The M.S. in environmental engineering is intended for students with undergraduate engineering degrees. Additional coursework may be required for students without a BS in engineering or without adequate preparation.
Requirements with Thesis
30 credit hours. The candidate must complete a set of core courses in the fundamental environmental engineering areas. If the student has already taken one or more of these courses at the undergraduate level, he/she will be expected to take corresponding higher-level courses in these fundamental engineering areas. Also, the student must complete a cohesive program of elective coursework approved by the student’s advisor. All fulltime M.S. candidates are expected to participate in faculty/student seminar series each year. Furthermore, six credits of CEE 997-Master’s Thesis must be taken culminating in defense of the thesis administered by the student’s thesis committee.
Requirements without Thesis
30 credit hours. The candidate must complete a set of core courses in the fundamental environmental engineering areas. If the student has already taken one or more of these courses at the undergraduate level, he/she will be expected to take corresponding higher-level courses in these fundamental engineering areas. Also, the student must complete a cohesive program of elective coursework approved by the student’s advisor. All fulltime M.S. candidates are expected to participate in faculty/student seminar series each year. CEE 995-Master’s Exit Paper for 0 credits. The exit paper must address issues related to their specialty approved by the advisor and have a minimum length of 2000 words.
View program details in the University Course Catalog
Employment Outcomes
Based on exit surveys from 2017, 2018 and 2019 Syracuse University Civil and Environmental Engineering M.S. graduates.
- Companies that hire our graduates: American Iron Works, CHA Consulting, Deloitte, Dubai Contracting Company, Hebert Construction, HNTB, Jacobs, Kenney Geotechnical Services, Larson Design Group, Michael Baker International, National Guard Bureau, NK Bhandari Architecture & Engineering, O’Brien & Gere, POWER Engineers, Schnabel Engineering, Silman, The Intelligence Group, Urban Assembly Academy of Government and Law, Whitacre Engineering, Windward Environmental, Self-employed
- In Summer 2018, students interned at: Bechtel, CME Engineering, DeSimone Consulting Engineers, Jacobs Engineering, Lovvorn Construction, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse Regional Airport Authority, Upstate Freshwater Institute, Vidaris
- Job location: 84% in the US, 16% outside of US
- Job location within the US: 55% in Syracuse/Central New York, 25% in Metropolitan New York City, 5%Metropolitan Baltimore/Washington, DC, 15% Other
- Job titles: Assistant Engineer, Assistant Project Manager, Bridge Engineer, Civil Engineer, Designer – Facilities Engineering Department (structural group), Environmental Manager, Junior Site Engineer, Project Manager, Staff Geotechnical Engineer, Staff Scientist, Structural EIT, Transmission Line Engineer (Civil/Structural)
- Base salary range: less than $45,000 – $104,999
- Median base salary range: $55,000 – $64,999
Alumni Profile
Lucie Worthen G’19, Bristol, NHLucie came to Syracuse after working for several years as a permaculture teacher and grow-space designer in Colorado’s cannabis industry. She credits her decision to pursue a master’s in environmental engineering to the approachability of Syracuse’s professors, the opportunity for a well-rounded education, and her EMPOWER fellowship. While in the program, Lucie first joined Professor Cliff Davidson‘s research group to focus on green infrastructure. She later joined Assistant Professor Christa Kelleher’s research group where she discovered her passion—hydraulic modeling. “Dr. Kelleher is brilliant, kind, and organized. She made me a better researcher,” says Lucie.
Upon graduation, Lucie was hired as an environmental engineering consultant at Arcadis in New York City. Upon Kelleher’s advice, and with the support she received from Davidson, Lucie also applied and was admitted to her top-choice Ph.D. program at Columbia University. She will study green infrastructure on the watershed scale and use the data in conjunction with climate change models at Columbia University.
In her free time, Lucie loves to cook, do photography, and travel.
Gaired Jordan, G’19, Winston-Salem, NC
Gaired came to Syracuse University to pursue his master’s degree in environmental engineering after graduating from Cornell and working as an environmental engineer in North Carolina for two years. “While I enjoyed my industry experience, after a while the job felt repetitive,” he says. He came back to school to advance his technical skills and, ultimately, his career opportunities. “Faculty in the program were extremely supportive,” says Gaired. Another beneficial aspect of his education, he recalls, was the availability of a wide-range environmentally-focused courses. As an Empower Fellow, he also took “one of the most challenging and rewarding courses—Science Communication. “It taught us how to write articles about climate change that are accessible to the general public. For my class projects, I created a full animation story on climate change and conducted professional interviews with geothermal energy researchers.”
Gaired completed his degree requirements in two semesters. “This is absolutely doable and I would encourage other master’s students to finish in a year.” Upon graduation, Gaired is planning to move to the Chicago area where he will be working in environmental consulting. In his free time, he has started learning Spanish, plays gospel jazz on his guitar, and works out to stay fit.
Ryan Homeyer G’19, Camillus, NY
As early as his junior year at LeMoyne College, Ryan knew he wanted to pursue a graduate degree in engineering. While completing his physics degree, he took core engineering classes at Syracuse University and, for his capstone project, he successfully built a fluid model of an astrophysical black hole.
Enrolling in Syracuse’s master’s in environmental engineering allowed Ryan to bring together his love for math, the natural sciences, and the outdoors. He fondly recalls research projects in which he cycled around the city of Syracuse and hiked in Vermont to deposit soil moisture sensors. One of his favorite classes was Environmental Organic Chemistry in which he learned how to quantitatively predict the partitioning of organic compounds in different environmental media.
Ryan’s career goal is to work in a humanitarian organization. For his thesis, he designed a prototype for recycling human waste sustainably. Improper sanitation is a significant problem in the developing world, and his work contributes to a growing body of research on the safe application of human manure in sustainable agriculture.
In his free time, Ryan is a dedicated distance runner, a cyclist, and an avid fly fisherman.