Why Choose the UBC/UNBC BASc Program?
UNBC campus at night
With its rich history of natural resource development, British Columbia is well positioned to best educate environmental engineers in a host of industries ranging from mining to forestry to fisheries and including many others. The joint-degree program offered by the University of Northern British Columbia and the University of British Columbia is the only environmental engineering degree program offered in the province, and one of only a handful in Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
Please note that we currently do not offer graduate studies in this program.
Dual Campus Opportunity
Imagine spending your university days studying environmental engineering at the best small university in Western Canada (Maclean’s 2005 rankings)—a university focused on quality teaching, which affords ample opportunities for personal interactions between students and faculty. Or perhaps you can imagine yourself studying near the Pacific Ocean, in a large multicultural university located within a vibrant world-class city. Find it difficult to choose?—Unlike other degree programs, the joint UNBC/UBC environmental engineering program offers you the best of both worlds.
You will have access to two of British Columbia’s leading universities including all essentials—academic advising, scholarships, financial aid, libraries, recreational facilities and social activities. Upon graduation, you will join the alumni network of both universities—more than 160,000 people world-wide.
Prince George
Known as B.C.’s northern capital, Prince George is an urban centre surrounded by lakes, rivers, ski hills, and trails. The great outdoors is a quick ten minute drive in any direction . Prince Georgians also have an ‘urban diversity’ spirit. Take in some live theatre, rock your socks off in one of Canada’s loudest and proudest hockey arenas, enjoy a quiet stroll through an acclaimed museum or art gallery, or simply sit back and enjoy a glass of champagne and a starry night. Whatever your pleasure, it can be found out in the great wide open.
Vancouver
The Vancouver campus is on a stunning peninsula overlooking the Strait of Georgia to the west and the Coast Mountains to the north and east. Vancouver was recently ranked the most livable city in the world by The Economist magazine. It’s easy to see why: in addition to being a safe, clean city with excellent dining, shopping and cultural activities, Vancouver is close to nearly every activity you can imagine. Take a drive up to Whistler for an autumn afternoon of mountain biking, head to Cypress to catch fresh powder on Olympic snowboarding runs or rent a kayak and tour the Pacific Ocean inlets.
UBC Campus (credit: Hover Collective)
Program of Study
This unique, four and a half-year BASc degree program capitalizes on the strength of UNBC in Environmental Science and the strength of UBC in Engineering. The program incorporates complementary elements and expertise from each institution. It also provides students with a unique, dual-university educational experience.
How You will Progress
In your first two years at UNBC, you will develop a foundation in mathematics, biology, chemistry, and environmental science. In your third and fourth years, you will enjoy a change in your study environment by transiting to UBC. At UBC, you will gain a thorough, hands-on understanding of engineering fundamentals, analysis and design, primarily through courses in Civil Engineering and Chemical and Biological Engineering. You will complete you degree with a final term at UNBC where you will focus on practical environmental engineering design problems.
Here are some of the things you will learn as an Environmental Engineering student:
- Fundamental science underlying engineering and the environment
- Function, process and interactions of the major environmental systems: air, land, water, and living
- Fundamental concepts of heat, mass transport, fluid dynamics and process of water and dispersion of pollutants in surface water and groundwater
- Industrial pollution prevention/control
- Design of waste water and air pollution control technologies
- Common industrial process design
- Hands-on training in wastewater analysis and treatment
- Geo-environmental and mining environmental engineering
Upon graduation, you will receive a Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) degree in Environmental Engineering. The program is designed to meet the accreditation criteria of the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia. Graduates will be eligible for registration as Professional Engineers (P.Eng.).
Career Opportunities
Due to their technical expertise, hands-on problem solving skills and keen understanding of environmental issues, environmental engineers are in high-demand—especially in resource industries such as forestry, mining, pulp and paper, chemical process, fisheries, agri-food, and oil and gas. Environmental engineers are essential to the new “environmental economy,” which includes environmental reclamation, remediation and restoration. Environmental engineers perform a variety of roles ranging from field work to management with various government departments and research organizations and environmental consulting companies.
List of Potential Employment Opportunities: What’s Out There?