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(2014/02/09) Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering
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3.15.3. Program overview

Sustainable engineering refers to the integration of social, environmental, and economic considerations into

product, process, and energy system design methods. Additionally, sustainable engineering encourages the

consideration of the complete product and process lifecycle during the design effort. The intent is to minimi-

ze environmental impacts across the entire lifecycle while simultaneously maximizing the benefits to social
and economic stakeholders. The MS in sustainable engineering is multidisciplinary and managed by the in-

dustrial and systems engineering department.

The program builds on RIT’s work in sustainability research and education and offers students the flexibility
to develop tracks in areas such as renewable energy systems, systems modeling and analysis, product design,

and engineering policy and management. Course work for is offered on campus, and available on a full- or

part-time basis.

3.15.3.1. Educational objectives

The program is designed to accomplish the following educational objectives:

Heighten awareness of issues in areas of sustainability (e.g., global warming, ozone layer depletion, defores-
tation, pollution, ethical issues, fair trade, gender equity, etc.).

Establish a clear understanding of the role and impact of various aspects of engineering (design, technology,

etc.) and engineering decisions on environmental, societal, and economic problems. Particular emphasis is
placed on the potential trade-offs between environmental, social, and economic objectives.

Strong ability to apply engineering and decision-making tools and methodologies to sustainability-related

problems.

Demonstrate a capacity to distinguish professional and ethical responsibilities associated with the practice of

engineering.

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