The Environmental Engineering PhD program requires a minimum of 72 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree. Thirty of the 72 credit hours can be met with either a nonthesis or thesis MS in Environmental Engineering. This leaves 42 credit hours of which 18 credit hours must be Dissertation Research, a maximum of 9 credit hours can be Doctoral Research, and a minimum of 15 credit hours must be formal coursework. Up to 6 credit hours of the Doctoral Research can be replaced by independent study, or up to 9 credit hours can be replaced by additional formal coursework.  

For students not having an MS degree who directly enter the PhD program (BS to PhD), there will be a minimum of 45 credit hours formal coursework (i.e., 30 credit hours identical to the coursework for a nonthesis MS in Environmental Engineering plus a minimum of 15 credit hours coursework past the MS).  However, unlike MS students, BS to PhD students will be required to only take 4 of the 5 required courses from the nonthesis MS in Environmental Engineering requirements.  In addition, these students can enroll for Doctoral Research credit hours during or after their first semester in the program.  The 27 credit hours required in addition to the 45 credit hours coursework will be 18 credit hours in Dissertation Research, and a maximum of 9 credit hours in Doctoral Research. Up to 6 credit hours of the Doctoral Research can be replaced by independent study, or up to 9 credit hours can be replaced by additional formal coursework subject to the approval of the PhD adviser and the advisory committee. 

For both MS to PhD and BS to PhD students, the program of study must be developed with an advisory committee and meet with departmental approval at the beginning of the PhD program, at which time transfer credit will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis.

All students completing the PhD program must take one course from 4 of the 5 technical areas listed below.

Water Process Engineering

• ENV 6015 Physical/Chemical Treatment Systems in Environmental Engineering (3 credit hours)

Wastewater Process Engineering

• ENV 6016 Biological Treatment Systems in Environmental Engineering (3 credit hours)

Waste Treatment/Water Treatment/Industrial Treatment

• ENV 6347 Hazardous Waste Incineration (3 credit hours)
• ENV 6558 Industrial Waste Treatment (3 credit hours)
• ENV 5410 Water Treatment (3 credit hours)
• EES 5318 Industrial Ecology (3 credit hours)

Air Quality Modeling/Air Pollution Control

• ENV 6106 Theory and Practice of Atmospheric Dispersion Modeling (3 credit hours)
• ENV 6126 Design of Air Pollution Controls (3 credit hours)

Civil Water Resources

• Any CWR course at the 5000 or 6000 level (3 credit hours)
• ENV 5636 Environmental and Water Resources Systems Analysis  (3 credit hours)
• ENV 6047 Environmental Informatics and Remote Sensing (3 credit hours)

In addition, all elective courses will be 5000 or 6000 level courses.

Suggested elective courses:

• EES 5318 Industrial Ecology 
• ENV 5335 Hazardous Waste Management
• ENV 5356 Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
• ENV 5410 Water Treatment
• ENV 5505 Sludge Management Operations in Environmental Engineering
• ENV 5517 Engineering Chemical and Biological Processes
• ENV 5636 Environmental and Water Resources Systems
• ENV 6015 Physical/Chemical Treatment Systems in Environmental Engineering
• ENV 6016 Biological Treatment Systems in Environmental Engineering
• ENV 6046 Membrane Mass Transfer
• ENV 6055 Fate and Transport of Subsurface Contaminants
• ENV 6030 Environmental Biotechnology
• ENV 6047 Environmental Informatics and Remote Sensing
• ENV 6106 Theory and Practice of Atmospheric Dispersion Modeling
• ENV 6126 Design of Air Pollution Controls
• ENV 6336 Site Remediation and Hazardous Waste Treatment
• ENV 6347 Hazardous Waste Incineration
• ENV 6504L Unit Operation and Processes Laboratory
• ENV 6515L Biological Unit Operations and Processes Laboratory
• ENV 6519 Aquatic Chemical Processes
• ENV 6558 Industrial Waste Treatment

In addition, elective courses can be chosen from any of the following disciplines:

Engineering: any 5000 or 6000 level course from any Engineering discipline. Typical electives come from Environmental Engineering (ENV courses), Water Resources Engineering (CWR courses), Civil Engineering, Construction Engineering, and Industrial Engineering.

Non-Engineering: Statistics, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, General or Inorganic Chemistry, Biology, Math, and Physics.

Required Courses—15 Credit Hours Minimum

• At least 15 credit hours of formal course work must be taken at UCF after the master's, exclusive of independent study. To be taken from approved formal course work.

Elective Courses—39 Credit Hours Minimum

• To be approved by a faculty adviser.
• At least 27 credit hours of formal course work is required, exclusive of research and independent study. For students entering the program with a master’s degree, at least 15 of the 27 credit hours must be taken at UCF after the master's program, exclusive of independent study and research, and taken from approved formal courses. For students entering the program without a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering or a closely related discipline, at least 45 credit hours of formal course work is required.
• Doctoral Research (XXX 7919) - 9 credit hours maximum (more than 9 research credit hours can be taken, but up to 9 credit hours only can be counted toward the program of study). 
• Independent Study (XXX 6908) - 6 credit hours maximum (more than 6 independent study credit hours can be taken, but up to 6 credit hours can be counted toward a program of study)
• Not more than a total of 12 credit hours of Doctoral Research plus Independent Study
• Directed Research (XXX 6918) is not permitted in PhD program of study

Dissertation—18 Credit Hours

• ENV 7980  (18 credit hours minimum)

Examinations

Students must pass three examinations. The first is the PhD qualifying examination. This examination must be taken within the first year of study beyond the master’s degree. In addition to the qualifying examination, students must pass the candidacy examination and the dissertation defense examination. The candidacy examination is normally taken near the end of the course work and consists of a written and oral presentation of a research proposal. A copy of the written examination will be kept as part of the student’s official record. The dissertation defense examination is an oral examination taken as defense of the written dissertation.

Admission to Candidacy

The following are required to be admitted to candidacy and enroll in dissertation hours. Evidence of meeting these requirements must be received by the College of Graduate Studies by the day before the first day of classes for the semester in which a student wishes to enroll in dissertation hours.

• Completion of all course work, except for dissertation hours.
• Successful completion of the candidacy examination.
• Successful defense of the written dissertation proposal.
• The dissertation advisory committee is formed, consisting of approved graduate faculty and graduate faculty scholars.
• Submittal of an approved program of study.

Equipment Fee

Full-time students in the Environmental Engineering PhD program pay $16 per semester for equipment used in the laboratories. Part-time students pay $8 per semester.