Educational Considerations for Environmental Engineering

The added breadth of knowledge required to handle the environmental problems encountered in modern society has focused attention on the desirability of providing civil engineers with a more extensive formal educational background in other disciplines. Formal educational processes, however, face certain limitations in attempting to implement this assignment. Truly significant efforts will center in graduate instruction and in many respects will lead to further specialization. In this regard, overemphasis can be as dangerous as complete omission. The role of the practitioner is the keyrole. How well the profession meets the environmental challenges will be judged on the basis of his decisions. How well education adjusts to true need will be dependent on his ability to convey need.