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Drexel’s Environmental Science faculty are committed academic scholars learning about and improving the environment.  Students receive a balanced view of environmental issues and are encouraged to develop and implement new technologies that enable them to collect and interpret empirical data necessary for determining the quality of environmental conditions and finding solutions to environmental problems. 

The program places an emphasis on global scale interactions between the biosphere and human activity, as well as on solving problems of the urban environment.  What makes Drexel’s programs unique is the scientific rigor in areas such as ecology, geology, and biology, and the recognition of the need to prepare scientists to aid in the development of local, national, and international environmental policy. 

The University is located in Philadelphia, the nation's fifth largest city and a principal east-coast port, which provides access to diverse areas for field study such as the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey Pine Barrens, Delaware, Barnegat and Chesapeake Bays, Appalachian Mountains, as well major research collections in nearby metropolitan museums. The area serves as a natural laboratory for training students outside of the classroom in environmental research and policy.

Philadelphia is situated between two major U.S. rivers -- the Delaware and Schuylkill -- from which the city draws its water supply and subsequently discharges its treated wastewater. The metropolitan area straddles two of the most important geologic formations in the Northeast - the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the Piedmont Province, in which several hundred EPA Superfund sites are located. Drexel's program has a long-standing tradition of partnering with health departments, local water utilities, other environmental agencies, and the Academy of Natural Sciences in the Philadelphia area in conducting research and addressing environmental issues.  Additionally, many of the faculty are internationally renown and have ongoing research projects in areas such as Costa Rica, Panama, Patagonia, and South Africa.

Environmental scientists pursue careers in environmental assessment, environmental health, ecology, conservation, marine science, atmospheric science, urban planning and environmental policy.  Graduates typically work for government environmental agencies, in environmental consulting firms, and in environmental departments of various industries. Many continue their education to earn graduate degrees.