PhD Environmental Engineering at University of Colorado Boulder

Programme overview

The Environmental Engineering PhD focuses on the processes governing natural and engineered environmental systems, from drinking and wastewater treatment and water reuse to ecosystem processes, contaminant fate and transport, alternative energy, air quality and global engineering. It is open to applicants entering with a BS/BA as well as those with an MS.

Faculty: College of Engineering and Applied Science | Department: Environmental Engineering | Duration: About five years on average without prior graduate coursework; three to four years with transferred graduate credit | Location: Boulder, CO, United States

What you will study

Minimum 30 graduate credits at the 5000 level or higher (including environmental engineering core courses of 6 credits and a 3-credit quantitative analysis class) plus 30 dissertation credits. Milestones are a preliminary exam, a comprehensive exam with written thesis proposal, and the dissertation defense. Research focus areas: air quality energy and climate; aquatic and terrestrial environmental systems; drinking water, wastewater and water reuse; global engineering and resilience.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Environmental Engineering graduate programmes (department level): bachelor's degree from an accredited institution (an MS is not required); undergraduate GPA of at least 3.00, or 9 semester hours of relevant graduate coursework with at least a 3.25 GPA; GRE not required; three letters of recommendation; CV or resume; personal statement of up to two pages; unofficial transcripts. Applicants without an engineering degree need the listed calculus, physics, chemistry, statistics, environmental engineering and fluid mechanics coursework. International applicants submit TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo unless waived. PhD deadlines: December 1 (international) and December 15 (domestic).

Requirements published at program group level.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Graduate applications are submitted online to the Graduate School; the nonrefundable application fee is $60 for domestic applicants and $80 for international applicants. Deadlines are set per programme.

Apply through the official page: https://www.colorado.edu/graduateschool/admissions

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