The School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering offers undergraduate and graduate programs designed to prepare students to tackle complex sustainability and environmental challenges through interdisciplinary, systems-based approaches.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University today announces the launch of the School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering (SEE), a bold new leap approved by the Board of Trustees to meet urgent industry demand for technically skilled talent. Effective July 1, 2025, SEE will be the first program of its kind to combine sustainability engineering and environmental engineering.

SEE will support industrial partners as they strive for profitability while reducing environmental impact. With rapid and dramatic shifts, businesses require technical expertise to increase efficiencies, reduce costs and minimize environmental impacts across the entire life cycle of products and processes. From lifecycle analysis of consumer goods to mitigating e-waste in electronics and data centers, and from sustainable practices in hard tech manufacturing industries to innovations in semiconductor/electronics manufacturing, companies are seeking solutions grounded in engineering. This surging demand underscores the need for a technically skilled workforce capable of designing systems that incorporate such technical sustainability principles as resource efficiency, waste reduction, and circular economy (e.g., recycling and remanufacturing).

Amy Schumacher, CEO of The Heritage Group, said: “Sustainability demands both urgency and bold thinking. Purdue’s new School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering equips future engineers to carry that mindset beyond the classroom – teaching them to solve real-world problems and make a lasting impact on people, planet and communities.”

SEE is rooted in decades of leadership, innovation, impact and interdisciplinary collaboration in environmental and sustainability engineering at Purdue. SEE builds upon the strong foundation laid by Environmental and Ecological Engineering (EEE) -- a program nationally recognized for excellence – in recent years, it has been ranked among the top 10 graduate environmental engineering programs by U.S. News & World Report. EEE students and faculty will carry their work forward within the new School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering.

“Our faculty, students and alumni are already making their presence known globally, and SEE will amplify that impact,” said John W. Sutherland, Distinguished Professor and Fehsenfeld Family Head of the School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering.

The demand comes from students as well. The number of applications Purdue has received for environmental and ecological engineering as their educational objective has risen fourfold over the past decade. In addition to the existing Bachelor’s, MS, and PhD programs in EEE, the new School will lead the new online and professional MS program on Sustainability Engineering in partnership with other Engineering Schools.

“SEE represents Purdue Engineering at its best – meeting emerging industry needs and educating the next generation of engineers to come up with creative solutions to tough challenges,” said Arvind Raman, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering and Robert V. Adams Professor of Mechanical Engineering. “Purdue Engineering is proud to lead this effort.”

SEE enters the academic landscape with impressive momentum. In April, EEE received more than $1 million during Purdue Day of Giving, reflecting strong support from alumni and industry partners.

SEE offers undergraduate and graduate programs designed to prepare students to tackle complex sustainability and environmental challenges through interdisciplinary, systems-based approaches.

With a focus on innovation, excellence and global impact, the School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering is poised to elevate Purdue’s leadership in sustainability engineering for years to come.

For more information, visit engineering.purdue.edu/SEE.