Engineers serve society across a wide range of economic sectors, and an increased number of engineering graduates are needed by the province to assure its economic growth and maintain its high quality of life. Therefore, future development decisions in most major sectors of the British Columbia economy must fully integrate environmental and economic factors. Problems in water, air and soil pollution control and remediation, solid waste management, mine waste disposal, and geo-environmental engineering require highly skilled engineers with a solid background in environmental engineering, strong communication skills and the ability to work across disciplines. The program prepares graduates for a wide range of employment opportunities where the technical expertise and problem-solving skills of engineers are needed in conjunction with a strong awareness and understanding of environmental issues and problems. This is the case most particularly for resource industries (e.g. forestry, fisheries, mining, oil and gas, pulp and paper, and the agri-food industry); various government departments and research organizations; and in environmental engineering consulting companies. It is also anticipated that graduates will work in the new environmental economy—areas related to environmental reclamation, remediation and restoration. The Environmental Engineering Bachelor of Applied Science program is a 4.5 year (nine semester) joint degree between the University of British Columbia and the University of Northern British Columbia. The program is based on a unique collaboration between UNBC and UBC that capitalizes on the strength of UNBC in Environmental Science and the strength of UBC in Engineering. It incorporates complementary elements and expertise from each institution while maintaining the exposure of students to the distinctive character of both institutions. The program starts with a two-year foundation in mathematics, basic and environmental sciences from UNBC. In the third and fourth years, the program provides a thorough education and training in engineering fundamentals, engineering analysis and engineering design, largely through courses in Civil Engineering and Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia. The final term at UNBC exposes students to practical environmental engineering problems. The Environmental Engineering program is accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board of Engineers Canada.

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