Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering

Become a Leader in Protecting Natural Resources

This highly-ranked master’s program creates leaders who meet the challenge of sustainable environmental quality with technical expertise, innovative thinking and authentic leadership.

Get the best of our renowned engineering and environmental research community with access to faculty expertise in Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering and Nicholas School of the Environment.

Duke will help get you there. Rare for a professional master’s program, we offer scholarships—up to $30,000 for competitive applicants.

Choose Your Specialization

Or design your own.

Courses

Environmental Data Science

Environmental Engineering & Public Policy

Environmental Health Engineering

Hydrology & Environmental Fluid Dynamics

Scholarships

Typically $20,000 to $30,000 for competitive applicants.

Contact admissions

Courses

Core Curriculum

  • Core Industry Preparation Courses—6 credits
  • Departmental Requirements—15 credits
  • Internship, Applied Research Experience or Project—0 credits
    • MENG 540: Management of High Tech Industries
    • MENG 570: Business Fundamentals for Engineers

  • Choose one course from five categories:

    Chemistry

    • CEE 561: Environmental Aquatic Chemistry – Fall
    • CEE 563: Chemical Fate of Organic Compounds – Fall
    • CEE 565: Environmental Analytical Chemistry – alt. Fall
    • CEE 666: Aquatic Geochemistry – Spring
    • CEE 667: Chemical Transformations of Environmental Contaminants – Alt. Spring

    Biosciences

    • CEE 566: Environmental Microbiology – Fall
    • CEE 661L: Environmental Molecular Biotechnology – Spring
    • CEE 562: Biological Processes in Environmental Engineering – Spring
    • CEE 690: Modeling of Environ., Chem., and Biol. Processes – Fall

    Applied Mathematics, Statistics & Data Science

    • CEE 501: Applied Mathematics for Engineers – occasional
    • CEE 502: Engineering Data Analysis – occasional
    • CEE 675: Introduction to the Physical Principles of Remote Sensing of the Environment – odd-year Fall
    • CEE 690: Data Science and Machine Learning in Applied Science and Engineering – Fall 
    • CEE 690/628: Uncertainty Quantification – Spring
    • CEE 690/590: Environmental Spatial Data Analysis – Fall 
    • CEE 690: Uncertainty and Risk in Engineering
    • ENVIRON 764: Applied Differential Equations in Environmental Science
    • STA 601(L): Bayesian and Modern Statistics
    • STA 611: Introduction to Statistical Methods – Fall

    Transport Processes & Modeling

    • CEE 531: Finite Elements for Fluids
    • CEE 560: Environmental Transport Phenomena – Fall
    • CEE 581: Numerical Methods in Env Transport – Spring
    • CEE 683: Groundwater Hydrology and Contaminant Transport – alt. Fall (even yrs)
    • CEE 690: Modeling of Environ., Chem., and Biol. Processes – Fall
    • CEE 690: Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Sediment Transport – Spring

    Atmospheric & Hydrologic Processes

    • ENVIRON 734L: Watershed Hydrology
    • CEE 575/690: Air Pollution Engineering – Spring
    • CEE 5XX/690: Hydrology – Spring
    • CEE 683: Groundwater and Vadose Zone Hydrology – even-year Fall
    • CEE 684: Physical Hydrology and Hydrometeorology – alt. Fall
    • CEE 690: Turbulence I – Fall
    • CEE 581: Numerical Methods in Env Transport – Spring
    • ENVIRON 603 & 604: Air Quality: Management & Human Health Effects – Fall

    Engineered Systems

    • CEE 564: Physical Chemical Processes in Environmental Engineering – Spring
    • CEE 562: Biological Processes in Environmental Engineering – Spring
    • CEE 575/690: Air Pollution Engineering – Spring
    • MENG 550: Internship or Applied Research Project
    • MENG 551: Internship/Project Assessment

Specialization Courses

Choose at least three courses from one of four specializations, or design your own—9 credits

    • CEE 675: Intro to Physical Principles of Remote Sensing of Environ.– odd Fall
    • CEE 690. Risk and Resilience in Engineering – odd Fall & odd Spring
    • CEE 690: Data Science and Machine Learning in Applied Science and Engineering – Fall
    • CEE 690: Environmental Cheminformatics – alt. Fall
    • CEE 690: Introduction to Deep Learning – Fall
    • CEE 690: Environmental Spatial Data Analysis – Fall
    • CEE 690: Model-Based Data Science – odd Fall
    • CEE 761: Hydrologic Data Analysis
    • MATH 561: Scientific Computing – Fall 
    • STA 601(L): Bayesian and Modern Statistics
    • STA 611: Introduction to Statistical Methods – Fall
    • ENVIRON 559: Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems and Geospatial Analysis – Fall
    • ENVIRON 502: Climate Change and the Law
    • ENVIRON 520: Resource and Environmental Economics
    • ENVIRON 531: Economic Valuation of the Environment
    • ENVIRON 552: Climate and Society – Fall
    • ENVIRON 563: Cost-Benefit Analysis for Health and Environmental Policy – Fall
    • ENVIRON 577: Environmental Politics
    • ENVIRON 603: Air Quality Management (1.5 credits) – Fall
    • ENVIRON 604: Air Quality: Human Health Effects (1.5 credits) – Fall
    • ENVIRON 638: Environmental Life Cycle Analysis and Decision
    • ENVIRON 640: Climate Change Economics and Policy
    • ENVIRON 711: Energy and Environment
    • ENVIRON 740: Water Resources Planning and Management
    • ENVIRON 741: Water Resources Finance
    • PUBPOL 577: Environmental Policy
    • PUBPOL 811: Microeconomics: Policy Applications
    • PUBPOL 813: Quantitative Evaluation Methods
    • ENERGY 727: Energy Law
    • CEE 560: Environmental Transport Phenomena – Fall
    • CEE 561: Environmental Aquatic Chemistry – Fall
    • CEE 562: Biological Processes in Environmental Engineering
    • CEE 563: Chemical Fate of Organic Compounds – Fall
    • CEE 564: Physical Chemical processes in Environmental Engineering
    • CEE 565: Environmental Analytical Chemistry – alt. Spring
    • CEE 566: Environmental Microbiology – Fall
    • CEE 575/690: Air Pollution Engineering
    • CEE 661L: Environmental Molecular Biotechnology – Spring
    • CEE 666: Aquatic Geochemistry – Spring
    • CEE 667: Chemical Transformations of Environmental Contaminants – alt. Spring
    • CEE 679: Environmental Engineering Project Management
    • CEE 5XX/690: Hydrology – Spring
    • CEE 690: Modeling of Environ., Chem., and Biol. Processes – Fall
    • CEE 690. Risk and Resilience in Engineering – odd Fall & odd Spring
    • CEE 690: Data Science and Machine Learning in Applied Science and Engineering – Fall
    • CEE 690: Environmental Cheminformatics – alt. Fall
    • CEE 690: Environmental Spatial Data Analysis – Fall
    • ENVIRON 603: Air Quality: Management (1.5 credits) – Fall
    • ENVIRON 604: Air Quality: Human Health Effects (1.5 credits) – Fall
    • CEE 531: Finite Elements for Fluids
    • CEE 560: Environmental Transport Phenomena – Fall
    • CEE 581: Numerical Methods in Env Transport –Spring
    • CEE 675: Introduction to the Physical Principles of Remote Sensing of the Environment – odd Fall
    • CEE 683: Groundwater Hydrology and Contaminant Transport – Fall
    • CEE 684: Physical Hydrology and Hydrometeorology – alt. Fall
    • CEE 688: Turbulence I – Fall
    • CEE 642: Environmental Geomechanics
    • ME 536: Compressible Fluid Flow
    • ME 631: Intermediate Fluid Mechanics
    • ME 632/CEE690: Advanced Fluid Mechanics
    • ME 639: Computational Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer
    • CEE 690: Advanced Turbulence Theories
    • CEE690: Hydrology
    • CEE 690: Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Sediment Transport – Spring
    • CEE 690: Data Science and Machine Learning in Applied Science and Engineering – Fall
    • CEE 690/628: Uncertainty Quantification
    • CEE 690: Environmental Spatial Data Analysis – Fall
    • ENVIRON 734L: Watershed Hydrology

  • Select one:

    • Take any non-redundant three courses (9 credits) from the any of these course lists, including departmental requirements
    • Choose 9 credits of elective courses approved by the Director of Master’s Studies

Additional Information

Take the Next Step

Want more information? Ready to join our community?

Join Our Mailing List How to Apply

Master’s Contacts

Fred K. Boadu Profile Photo
Fred K. Boadu Profile Photo

Fred K. Boadu

CEE Director of Master’s Studies, Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering