The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering offers two undergraduate majors: Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering. UMass Lowell is the only public university in Massachusetts to offer the Environmental Engineering major. The first year of undergraduate study is devoted to developing writing skills and subjects in mathematics and science that serve as a foundation for upper level professional studies. During the second year of study, students learn additional engineering mathematics, basic engineering mechanics and biology for engineers. Course work that addresses environmental engineering with an associated laboratory, and environmental engineering chemistry are introduced in the second-half of the sophomore year. Junior year courses address topics such as: energy and sustainability, groundwater hydrogeology and remediation, and biological processes in environmental engineering. The senior year focuses on: chemical fate and transport in the environment, air quality and solid waste engineering. Advanced elective courses are available during the senior year. In the final semester students participate in an in-depth comprehensive capstone design project for the solution of an environmental problem.