Program in Water Quality Engineering

Water is essential to society and the ecological systems on which it depends. As water moves through the hydrologic cycle it can become contaminated with substances that pose risks to living things. Water quality engineering addresses the sources, transport and treatment of chemical and microbiological contaminants that affect water. Research and coursework in water quality engineering at Berkeley focus on assessment of the sources, fate and transport of contaminants and the development of natural and engineered treatment systems for chemical contaminants and human pathogens. Because water quality is intimately linked to water quantity and movement, students in the water quality area frequently pursue research and coursework related to environmental fluid mechanics and hydrology.

The best way to obtain an overview of water quality engineering at UC Berkeley is to visit the homepages of our faculty members. On the faculty homepages you can read overviews of current research projects and find links to recent publications. To learn more about current and future research opportunities, contact the faculty member by e-mail.

Water Quality Engineering Faculty Members:

Lisa Alvarez-Cohen
Ashok Gadgil
Slavomir Hermanowicz
James Hunt
Kara Nelson
David Sedlak
Garrison Sposito

Classes

The water quality engineering program includes graduate and undergraduate classes in a variety of areas of potential interest to master's and doctoral students. As part of the MS program, students specializing in water quality engineering are required to take at least two core classes in water quality engineering and one core in either air quality engineering or fluid mechanics and hydrology. The remaining courses may be taken from a number of different areas, provided that they meet the university requirements with respect to graduate degrees.

Core Courses

Environmental Engineering Electives

Other Selected Elective Courses (not all courses offered every year)