Overview
Environmental Systems Engineering (ESE) focuses on protecting the health of our water, land and urban systems. Over the past 30 years, the ESE group at the University of British Columbia has been a global leader in the field. In the 1970s and 80s, ESE at UBC was at the forefront of the development of biological phosphorus removal technologies. In the 1990s, ESE at UBC was instrumental in maintaining Canada’s lead in the development of green technologies both in the natural resource sector (e.g. forest industry) and in urban/agricultural water and waste management sectors. Since the start of the millennia, we have continued to be a world leader through the development and commercialization of technologies essential to address emerging environmental challenges, both locally and globally.
Key Areas
- Recovery of nutrients and energy from wastes (e.g. anaerobic digestion bioreactors, membrane enhanced biological nutrient recovery, phosphorous crystallization, low-energy nitrogen removal)
- Advanced treatment processes for removal of trace contaminants and pathogens
- Production of high-quality water (e.g. integrated biological systems, water recovery/cascading/reuse, stormwater treatment, membrane and disinfection technologies)
- Water and wastewater treatment in low-resource contexts
Media Highlights
- Researcher wins Mitacs Innovation Award for clean water breakthrough in Kenyan school
- UBC Civil in the Media – UBC researcher brings clean water home to Kenyan school
- UBC Civil in the Media – bulking and foaming bacteria
- New funding for CoLab PhD research on extreme weather
Specialization Requirements
| MEng | MASc | PhD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core courses (credits) | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Elective courses (min. credits) | 17 | 5 | 17* |
| Seminar course CIVL 597-103/203 |
1 | 1 | 1 |
| Thesis Course CIVL 599/699 |
12 | 0 |
Core course requirements
The following courses CIVL 562 and 597-103/203 as listed below, plus three (3) of CIVL 541, 560, 565, 566, 567, 569, 598J, 598Q, or CHBE 585
Elective requirements
Electives may be taken from the list of Approved Electives below, or other electives may be taken with the approval of the Specialty Advisor / Supervisor. Note that no more than 2 electives that are outside the general subject area of Environmental Systems Engineering can be considered for degree requirements.
Undergraduate students who are interested in Environmental Systems Engineering are directed to the following courses:
- CIVL 406
- CHBE 364
- CHBE 485
Graduate Courses
| Core Courses – Graduate | Name | Credits | Term |
| CIVL 562 | Environmental Data Collection and Analysis | 3 | 1 |
| CIVL 597-103/203 | Graduate Seminar (Environmental) | 1 | 1 & 2 |
| Plus three of CIVL 541, 560, 565, 1566, 1567, 1569, 598J, 1598Q, or CHBE 585 (see below) | Various | 3 | 1&2 |
| Total core-course credits: | 13 | ||
| Approved Graduate Elective Courses | Name | Credits | Term |
| CIVL 519 | Risk and Decision Analysis for Infrastructure Management | 3 | 1 |
| CIVL 523 | Project Management for Engineers | 3 | 2 |
| CIVL 524 | Legal Aspects of Project and Construction Mgmt | 3 | 1 |
| 2,3CIVL 541 | Environmental Fluid Mechanics | 3 | 2 |
| 2CIVL 560 | Low-Pressure Membrane Systems | 3 | 1 |
| CIVL 561 | Risk and Remediation in Geo-environment | 3 | 2 |
| CIVL 562 | Environmental Data Collection and Analysis | 3 | 1 |
| 1CIVL 564 | Engineering Management of Solid Waste | 3 | N/A |
| 2CIVL 565 | Physical and Chemical Treatment Processes | 3 | 2 |
| 1,2CIVL 566 | Fate of Contaminants in Aquatic Systems | 3 | N/A |
| 1,2CIVL 567 | Water and Sanitation in Low Resource Contexts | 3 | N/A |
| 1,2CIVL 569 | Environmental Biotechnology | 3 | N/A |
| 2CIVL 598J | Membrane Separations for Water Purification and Resource Recovery | 3 | 2 |
| 1,2CIVL 598Q | Environmental Microbiology for Engineers | 3 | N/A |
| CHBE 551 | Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics | 3 | 2 |
| CHBE 577 | Electrochemical Science, Engineering, and Technology | 3 | 2 |
| CHBE 583 | Energy Engineering | 3 | 1 |
| 2CHBE 585 | Air Pollution Prevention and Air Quality Engineering | 3 | 1 |
| CHEM 517 | Electrochemistry | 3 | 2 |
| 1IWME 504 | Water and Wastewater Management Strategies | 3 | N/A |
| 1MICB 505 | Molecular Microbiology | 3 | N/A |
| Approved Undergraduate Electives | Name | Credits | Term |
| CIVL 416 | Environmental Hydraulics | 3 | 1 |
| CHEM 406 | Polymer Chemistry | 3 | 1 |
| MICB 401 | Environmental Microbiology Laboratory | 3 | 1 |
| MICB 405 | Bioinformatics | 3 | 1 |
| MICB 425 | Microbial Ecological Genomics | 3 | 2 |
1N/A – Not Offered in 2024/25.
2Three of these courses must be taken as part of the core course requirement.
3It is expected that students have a strong fluid mechanics background. It is recommended that students have taken CIVL 416 or equivalent.
Questions?
To learn more about Environmental Systems Engineering at UBC, please contact Dr. Loretta Li.
