Civil and Environmental Engineering

Civil Engineering

Civil engineers are responsible for the planning, design, construction, and operation of the physical structures and facilities essential to the infrastructure of modern society: buildings, highways, water and waste treatment plants, tunnels, airports, harbors, and bridges. The civil engineer is also involved in research and development in a wide variety of physical and natural systems. These include the rebuilding of the nation’s infrastructure and forecasting the impact of human activity on the environment with the use of mathematical models. Civil engineering is strongly allied with environmental engineering into a single program with four areas of specialization: environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, or water resources engineering.

Architectural Studies

From stage scenery and interior design to civil engineering and urban planning, architectural studies takes as its focus all forms of the built environment. Majors and minors take courses in multiple disciplines from architectural history and studio design to engineering, the humanities, and social sciences. This multidisciplinary curriculum takes full advantage of Tufts’ unique assets in the liberal arts, and in the university’s engineering school, its graduate urban and environmental planning and policy department, and its affiliation with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.

Environmental Engineering

The study of Environmental Engineering includes health, safety, and risk assessment; pollution prevention; and the design and operation of engineered works. Engineers learn how to apply mathematics, basic science, computing, engineering science, and creativity to address a range of environmental challenges involving air, soil, and water.

Environmental Health

Students studying Environmental Health can pursue professional careers in public health, the health sciences, and such activities as risk assessment and regulatory affairs. Historically, programs in environmental health were established to promote research on the control of infectious disease, the purification of water supplies, and the sanitary disposal of human waste. Today, focal points of concern have been broadened to such challenging issues as non-point source environmental pollution, the influence of the built environment on the health of populations, epidemiological aspects of chronic illnesses, occupational health, risk assessment and risk management.

Bioengineering - Environmental Biotechnology

The Environmental Biotechnology track of the Bioengineering MS program investigates the development, control, and characterization of biological processes for water and wastewater treatment and environmental restoration. Focus is on biological transformations in complex systems comprising microbial communities. Application and integration of current molecular tools for monitoring and assessing these systems is integrated within the framework of process design and implementation.