environments.

Environmental Systems Engineering (EnvSE)

Completion of the undergraduate program in Environmental Systems Engineering leads to the conferral of the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Systems Engineering.