Nick
How specialized can the field of environmental engineering be?
I am a senior in high school and wish to look into environmental engineering with a focus in aquaculture. I am looking into the process of specializing the subject of environmental engineering to aquaculture engineering but am unsure how I should go about doing this. I was wondering if this was possible or if I must study general environmental engineering and then specialize, and if so what steps I should take to do this. #environment
2 answers
John Dean
John’s Answer
This is very school dependent. Some schools will offer a lot of opportunities to specialize while others will not have many options. Often the best way to specialize in a very specific field is to do so outside the classroom through research with a specific professor or, in the case of engineering, through an engineering team. I know in my case when I studied mechanical engineering, I was able to take two classes that focused in my area of interest, structures, while my other peers may have taken their two classes in robotics or fluids.
Considering you are a senior and you know what you want to pursue, I am assuming you have selected schools with environmental engineering programs. I encourage you to research the professors in the department and read up on their research. This will get you started in the right direction, and may help you decide which school to go to.
Erika Chan
Erika’s Answer
I would encourage you to also research whether the school you are interested in offers courses in aquaculture or environmental science that may be outside of a traditional engineering degree. This will allow you to take classes to see what interests you the most.