Environmental Engineering

Environmental Engineering is devoted to the study of the quality of the environment and to the technology of its conservation. It involves the basic education and training from civil engineering programs and chemical engineering, microbiology, hydrology and chemistry in order to broaden their perspective on potential solutions to environmental problems. The program is designed with some flexibility in order to suit the specific needs of the candidates with respect to their different academic backgrounds.

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Environmental engineering has never been more relevant than it is today. In the past 20 years, the field has moved from purely focusing on the technical and logistical side of waste disposal to encompass material recovery and circular economy. Innovative materials, integrated material and process flow analysis, as well as the involvement of energy sector issues, have brought environmental technology - once a niche sector perceived to be partly driven by ideology - into mainstream areas of the international economy. Germany is a global market leader in many areas of environmental engineering expertise. This status requires ongoing success at different levels: innovative and integrated technology, favourable legal and economic standards and, not least, high-quality German university education in environmental sciences.

With this in mind, the International Master Program in Environmental Engineering at the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) focuses on current developments in environmental technology, while also providing a solid grounding in the subject’s scientific and economic foundations. Students can specialise in one of three areas: (i) Water, (ii) Waste & Energy or (iii) Biotechnology. Interdisciplinary considerations are essential to all subject areas. How can environmental pollution be reduced and valuable resources recovered at the same time? How does one measure the sustainability of a product or service? Which innovative technologies assure minimum energy use in production processes? Which environmental law constraints favour sustainable development? All these questions are relevant in the Environmental Engineering program.

Graduates of the Environmental Engineering program have a detailed understanding of key areas of environmental sciences. At the start of the Master’s program, all students take compulsory courses in environmental management, waste and wastewater treatment, fluid dynamics and hydrology, and environmental analytics. In the second semester, students can choose from a number of potential core areas. These include courses in geochemical engineering, technical microbiology and water and wastewater technology. From the third semester, students develop a specialisation in one of the areas mentioned above (Water, Waste and Energy, or Biotechnology). In addition to course-specific modules, students also take non-technical classes in subjects such as business economics or foreign languages.