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2024 Best Environmental Engineering Schools

111 Colleges in the United States
2,859 Environmental Engineering Degrees Awarded
$57,267 Avg Early-Career Salary
Environmental Engineering is about average in terms of popularity for degree programs. That is, it ranks #173 out of the 395 majors across the country that we analyze each year. As such, the degree program isn't offered at every college in the United States, but there are schools that do have a program in the field that are top-notch when it comes to quality.

College Factual looked at 111 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Environmental Engineering Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,859 degrees in environmental engineering during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Environmental Engineering School

Best Environmental Engineering Schools Your choice of environmental engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for environmental engineering schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Environmental Engineering Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Environmental Engineering
Bachelor's Degrees in Environmental Engineering
Master's Degrees in Environmental Engineering
Doctor's Degrees in Environmental Engineering

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Environmental Engineering Schools list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Environmental Engineering in the United States

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the environmental engineering degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

16 Top Schools in Environmental Engineering

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MA

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a good option for students pursuing a degree in environmental engineering. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #1 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means MIT is a great school overall.

There were approximately 14 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at MIT in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
69 Environmental Engineering Degrees Awarded
$74,419 Median Starting Salary

Johns Hopkins University is a good choice for students interested in a degree in environmental engineering. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Baltimore. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.

There were about 69 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the environmental engineering degree program at Johns Hopkins University earn $17,152 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In NY
61 Environmental Engineering Degrees Awarded

It is hard to beat Columbia University in the City of New York if you want to pursue a degree in environmental engineering. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were roughly 61 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from Columbia University in the City of New York

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
79 Environmental Engineering Degrees Awarded
3.8% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus if you want to pursue a degree in environmental engineering. Located in the large city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public school with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #24 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Georgia Tech is a great school overall.

There were approximately 79 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at Georgia Tech in the most recent data year. Environmental Engineering degree recipients from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus earn a boost of approximately $2,957 above the average income of environmental engineering graduates.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA
40 Environmental Engineering Degrees Awarded

USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 40 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from University of Southern California

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
82 Environmental Engineering Degrees Awarded
19.5% Growth in Graduates

Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette. This university ranks 2nd out of 42 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.

There were roughly 82 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent year we have data available. Those environmental engineering students who get their degree from Purdue University - Main Campus earn $5,586 more than the standard environmental engineering grad.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from Purdue University - Main Campus

7
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In TX
92.3% Growth in Graduates

Rice is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Houston. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Rice is a great university overall.

There were approximately 13 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at Rice in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from Rice University

8
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
79 Environmental Engineering Degrees Awarded
$63,027 Median Starting Salary

Located in the midsize city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 77 colleges for overall quality in the state of Florida.

There were roughly 79 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the environmental engineering major at University of Florida get $5,760 above the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from University of Florida

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In TX
64 Environmental Engineering Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were about 64 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from The University of Texas at Austin

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
42 Environmental Engineering Degrees Awarded
2.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Storrs, UCONN is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 28 schools for overall quality in the state of Connecticut.

There were about 42 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCONN in the most recent data year. After graduating, environmental engineering degree recipients usually earn around $58,517 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from University of Connecticut

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
43 Environmental Engineering Degrees Awarded
4.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Golden, Mines is a public school with a medium-sized student population. This school ranks 1st out of 33 colleges for overall quality in the state of Colorado.

There were about 43 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at Mines in the most recent data year. After graduation, environmental engineering degree recipients typically earn around $55,990 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from Colorado School of Mines

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
45 Environmental Engineering Degrees Awarded
$56,501 Median Starting Salary

U-M is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor. This university ranks 1st out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 45 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, environmental engineering degree recipients typically earn around $56,501 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

13
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$61,768 Median Starting Salary
$13,176 Median Student Debt

Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Ithaca. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.

There were approximately 27 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the environmental engineering major at Cornell University get $4,501 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from Cornell University

14
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
56 Environmental Engineering Degrees Awarded
33.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the remote town of Houghton, Michigan Tech is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 56 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at Michigan Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the environmental engineering program make about $57,523 for their early career.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from Michigan Technological University

15
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$52,400 Median Starting Salary

UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Irvine. This university ranks 15th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 27 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the environmental engineering program state that they receive average early career earnings of $52,400.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from University of California - Irvine

16
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IL
33 Environmental Engineering Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 33 environmental engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in environmental engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Environmental Engineering Schools award.

RankCollegeLocation
17Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, TN
18University of California - DavisDavis, CA
19University of Notre DameNotre Dame, IN
20Carnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburgh, PA
21Northwestern UniversityEvanston, IL
22Stanford UniversityStanford, CA
23University of Cincinnati - Main CampusCincinnati, OH
24University of Colorado BoulderBoulder, CO
25Lehigh UniversityBethlehem, PA

Environmental Engineering by Region

View the Best Environmental Engineering Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Environmental Engineering is one of 41 different types of Engineering programs to choose from.

Environmental Engineering Concentrations

MajorAnnual Graduates
General Environmental Engineering2,859

View All Environmental Engineering Concentrations >

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering44,794
Electrical Engineering26,528
Civil Engineering20,655
Computer Engineering16,954
Biomedical Engineering13,222
Chemical Engineering12,248
General Engineering11,534
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering8,671
Industrial Engineering8,087
Systems Engineering3,802

View All Environmental Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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