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.

Prerequisite: This class is for those from a Civil Engineering (or related Engineering) programme.

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 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, 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
• 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)
• 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 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

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).

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 you're 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 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 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 you'll be 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

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, fibre-optic sensors and wireless sensors
• numerical methods for signal processing and data analysis
• analysis of case studies, including bridges, buildings and heritage structures

Necessary requirements for this class:

• understanding of structural mechanics
• steel design and reinforced concrete design
• basic knowledge of statistics
• 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

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.

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, 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
• 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. You'll be 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.

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

Industry partners will propose topics for academia-industry jointly supervised MSc dissertations. Students will be offered the dissertation on a competitive basis following a selection procedure based on CV and marks achieved in Semester 1.

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 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's highly recommended that all students who 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 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 module introduces advanced techniques for characterising materials and their behaviour. It then explores how we can develop, change or manage our materials in more a sustainable future.

The course is taught by Dr Kate Dobson, who is a world-leading cross-disciplinary academic, working across the interfaces between materials, engineering, earth and the environment. She leads the X-Ray Tomography national facility IM3AGES.

This module introduces advanced tools for ultimate limit state analysis of geotechnical infrastructure subject to climate loading and explores vegetation-based climate change adaptation of geotechnical infrastructure.

The course is taught by Professor Alessandro Tarantino. He has delivered the prestigious the 2023 Géotechnique Lecture organised by the British Geotechnical Association and the Institution of Civil Engineers and is ranked in the Top 2% most-cited Scientists Worldwide 2023 by Stanford University. He is Chartered Engineer C.Eng; and Member of the Institution of Materials, Mining and Metallurgy (MIMMM).

This module introduces the fundamental principles of hydrogeology, including historical development and governing laws and equations, aquifer types and storage properties, water rock interactions, sustainable and equitable approaches to groundwater management, and protection of groundwater resources.

The course is taught by Dr's Neil Burnside and Yannick Kremer. Neil leads Strathclyde’s geothermal groundwater efforts, including projects across Europe, Africa, and Asia and sits on the International Energy Agency (IEA) Technology Collaboration Programme on geothermal: mine water energy topic expert group and the NERC UK Geoenergy Observatories (UKGEOS) Science Advisory Group (GSAG). He is Deputy Heat Theme Champion for Energy Technology Partnership Scotland and a Fellow of the Geological Society of London (FGS).

Yannick has worked extensively on subsurface fluid flow problems, experienced in geological fieldwork, numerical modelling, scientific computing, and spatial data analysis. Yannick focuses on developing practical, hands-on learning tools, improving students' industry readiness.

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.

Prerequisite: This class is for those from a Civil Engineering (or related Engineering) programme.

This class emphasises the interdisciplinary nature of environmental impact assessment and allow students from all backgrounds to work together to share knowledge and build their expertise in this discipline.

The module is taught by Neil Cochrane, who has a background in architecture, structural engineering, and sustainable development. He is Teaching Fellow in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, whose work centres on linking engineering design with environmental assessment.

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
• 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. You'll be 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.

The course is taught by Dr Jannik Giesekam. Jannik primarily focuses on problem-oriented policy-relevant research. He has undertaken work for the Department for Transport (DfT), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Green Construction Board, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and the Scottish Government.

Everyone needs water to drink, and therefore water is arguably Earth’s most important resource. This module examines the range or processes implemented to treat water to drinking quality standards, while also exploring innovative, and less energy-intensive approaches to water treatment to make the sector more sustainable.

Dr Charles W. Knapp and Professor Vernon Phoenix teach the course. Dr Knapp works internationally with consultants and municipalities to develop bespoke resilient treatment systems for climate-challenged communities. Professor Phoenix has recently completed a Royal Society Short Industry Fellowship exploring optimizing stormwater pollution removal using green infrastructure.

This module introduces the hydrological cycle and the key relationships between rainfall and runoff, developing appropriate engineering models for the hydrological process and applying the hydrological cycle as a tool in analysing catchments and analysing spatially distributed real and synthetic rainfall, surface runoff, base flows and appreciating the underlying relationships and uncertainties.

The course is taught by Dr Doug Bertram. He is a Chartered Water and Environmental Manager (CWEM) and Chartered Engineer (CEng) member of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Managers (CIWEM).

The class aims to provide you with an understanding 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.

The course is taught by Dr Yannick Kremer. Yannick has worked extensively on subsurface fluid flow problems, experienced in geological fieldwork, numerical modelling, scientific computing, and spatial data analysis. Yannick focuses on developing practical, hands-on learning tools, improving students' industry readiness.

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 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, 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).

The course is taught by Dr Yannick Kremer. Yannick has worked extensively on subsurface fluid flow problems, experienced in geological fieldwork, numerical modelling, scientific computing, and spatial data analysis. Yannick focuses on developing practical, hands-on learning tools, improving students' industry readiness.

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.

The module is taught by Neil Cochrane, a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering whose work centres on linking engineering design with environmental assessment. Shaped by Neil's background in architecture, structural engineering, and sustainable development, this class will emphasise the interdisciplinary nature of environmental impact assessment and allow students from all backgrounds to work together to share knowledge and build their expertise in this discipline.

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
• 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. You're 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.

The course is taught by Dr Jannik Giesekam. Jannik primarily focuses on problem-oriented policy-relevant research. He has undertaken work for the Department for Transport (DfT), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Green Construction Board, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and the Scottish Government.