MSc Civil Engineering

This class involves undertaking a renewable energy project. The project takes in the full breadth of the civil engineering profession from concept to detailed design, from political drivers to financial viability, from environmental issues to technical risk. Students will develop comprehensive and innovative designs that involve structural engineering, geotechnical engineering and water engineering, management, environmental and financial planning. 

In this class, dedicated to the MSc and MRes students in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, students will acquire familiarity with, and practice of, research techniques, and examine different ways of, and gain experience in, presenting research results. The course discusses the key principles, and practical exercises, on both quantitative and qualitative research methods, such as observation methods, survey methods, interviewing techniques and statistical methods. The course also includes discussion of ethical issues. Finally, the course covers writing skills and use of literature, which is relevant to all classes

This class examines the links between form, geometric shape, and structural performance and design. It deals with different ways of breaking up a continuum, and how this affects global structural properties, structural concepts and preliminary design methods that are used in tension structures, and deployable structures.

You’ll also look at the fundamental principles of composite structures. 

Necessary requirement for this class

Understanding of structural analysis (finding reactions in statically determinate and indeterminate structures – trusses, beams, frames; construction of shear force and bending moment diagrams; main principles of elastic analysis), basic grounding in matrix algebra, basic programming knowledge (in any language).

The overall aim of the class is to provide you with strong skills in the structural behaviour, analysis and design of civil engineering structures.

You’ll gain an understanding of the fundamental principles of structural stability and become familiar with common types of bifurcation and buckling phenomena. This will allow you to formulate methods capable of dealing with geometrically non-linear structural behaviour.

You’ll also gain knowledge of structural behaviour structural systems commonly adapted by the construction industry including prestressed concrete and concrete-steel composite members. 

Necessary requirement for this class

Understanding of fundamentals of structural mechanics; fundamentals of reinforced concrete design (reinforced concrete technology, serviceability and ultimate limit state analysis.

This class covers the principles and techniques of ground improvement and soil reinforcement. You’ll apply the appropriate design methods in various ground conditions including the use of computer-aided design.

Necessary requirement for this class

Understanding of the principles, techniques and methods of analysis for ground improvement and soil reinforcement, piles and pile groups, and the application of these techniques for design in various ground conditions.

This class will develop your skills in the use of engineering practices in project management.  The focus is on the effective and efficient use of resources. Areas covered include:

• introduction to project management techniques and project control
• basic aspects of project teams
• project networks
• procedural and graphical presentation techniques
• introduction to contract law
• project budgetary control

The class aims to provide you with an understanding of sub-surface geology and rock mechanics and its influence on the engineering design of slopes and tunnels.

You’ll gain an overview of groundwater flow through soil and rocks. You’ll be introduced to techniques for the in-situ measurement of permeability and methodologies for site investigation in dewatering projects. 

Necessary requirement for this class

Knowledge of mathematics (including basic differential equations, trigonometry, resolving forces), and of basic hydrology.

This class covers the principles and techniques of ground improvement and soil reinforcement. You’ll apply the appropriate design methods in various ground conditions including the use of computer-aided design.

Necessary requirements for this class

Understanding of the principles, techniques and methods of analysis for ground improvement and soil reinforcement, piles and pile groups, and the application of these techniques for design in various ground conditions.

This class aims to cover the design of geotechnical structures under ultimate conditions including slopes and retaining walls, based on Eurocode 7.

The syllabus covers these areas:

• Introduction to geotechnical structures - slopes and embankments, shallow foundations, pile foundations, retaining walls
• Stability Analysis of Geostructures
• Earth Retaining Structures
• Slope Stability

Necessary requirements for this class

Understanding of fundamentals of soil mechanics (principle of effective stress, compressibility and consolidation of soil, the shear strength of soils including the critical state framework).

This class will develop your skills in the use of engineering practices in project management.  The focus is on the effective and efficient use of resources.  Areas covered includes:

• introduction to project management techniques and project control
• basic aspects of project teams
• project networks
• procedural and graphical presentation techniques
• introduction to contract law
• project budgetary control

This class explores the complete sequence of a site investigation:

1. Desk study
2. Site sampling organisation and techniques
3. Data collection
4. Chemical analysis

The class also covers data modelling and interpretation using risk assessment models. 

Within the background of land redevelopment (residential, industrial/commercial and gardens/parks), this class, run by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, aims to provide insights into the remediation of contaminated land, including the regulatory framework and risk assessment, sampling and analysis, and various remedial techniques for contaminated land.

On completion of this class the student is expected to be able to:

• identify possible human health and environmental risks associated with contaminated land management
• demonstrate a working knowledge of the regulatory framework in place in the UK for contaminated land management and remediation, including relevant legislation, policies and regulations
• evaluate critically the range of technologies that may be suitable for various types of contamination present.
  make informed decisions about technologies for contaminated land remediation based upon technical solutions, risk assessment & management, planning and financial constraints

This class, run by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, covers organisational and regulatory aspects of waste management practice in the UK: legislation, composition of domestic and industrial wastes, storage, collection, reception, and disposal of solid wastes, clinical wastes, sewage sludge disposal, recycling and recovery. The class discusses common methods used in the management and treatment of solid municipal waste: recycling, thermal treatment of solid waste (incineration, gasification, pyrolysis), biological treatment of solid waste (anaerobic digestion and composting), and landfill as a disposal option.

This class will develop your skills in the use of engineering practices in project management.  The focus is on the effective and efficient use of resources.  Areas covered includes:

• introduction to project management techniques and project control
• basic aspects of project teams
• project networks
• procedural and graphical presentation techniques
• introduction to contract law
• project budgetary control

This class covers the principles and techniques of ground improvement and soil reinforcement. You’ll apply the appropriate design methods in various ground conditions including the use of computer-aided design.

This class explores the complete sequence of a site investigation:

1. Desk study
2. Site sampling organisation and techniques
3. Data collection
4. Chemical analysis

The class also covers data modelling and interpretation using risk assessment models.

This class examines the links between form, geometric shape, and structural performance and design. It deals with different ways of breaking up a continuum, and how this affects global structural properties, structural concepts and preliminary design methods that are used in tension structures, and deployable structures.

You’ll also look at the fundamental principles of composite structures. 

Necessary requirements for this class

Understanding of structural analysis (finding reactions in statically determinate and indeterminate structures – trusses, beams, frames; Construction of shear force and bending moment diagrams; main principles of elastic analysis), a basic grounding in matrix algebra, basic programming knowledge (in any language).

The overall aim of the class is to provide you with strong skills in the structural behaviour, analysis and design of civil engineering structures.

You’ll gain an understanding of the fundamental principles of structural stability and become familiar with common types of bifurcation and buckling phenomena. This will allow you to formulate methods capable of dealing with geometrically non-linear structural behaviour.

You’ll also gain knowledge of structural behaviour structural systems commonly adapted by the construction industry including prestressed concrete and concrete-steel composite members. 

Necessary requirements for this class

Understanding of fundamentals of structural mechanics; fundamentals of reinforced concrete design (reinforced concrete technology, serviceability and ultimate limit state analysis.

This class covers organisational and regulatory aspects of waste management practice in the UK including:

• legislation
• the composition of domestic and industrial wastes
• storage
• collection
• reception and disposal of solid wastes
• clinical wastes
• sewage sludge disposal
• recycling and recovery

Necessary requirements for this class

Some previous knowledge of environmental science, chemistry, or public health is beneficial, but not essential.

This class will develop your skills in the use of engineering practices in project management.  The focus is on the effective and efficient use of resources.  Areas covered includes:

• introduction to project management techniques and project control
• basic aspects of project teams
• project networks
• procedural and graphical presentation techniques
• introduction to contract law
• project budgetary control

The class aims to provide you with an understanding of sub-surface geology and rock mechanics and its influence on the engineering design of slopes and tunnels.

You’ll gain an overview of groundwater flow through soil and rocks. You’ll be introduced to techniques for the in-situ measurement of permeability and methodologies for site investigation in dewatering projects. 

Necessary requirements for this class

Knowledge of mathematics (including basic differential equations, trigonometry, resolving forces), and of basic hydrology.

This class gives you an understanding of the ways in which the maritime environment can offer a significant contribution, in a sustainable manner, to global energy demands. You’ll undertake engineering assessments of the design and operation of marine energy generating systems.

This class aims to cover the design of geotechnical structures under ultimate conditions including slopes and retaining walls, based on Eurocode 7.

The syllabus covers these areas:

• Introduction to geotechnical structures - slopes and embankments, shallow foundations, pile foundations, retaining walls
• Stability Analysis of Geostructures
• Earth Retaining Structures
• Slope Stability

You’ll gain knowledge of the relevant planning advice and legislation and determine appropriate remediation technologies and strategies.

This class introduces you to the problem of urban land reuse, the regulatory framework and risk assessment and the various remedial techniques to enable an understanding of the role of land recycling in urban development.

This module, run by the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, develops an understanding of the physical, chemical and biological parameters within surface water and how these relate to water quality, water quality objectives and pollution control strategy.

The class also provides an introduction to water and wastewater treatment.

This module, run by the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, aims to provide essential knowledge for the planning, management and efficient operation of urban water supply and sewerage systems.

This class, run by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, aims to develop a detailed understanding of treatment processes, as well as the ability to undertake design calculations sufficient to produce a concept and detailed design of a water and wastewater treatment plant. On completion of the course the student is expected to be able to:

• recognise needs of the client and conceptualise appropriate treatment system
• understand water treatment processes, including underlying chemical, physical and biological processes
• understand legislation relevant to water and wastewater treatment and processes required to achieve objectives
• ability to manage imperfect information and uncertainty in design and calculations

This module evaluates the innovative methodologies and approaches for adopting cutting-edge Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to address the myriad of issues related to the fragmented nature of Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) industry. The module seeks to extend knowledge of ICT integrated practices and approaches in terms of innovative transdisciplinary solutions such as advanced manufacturing technologies the transportation/assembly of components, and intelligent decision making support.

The aim of this module is to provide the students with insight about main concepts and principles of Building Information Management (BIM), vis-à-vis processes, protocols, and enabling technologies. The module is mainly concerned with recent paradigm shift within the Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) industries worldwide to implement BIM Level 2 and target BIM Level 3 in all public projects as well as encouraging it in private projects. This module is also heavily inspired by the UK Government's BIM mandate to adopt BIM technologies and processes on all public sector projects from 2016.

The course aims to provide the fundamentals of health monitoring of civil structures, and includes the following topics:

• the logic of structural identification based on sensor observations
• an overview of sensor technologies for civil applications, with focus on accelerometers, strain gauges, thermocouples, fiber-optic sensors and wireless sensors
• numerical methods for signal processing and data analysis
• analysis of case studies, including bridges, buildings and heritage structures

Necessary requirement for this class: understanding of structural mechanics, steel design and reinforced concrete design; basic knowledge of statistics; ​and an interest in using Matlab for data analysis.

In this class, students will:

• gain an understanding of Hydrogeology as a discipline
• discuss and explore the physical mechanisms of water movement in the subsurface
• undertake experiments in the lab that demonstrate key principals of groundwater movement
• explore hydrogeological issues based on case studies

This course gives a foundation in how building materials are formed or made, how they chemo-mechanically degrade and breakdown and some advanced scientific methods of analysis for conservation of historic and modern structures.

Building materials will be investigated at the micro-structural and nanoscale level to explore how chemical composition affects mechanical properties. Environmental and conservation principles will be addressed, as will quantitative understanding of water damage to building stone, brick and concrete and rising damp.

Necessary requirements for this class: Some understanding of materials science or chemistry, preferably at university level but not absolutely necessary. Comfortable with Maths, Physics and some basic Matlab programming.

 This class, run by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, aims to provide students with the ability to:

• recognise the issues relating to overall global water policy and its interactions with other global issues
• discuss the impact of climate change and economic development on water resources and availability
• explore the different implementation issues based on regional case studies
• explore the role of stakeholders on the acceptance and achievement of policy objectives

The class also covers water policy from an international perspective focusing on transboundary issues and a review of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that tie into water law and water policy.

The class introduces elements of financial engineering that are applied to reduce risk of business insolvency and enhance the financial robustness of business enterprises.

Also covered are the essentials of financial engineering both as an academic discipline and as a strategy of financial and business risk management in the light of current conditions.

This class, run by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, aims to introduce microbiology in a manner that is of practical importance in environmental engineering and public health. Emphasis is placed on the microbial ecology and interactions in water, soil, and biological treatment process. Microbial physiology and biochemistry will be discussed in detail as it pertains to environmental systems. Both biodegradation and public health aspects of microbiology are included. The class combines theoretical and fundamental concepts in biology to provide a basic background in microbiology and biotechnology.

This class provides you with an understanding of:

• environmental forensics as a subject
• a range of contaminants found in the environment, and their fate and transport
• approach and analytical techniques to determine the responsible parties for contamination found in the environment
• real-world applications of environmental forensics

This class aims to introduce the conceptual and practical issues underlying policy-making processes, with a particular focus on the significance of science and technology policies and innovation management strategies and the application of these for the economic, social and environmental objectives of policy in the context of sustainable development.

The module also aims to explore questions as to how innovations occur and how they can be managed to enhance the objectives of sustainability. A major aspect of the module is the systems approach to innovation management, particularly with respect to the design of research strategies and the generation and use of knowledge.

In this class, run by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, you'll develop in-depth knowledge and skills regarding the science, engineering and management of environmental pollution control approaches to protect public health. You'll benefit from research-led teaching at the interface between public health and environmental engineering, with a particular focus on risk-centred methods. Lecture sessions are complemented by industrial and government case studies in contemporary air quality management practice.

In this class, run by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, you'll gain the knowledge and skills on atmospheric pollution and climate change impacts, ranging from local to global scales. The class includes a focus on the assessment and management of environmental impacts on people through the interface between environmental science and engineering activities that mitigate environmental risks. Learning objectives are assessed through a formative portfolio covering the main syllabus areas. Student interaction is encouraged throughout the class through structured feedback sessions, directed reading, student-led question sessions & directed questions sessions.

This class, run by the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering but open to all MSc and MEng students across the University, allows students to carry out projects and placements with industry to develop and refine professional skills while gaining credits in the process. Since 2012 students have carried out more than 300 industry projects as part of this class for a very wide range of organisations. Approval of students being able to take this module is done on a case-by-case basis by staff and industry contacts. Students are selected by competitive application and CV. Although this is a S1+S2 class, realistically most of the work is done in S2 (approximately 25% in S1 and 75% in S2). It is highly recommended that all students that are potentially interested in taking this module attend the first information session in September in week 1 of S1 (find room number by searching class CL973 in the timetables).  

This class, run by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, introduces Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and spatial data analysis. The course covers the key theory with a strong focus is on practical applications. Students will develop skills to apply GIS independently to real world datasets and problems. The student will need to independently develop spatial research questions, find, or collect relevant data and perform a state-of-the-art spatial analysis. GIS is a digital tool for analysing spatial phenomena. It focusses on spatial data, so data where the location of the data is just as important as the data itself. GIS allows us to organize, visualize and analyse this data in a spatial context, so that we can interpret and understand the underlying processes. GIS can be used in a wide range of fields for example in engineering (site selection, flood risk, transport planning, impact of construction), environmental science (e.g. soil erosion, health and disease, pollutant transport, landscape visual impact assessment, wildlife preservation), business (e.g. asset management, customer relations) to policy making (e.g. urbanization, deforestation, spatial distribution of crime).

To provide a structured introduction to the Design Management process, issues and tools.

Under Health and Safety legislation, and under the wider European Post-Seveso Directives, it's mandatory for any industries to carry out risk assessments with the aim of showing that risk is “As Low As Reasonably Practicable”.

This class aims to introduce the fundamental techniques of risk analysis and risk-informed decision making. You'll have the opportunity to learn the general principles of methods and their place in risk management, as well as the chance to develop skills in applying these methods to variety of engineering examples.

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) relates to the process of identifying, evaluating, and mitigating the biophysical, social, economic, cultural and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made. This class, run by the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering but open to all MSc and MEng students across the University, introduces the methods used to predict environmental impacts, and evaluates how these may be used to integrate environmental factors into decisions. 

The class draws principally on the UK planning context of environmental impact assessment of individual projects (project EIA), but also takes account of EIA experience in other countries and international organisations. Participants evaluate the quality of Environmental Statements (or EIA Reports) and of the EIA process using the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) methodology. 

The class discusses how EIA can be used a pro-active design tool for projects and how it can contribute to the enhancement of environmental, social and health issues. Students are also introduced to key principles of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and biodiversity net gain (BNG). Class has the contribution of key practitioners in the field and includes different case studies, such as proposed onshore and offshore windfarms.

This class will examine the key systems and infrastructure on which urban centres depend and promote critical reflection on how the design, management and monitoring of these systems impact on the social, environmental and economic sustainability of cities. The use of case studies will allow students to engage with real-world situations, challenges and opportunities and consider multiple infrastructure and technology options for sustainable city strategies. Teaching staff: Dr Neil Ferguson

This class, run by the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, develops students’ understanding of public and environmental health, and the multidisciplinary approach in preventative and proactive action to safeguarding public health.

A diverse range of subjects are covered ranging from the risk assessment approach taken with respect to protecting the public from private water supplies, to the role of environmental health professionals in the prevention of the spread of infectious disease.

The class also provides students with fundamental knowledge regarding Health Improvement/Promotion and Health Protection, including the different methods used and the variety of agencies involved.

This module, run by the Department of Design, Manufacture & Engineering Management, gives students an understanding of the types of different approaches, techniques and systems used in building information based systems.

Topics include the software engineering process, requirements specification, visual modelling and an understanding of information storage and retrieval systems.

This class initially introduces the circular economy as a framework for the development and management of a sustainable 'waste-as-resource' economic system in which production is designed to be restorative and resilient. The class then proceeds to cover a range of contemporary challenges in the practical application of circular economic principles within different sectors, incorporating presentations from leading practitioners in the field.

The implications of the concept of circular economy for research, policy, business practices and societal transformations towards sustainability are explored in detail through a mix of theory, case studies, individual and group project work. This includes consideration of the role of innovation and knowledge production; social trends and consumer behaviour; conservation and sustainable use of energy and material resources; climate change and environmental sustainability; and the design of business models that maximise product life and value retention.

The class discusses the role of individuals and communities in the making and operation of the circular economy. Students are challenged to identify and critically evaluate opportunities to use waste as an economic good and as the basis for commercially, socially and environmentally profitable business initiatives through the application of creative design; as well as the range of business opportunities arising from repair, reconditioning and remanufacturing activities. The class also introduces the key principles of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), carbon measurement and management.