Environmental Engineering Degree Planning (BSE)

Requirements

The environmental engineering (EnvE) Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) degree requires the completion of 34 courses, comprising:

• 19 general requirements, and
• 15 departmental requirements

In the CEE Undergraduate Handbook you will find degree check sheets and typical course sequences that outline the degree requirements in a semester by semester format. Where the requirements below list electives you should consult the electives section below for details.

CEE Undergraduate Handbook

The CEE Undergraduate Handbook (2021-22 v1) is a comprehensive guide and source of relevant information. The handbook is updated yearly.

Download Handbook

ENVE Degree Check Sheets

The following degree check sheets are available in the handbook, however, links are provided to these specific pages for convenience:

• Class of 2025 (Matriculation Fall 2021)
• Class of 2024 (Matriculation Fall 2020)
• Class of 2023 (Matriculation Fall 2019)
• Class of 2022 (Matriculation Fall 2018)
• Class of 2021 (Matriculation Fall 2017)

Degree Enhancements

• Certificates
• Dual Majors
• Study Abroad
• Research & Independent Study
• Graduation with Distinction

Typical Course Sequence (Class of 2025)

The plan provided below (applicable to students matriculating in Fall 2021) outlines a typical, semester-by-semester path to graduation. Students who have already matriculated should consult the CEE Undergraduate Handbook as degree requirements can differ by matriculation date. Courses in the table are required unless noted otherwise. Shifting courses to a different semester should be done with caution and preplanning due, in part, to pre-requisites and co-requisites.

NOTE: Course numbers in bold (e.g., CEE 132L) are typically only offered once a year, during the semester shown.

First Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

Important Notes

• #1 AP credit for MATH 21 may be used to satisfy the MATH 111L requirement.
• #2 AP credit for MATH 22 may be used to satisfy the MATH 112L requirement. If AP credit for 21 but not 22 then take MATH 122L in first-year Fall.
• #3 CHEM 101DL. AP credit (i.e., CHEM 20 or 21) may be used to satisfy this requirement.
• #4 At least one (1) physics course must be taken post-matriculation to satisfy the Physics requirement in the Engineering curriculum.  Students receiving AP credits for PHYSICS 25 and 26 must: a) take a Duke PHYSICS course at or above PHYSICS 153L; b) decline the AP credit for PHYSICS 26 and take PHYSICS 152L; or c) decline both AP credits and take both PHYSICS 151L and 152L.
• #6 CEE 132L may be replaced CEE 205 (0.5 unit) AND an upper-level CEE course (1.0 unit); if not taken in the first or second year then it must be replaced. An upper-level CEE course is a CEE course at the 300-, 400-, 500- or 600-level.
• #8 WRITING 101 must be taken in the fall or spring of the first year.
• #9 Although MATH 353 may be taken concurrently it is recommended that MATH 353 be completed prior to taking Fluid Mechanics, CEE 301L.
• #10 Note that you must take either CEE 201L (spring only) or EGR 305 (fall only)

Electives

Five (5) Social Science and Humanities (SS/H) Electives

These courses, from the areas of Arts, Literature, and Performance (ALP), Civilizations (CZ), Foreign Language (FL), and Social Science (SS), must meet the following minimum requirements.

• One (1) Social Science (SS)
• Two (2) of the three areas: ALP, CZ, and FL
• For depth, two (2) courses must be from the same department with at least one of those two at the 200-level (100-level), or higher.
• Limit of two (2) AP credits

NOTE: EI Code requirement: Of the 34 units required for graduation, at least one of the units must possess the EI (Ethical Inquiry) code. Most likely this EI code will be possessed by one of these 5 SS/H courses.

One (1) Natural Science (NS) Elective

This must be a biology course; this requirement is satisfied by taking one of the following courses:

One (1) Earth Science Elective

This requirement is satisfied by taking one of the following courses:

Two (2) Upper-level Environmental Electives

This requirement is satisfied by taking two of the following courses:

Two (2) Unrestricted Electives

These electives are unrestricted, with the exception that at most 1.0 units of physical education activity and at most 1.0 units of music activity can be used to meet BSE requirements. House courses cannot be used.

Optional Electives

Students may exceed the minimum of 34 units required for the BSE degree. This may be accomplished via AP credits, overloading, and/or summer courses either at Duke or elsewhere.

Study Abroad

With a little planning, the Duke CEE curriculum affords any student the opportunity to study abroad in the Junior Fall semester.

Students are always able to pursue study abroad during the summer semester. Many popular institutions for study-abroad offer technical courses that are pre-approved for Duke CEE requirements. Alternatively, students can modify the typical course sequence in order to take humanities electives when they are abroad.

For study abroad in the Junior Fall without any engineering courses, which is not necessary depending on the institution selected, you may:

• Move fluid mechanics (CEE 301L) to Sophomore Spring. Note that CEE 301L has co-requisites of MATH 353 and EGR 244L, which are easily met if you have AP credit for MATH 21.
• CEE 301L will need to be offered on Tu-Th mornings in the Spring semesters
• Move systems optimization & economics (EGR 305)—if this option is being taken—to Senior Fall
• Move chemical processes (CEE 461L) to Senior Fall
• Move environmental transport (CEE 560) to Senior Fall

To explore Duke's many opportunities for global studies, visit globaled.duke.edu