Environmental engineering education at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich

A revised ten-semester curriculum in environmental engineering was introduced at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 1998 which is based on 10 years of experience with a previous less focused curriculum. The scope of the new curriculum is rather broad and includes sanitary engineering, water resources management, soil pollution control and resource and waste management. Air pollution is not fully developed yet. Based on broad basic studies (first four semesters) the professional studies (semesters 5 to 9) require the students to choose two out of four possible areas of specialization. These studies are followed in credit groups which combine advanced courses and extensive project work designed to reach scientific depth in an exemplary fashion. There is an exchange of teaching units between Environmental Engineering and Environmental Natural Sciences but the two curricula are quite different and lead to significantly different professional profiles.