INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC HEALTH: A CURRICULAR COMPONENT FOR NEW ARRIVALS IN UNDERGRADUATE COURSE IN SANITARY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING OF THE FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF BAHIA, BRAZIL

Abstract

The undergraduate program in Sanitary Engineering of the Federal University of Bahia, created in 1978, used to offer the course Environmental Sciences in the first year of its curriculum. After some time, professors, former students and students actual, identified that subjects of the Environmental Sciences course were part of other obligatory courses. It was also observed a high contingent of students’ evasions from that course. Some causes were identified as the large number of initial basic courses taken in Institutes other than the Engineering School and the lack of motivation due to the long time to access the Engineering School and their specific courses. In 1994, the undergraduate program in Sanitary Engineering had its curriculum reformulated passing to be named Sanitary and Environmental Engineering. At that time, the problems referred above were taken into consideration and a new basic course was created in substitution to the Environmental Sciences, aiming to introduce and discuss the major and professional issues of the Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, including the profile of the future citizens-engineers. It was named Introduction to Environmental and Public Health Engineering (ENG014). Experience has proved that this new introductory course has contributed to better engaging students in academic life and improving identification with the fields of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, besides contributing to decrease students’ evasions from this major.

Keywords: Curriculum, Curriculum components, Sanitary and Environmental Engineering.