Check out: Master in Design Studies (MDesS) Sustainable Design

No, I mean, I want to become an engineer. Now, who's gone over to the dark side, and can tell me how?

I would like a degree that pushes me as far as possible away from the discipline---i mean, i want some options in my life!

I got my B. Arch degree, and I feel I've become a one-trick pony! This is a rough economy, and though I do have a job now, what if I soon dont?? wouldn't it make sense to have two fields to be shopping for jobs in?

And what if later on in my life I want a *stable* job--you know, the kind with *regular hours*...

I have degrees in engineering and architecture, and have worked as an environmental engineer.

I don't know your situation, but have to tell you, unless you've taken a lot of extra classes in math and science, I would think you'll be hard pressed to find a program that a BArch qualifies you to finish in less than two years. I admit I have not researched the entrance requirements for any masters of engineering program, but where I went to school for engineering, if you had followed the typical path for a BArch, then you would have to take at least another year of calculus and differential equations, re-take all your physics classes because architecture required trigonometry based versions whereas engineering required versions based on calculus derivations of formulas. You would need to take at least a year of chemistry and depending on which college you chose to pursue your degree in (chemical or civil engineering) you may have to take organic chemistry as well. All of this is before taking any core engineering classes like thermodynamics, dynamics, hydraulics, strengths of materials – which are all calculus based classes.

My first piece of advice would be to confirm that a bachelor of engineering or its equivalent is not required to enter a program that would be as short as two years.

On another note, if I were to go into an engineering curriculum today, I would consider Olin College. I don’t know if they offer environmental engineering but from what I understand they have taken somewhat of a studio based approach to engineering classes and offer more of a hands-on approach to teaching.

Charisma124 - Enviromental Engineering - define what this means to you.

you first started this post by saying
"I'm interested in a broad introduction to environmental consulting... that will also help my architecture later."

So I give you a link to a sustainable design degree - that leans more towards the engineering side of the building industry and that would totally complement your architectural background. but you come back saying this

"I would like a degree that pushes me as far as possible away from the discipline---i mean, i want some options in my life!"

SO to me that tells me that you truly dont understand what you are looking at.

You mention the economy and how its effecting the industry -which is very much true, but I am currently working for a green building / sustainable design consultancy - where are work flow has not dropped (at least as right now) and does not look like it will anytime soon. Most of our clients our Architects and developers. Our office is mixed with architects and enginneers who are all sustainable design consultants. The master in design studies - like I mentioned above is more of an enginnering degree as you can see from the course Description:

Courses with a focus on buildings teach methods and technologies that support the design of comfortable and less resource-intensive environments. Particular areas of specialization are lighting and daylighting design, building performance simulation (energy and lighting), green building performance metrics, green roofs, automated controls, occupant behavior and satisfaction, acoustics, as well as lifecycle and embodied energy studies. A key objective is for our students to employ and further develop design tools and metrics to evaluate the indoor environmental performance and energy-efficiency of buildings at the various design stages.

Rather than concentrating on how to use any particular software, courses concentrate on the process of when and how different design tools can be used to effectively support key design decisions. Students are expected to develop a thorough understanding of the underlying assumptions and limitations of current approaches to model and assess a building’s environmental performance. Equipped with this knowledge they are then encouraged to critically review and think beyond the performance metrics that are currently promoted by green building rating systems such as the US Green Building Council’s LEED system. A strong emphasis is placed on the role building occupants play in the success or failure of any particular technology.

Beyond the building scale the course in sustainable design assesses the environmental effect of buildings within their larger context, including issues of climate and ecology at the urban and landscape level. Sustainability studies on this scale pursue a broad range of topics that may include the impact of urban and landscape design on local climactic conditions (heat, humidity, wind flows etc.), the investigation and design of water management techniques, traffic and infrastructure studies, strategies for brown fields and other disturbed sites, questions of landscape ecology, and many others. Research topics vary dependent on faculty and student interests.

Required Courses

GSD 6332 Day-Lighting Buildings
GSD 6417 Building Performance Simulation - Energy
GSD 6412 Sustainability
GSD 9304 Independent Thesis

So like I asked before - what is your definiton of environmental engineering?

Enviromental engineering - which is close to a civil engineering degree

is it Closer to civil enginerring degree

I guess what I'm trying to do, is to really try to push away from architecture, because my main concern with these architecture-related environmental courses is their material and rigor: would I just be repeating the same material i learned in my building technology classes in my B. Arch Degree? And I'd prefer an education not so narrowly tied to only buildings.... environmental is about systems.

I'm hoping to branch out into a wider sense of environmental engineering type work....like urban design environmental ... and maybe later due diligence work for banks etc.

I feel that if i don't limit myself to this kind of degree, ie MDeS, i could potentially learn more than just buildings.