<p>"The College of Engineering now offers two new degrees: environmental and architectural engineering. Both programs are expansions from existing minor programs and have been in the works for a while.</p>
<p>Derek Williamson, director of the AERO program and an environmental engineering professor, has been involved throughout the process of instituting the new degrees. He said the college took course accreditation and model programs into account. </p>
<p>Although the department has just made the programs available, Williamson said many students have already expressed interest. </p>
<p>“By last year, the literature was out and the recruiting was going strong because all indications were that it was going to come through,” he said. “We got all those I’s dotted and T’s crossed and it hit DegreeWorks about two weeks ago.” </p>
<p>The civil engineering department houses degrees in civil, construction, environmental and architectural engineering. Williamson said the structure of the department allows students to find what they are interested in without getting stuck down one path…</p>
<p>Environmental, architectural and construction are subsets of civil engineering. Although many students often shy away from specialized majors when looking for a degree, Williamson said the specificity is not a detractor. He said the field of civil engineering is becoming more and more specialized and colleges must adapt. … </p>
<p>Williamson said the degrees will help serve the state and national economies as well. The Board of Labor currently projects both degrees to have a 19-20 percent growth in the next several years."</p>
<p>From the Crimson White:</p>
<p><a href=“http://cw.ua.edu/article/2014/11/environmental-engineering-new-major”>http://cw.ua.edu/article/2014/11/environmental-engineering-new-major</a></p>