Bachelor of Environmental Systems Engineering at Pennsylvania State University
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    Bachelor of Environmental Systems Engineering at Pennsylvania State University

    Pennsylvania State University
    Pennsylvania State University
    United States of America
    United States of America, University Park
    University Rank:#82
    Bachelor of Environmental Systems Engineering at Pennsylvania State University

    The Environmental Systems Engineering at Pennsylvania State University is a Bachelor program designed for students who want to build the knowledge and skills required for careers in this field. Delivered on campus across its Main Site, Any Penn State Campus, and University Park campuses in United States of America, the program is taught in English and takes 4 years to complete. Students study in a Full Time environment while preparing for future professional opportunities. The next intake starts on June 1, 2027.

    About Bachelor of Environmental Systems Engineering

    Protecting the health of workers and the environment, often during challenging projects, is the job of an environmental systems engineer. They understand, demonstrate, and apply systems engineering principles to environmental issues related to industrial activities and to the extraction of energy and mineral resources. These engineers work closely with project leaders, utilizing process systems engineering and environmental systems approaches, to evaluate and address the environmental impact of projects. Often these engineers work in the government sector and offer expertise in big-picture projects facing cities, regions, nations, and the globe.

    You Might Like This Program If...

    • You want to minimize the environmental impact of industrial activities and protect the health of workers.
    • You have strong math, science, and engineering skills and want to apply that to improving worker and environmental safety.

    It is an interdisciplinary program with two options. One option is Environmental Systems Engineering and it is concerned with the impact of industrial activities on the environment and the choice of cost-effective remediation strategies. The other option is Environmental Health and Safety Engineering and it is concerned with safe and healthful design of industrial systems such that workers are protected from potentially high-risk exposures associated with today's industries. The program is unique as it is designed to address critical environmental, safety and health problems of the basic industries such as those involved in the extraction, conversion, and utilization of energy and mineral resources. The courses are sequenced so that students acquire an appropriate blend of theory, applications, and design and are equipped with the fundamentals necessary to maintain lifelong professional growth. Graduates are prepared to enter both the private and public sectors as environmental systems engineers or health and safety engineers or to pursue further education at the graduate level.

    During the first two years, the program shares many common features with other more traditional engineering disciplines. Students then take a series of special courses that introduce engineering concepts in the extractive and process industries. Process engineering and a variety of solid-solid, solid-fluid, and fluid-fluid separations play a major and often dominant role in the prevention and/or remediation of environmental damage or the prevention of health and safety hazards resulting from industrial activity. Students then specialize in the particular problems associated with air, land, or water; environmental health and safety engineering; or select a hybrid program. Specialization is accomplished through a combination of additional designated courses and selection from an extensive list of relevant elective courses. The curriculum is structured so as to integrate design concepts into the various subject areas covered in the program.

    The human, societal, economic, ethical, and regulatory aspects of the industrial impact on the environment and on the workers themselves are addressed through a combination of specific courses and components of other more general courses. This aspect of the program is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding, both of the impact of environmental degradation on society and of the effects on industrial activity of society's demands for protection of workers and the environment. The program culminates with the capstone design course, which is an integrated, problem-based, multi-faceted project in which students, working in a team setting, utilize fundamental concepts to design an environmental remediation system or an environmental health and safety protection system (or incorporate these design requirements into other associated designs).

    • Careers as practicing environmental systems engineers engaged in the identification and mitigation of a broad range of environmental, health, and safety risks associated with the resource recovery, process, and general industries, through the effective design and implementation of economic engineering systems.
    • Advancement to management and leadership positions devoted to addressing critical environmental-related challenges of the basic industries, especially those involved with the extraction, recovery, conversion, and utilization of energy and mineral resources.
    • Advanced degrees, training, and professional licensure or certification in environmental systems engineering or related technical disciplines.

    Student Outcomes

    Student outcomes describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation. The Environmental Systems Engineering program is designed to enable students to:

    1. Identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
    2. Apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
    3. Communicate effectively with a range of audiences
    4. Recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
    5. Function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
    6. Develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
    7. Acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

    Disciplines

    Earth and Mineral Sciences

    Requirements and Admission Criteria for Bachelor of Environmental Systems Engineering at Pennsylvania State University

    Entry Requirements

    Penn State requires the submission of specific academic credentials to complete your application. Review the secondary and post-secondary requirements for your country below.

    If you are a first year student applying to Penn State:

    Click Apply to start your Penn State application. Before starting, you can also review the Applying Online Worksheet for more details and helpful hints about the application.

    Your application work can be saved at each step of the process by clicking the Save and Continue button at the bottom of the page. This feature will allow you to move back and forth within the application or log off and return to complete your application at a later time.

    After completing your Academic History, you will need to provide your Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR). As you begin the SRAR process, a new window will open allowing you to complete your SRAR. SRAR will focus on your high school coursework. It is important that this step is a complete and accurate representation of your school record. Therefore, have a copy of your secondary school records available as you complete your SRAR. You will need to enter every class and every grade earned for the last three years, as well as those classes in progress.

    After completing your SRAR, you will be directed back to the Penn State application in order to complete the Program of Study portion of the application. Here, you will indicate your desired starting semester, your intended program of study, and your starting and ending campus. For further details on how to complete this portion based on your applicant type, please see the steps to apply for first-year students.

    After completing this section of the application, you will provide some additional information, an activities resume, and a personal statement. You will be able to paste in this information from other sources, but note that the formatting may not always paste in as intended.

    If you are a transfer student applying to Penn State:

    All international transfer students will be required to submit official high school transcripts in order to complete the application. International transfer students will not complete the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR) for either their high school or college coursework.

    If you have accepted your offer of admission to Penn State:

    If you completed SRAR and are accepted to Penn State, please provide the following for grade verification:

    • Official transcript from years 9, 10, 11, and 12. If the transcript is issued in a language other than English, it must be accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.
    • Official copy of the Tawjihi, accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.

    English Requirements

    • IELTSMin 6.5
    • TOEFLMin 80

    Career Opportunities after Completing Bachelor of Environmental Systems Engineering

    Graduates are prepared to enter both the private and public sector as environmental systems engineers, or health and safety engineers or to pursue further education at the graduate level.

    Our graduates may be candidates for careers in a wide range of industries in both the private and public sector. They may be employed to address the environmental or health and safety problems related to extraction, conversion, and utilization of energy and mineral resources while being stewards of the environment.

    MORE INFORMATION ABOUT POTENTIAL CAREER OPTIONS FOR GRADUATES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS ENGINEERING PROGRAM

    Opportunities for Graduate Studies

    Graduates may be well suited to pursue graduate-level studies. Further study toward an M.S. or Ph.D. can lead to research, university, or management positions.

    MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRADUATE STUDIES

    Professional Resources

    • Society of Environmental Systems Engineers (SESE)
    • Engineers Without Borders

    Tuition and Fee Information for Bachelor of Environmental Systems Engineering at Pennsylvania State University

    Application Fee 75

    How to Apply for Bachelor of Environmental Systems Engineering at Pennsylvania State University

    Step 1: Choose Your Application Method

    Apply through MyPennState

    The first step of the application process is to create a Penn State account, if you do not have one already. MyPennState is where future students can access the online application.

    If you are new to MyPennState, you will need to establish a Penn State User ID and password, which you will access during the MyPennState profile creation process. Once you have your log in information, you can sign in to begin work on your application.

    When creating the profile, please use the name that is on your passport. Because materials are filed alphabetically under the family name on the application, it is important that all correspondence and records consistently use the same name (family and given) and spelling. If this name does not match your academic records, please notify us of the difference. Please note: In the U.S., the family name is usually referred to as the last name, and the given name is referred to as the first name.

    Additionally, Penn State requires a current, valid email address, as that is our primary means of communication with international students. To ensure deliverability, please make Penn State (psu.edu) an eligible sender to the account.

    Applying through the Common App

    Applying to Penn State via the Common App is available to first-year (freshman) international students. If applying through the Common App, Penn State will create a MyPennState profile when the application is submitted and you will receive instructions on how to access your profile. If you intend to apply with the Common App, you do not need create a MyPennState profile prior to submitting your application.

    Step 2: Access the Application and Review Important Dates

    While you can create a MyPennState profile at any time, the application for admission becomes available on the following dates:

    Fall/Summer Admission: August 1

    Spring Admission: June 1

    The application submission dates vary by applicant type and intended program of study. Some programs have specific deadlines or admissions requirements. Please refer to our Dates & Deadlines for more information about application deadlines, as well as our Admissions Requirements to review information about any additional materials required for your intended program of study.

    Step 3: Start Your Penn State Application

    If applying through MyPennState:

    Click Apply Online to start your Penn State application. 

    Your application work can be saved at each step of the process by clicking the "Save and Continue" button at the bottom of the page. This feature will allow you to move back and forth within the application or log off and return to complete your application at a later time.

    After completing your Academic History, you will need to provide your Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR), unless otherwise directed. You will be directed to enter information about your secondary school coursework. Please have a copy of your secondary school records as you complete SRAR. It is important that this step is a complete and accurate representation of your school record. You will need to enter every grade for every course you have taken in the last three years, as well as your current schedule of classes.

    Students educated in South Korea will not complete SRAR. The document requirements for South Korea can be found by reviewing our International Credential Requirements.

    After this section, you will be directed back to the Penn State application to complete the Program of Study portion. Here, you will indicate your desired starting semester, your intended program of study, and your starting and ending campus. For further details on how to complete this portion based on your applicant type, please see the steps to apply for either first-year students or transfer students.

    After this portion, you will provide some additional application information, an activities resume, and a personal statement. You will be able to paste in this information from other sources, but note that the formatting may not always paste in as intended.

    If applying through the Common App:

    Complete the Common App, which will then direct you to MyPennState to complete SRAR. Applicants using the Common App may feel that they provided their high school record via the Common App, but Penn State requires the completion of SRAR via MyPennState. We strongly encourage you to obtain an official copy of your high school transcript to ensure accurate entry of your coursework completed and grades earned. The SRAR will include all of your high school coursework from your last three years of work and your current year schedule. If your final year grades are available when you enter SRAR, you can enter them at that time.

    Step 4: Submit Your Application

    The application requires a nonrefundable application fee of $75 for international students. Be sure to complete the last step after Summary and Review, which finalizes payment of your fee, and be certain it is successfully submitted. Once the application is submitted, you can verify its completion by accessing your MyPennState profile.

    Step 5: Submit Required Application Materials

    In order to complete your Penn State application, we need the following materials:

    • Application
    • Secondary school record
    • Post-secondary school records (if applicable)
    • First-year applicants only: Official test scores: SAT (code #2660) or ACT (code #3656)

      Writing Component and Subject Tests

      Please note: The writing component of standardized tests (SAT or ACT) is not required. The writing component will not be used as part of our evaluation. If your test scores include the writing component, by all means, have those scores sent to Penn State. Additionally, we do not require SAT Subject Tests.

    • English language proficiency, if your native language is not English

    Please see the admissions requirements for international students to review the details about the required application materials. Some programs require additional items to complete your application. Please review our Admissions Requirements for those details.

    Penn State does not require letters of recommendation, nor are they used in a student’s evaluation (unless required for a specific program).

    Step 6: Check Your Application Status in MyPennState

    You can always check the status of your application in MyPennState. We will communicate with you via MyPennState and through a series of emails regarding the missing items for your application. When everything has arrived, you will see a status in MyPennState confirming the completion of your application.

    Please note: It is your responsibility to check on the status of your application and send us any missing materials.

    Step 7: Receive Your Admission Decision

    Once we have reached a decision regarding your application, we will update your status in MyPennState and provide a printable PDF of your decision letter. Review our Dates & Deadlines to see when you should expect your decision.

    If accepted, you can accept your offer of admission in MyPennState to begin the process of becoming a Penn State student. Visit our Accepted Students section to review the next steps in this process. Once you accept your offer of admission to Penn State, those students completing SRAR will submit their official records for validation purposes as soon as possible.

    Bachelor of Environmental Systems Engineering at Pennsylvania State University
    Pennsylvania State University
    Pennsylvania State University
    United States of America

    United States of America, University Park

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