MSc Civil and Water Engineering
Cardiff, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 up to 3 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 28,200 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for overseas | for home: £11,700
Introduction
In recent years, there has been a growing worldwide concern about environmental water management issues, including concerns about coastal and estuarine water pollution, river flooding and urban drainage, wetland and mangrove management, and ecological aspects of lakes and reservoirs, to mention but a few. In addressing these and other environmental challenges, engineers and environmental managers are using sophisticated numerical models for predicting complex hydrodynamic, water quality and sediment transport processes. These models are increasingly complemented with decision support software systems and a wide range of related hydroinformatics software tools.
The MSc in Civil and Water Engineering will offer you the knowledge and expertise that you need for a career as a consulting water engineer within this specialist professional area of civil engineering. The course aims to complement a relevant undergraduate degree by introducing you to hydroinformatics, computational hydraulics and environmental hydraulics, including water quality indicators and sediment transport processes in coastal, estuarine and inland waters.
The MSc is aimed at graduates in Civil Engineering, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences and Bio-Sciences. Good mathematical skills are an advantage. The degree programme is also aimed at engineers/scientists working in relevant areas wishing to upgrade or refresh their qualifications.
Why Study this Course
This course aims to complement a relevant undergraduate degree by introducing students to hydro-informatics, computational hydraulics and environmental hydraulics, including water quality indicators and sediment transport processes in coastal, estuarine and inland waters.
Major Project
Students will complete an extended research project within one of the water engineering fields as a major part of the programme.
Flexible Course
The degree programme is available on a one-year full-time basis or on a three-year part-time basis. Students are able to study related subjects in Civil and Geoenvironmental Engineering through a choice of optional modules.
Professionally Accredited course
This course is accredited by the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, and the Institute of Highway Engineers on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Candidates must hold a CEng-accredited undergraduate first degree to comply with full CEng registration requirements.
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Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
We are committed to investing up to a total of £500,000 in this high-value competitive scholarship scheme to support UK students who are planning to start an eligible Master’s programme in 2024/25.
The Scholarships are each worth £3,000 and will be awarded in the form of a tuition fee discount.
Eligibility
UK students are eligible to apply for the Scholarship. You normally need to have achieved at least a 2.1 or equivalent in your first degree to be eligible. You need to submit an application to study at Cardiff University and be made an offer to study before your fee status can be confirmed.
Curriculum
The MSc in Civil and Water Engineering is run by the School of Engineering and is designed to provide specialised, postgraduate training in environmental water engineering whilst having a measure of flexibility to permit some study of related subjects in Civil and Geoenvironmental Engineering.
The programme aims to enhance your engineering skills and completing an extended project within one of the water engineering fields forms a major part of the programme. The course will complement an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering, or similar, by introducing you to hydroinformatics, computational hydraulics and environmental hydraulics, including water quality indicators and sediment transport processes in coastal, estuarine and inland waters. You can work with some of these models in an extended project. The degree programme is available on a one-year full-time or three-year part-time basis.
The course comprises modules taught in the Autumn and Spring semesters, followed by an individual research project. The degree programme is available on a one-year full-time or three-year part-time basis.
The modules shown exemplify the typical curriculum and will be reviewed before the 2024/25 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2024.
Once you have completed the taught section of your course in Part 1, you will be required to undertake an individual research project in a specialist area of civil and water engineering, leading to the preparation of a dissertation. Project work is undertaken under the direct supervision of a staff member in one of the three participating departments.
Core Modules for Year One
- Professional Engineering Studies
- Environmental Fluid Mechanics
- Environmental Policy and Regulation
- Sediment Transport Dynamics
- Engineering Case Study
- Flood Design
- Soil and Groundwater Chemistry
- Dissertation (Civil, Structural, Geoenvironmental, Water)
Optional Modules for Year One
- Numerical Techniques in Civil Engineering
- Industrial Practice
- Big Data and AI in Civil Engineering
- Coastal and Estuarine Engineering
- Building and Infrastructure Information Modelling
How Will I Be Assessed?
Assessment is conducted via coursework and examinations.
You will be required to undertake an individual research project in a specialist area of Water Engineering, leading to the preparation of a dissertation. Project work is undertaken under the direct supervision of a staff member in one of the three participating departments.
Program Outcome
What Skills Will I Practise and Develop?
You will practise and develop the following skills:
Knowledge and Understanding
- Understand the multidisciplinary nature of hydro-environment engineering and the need for the integration of knowledge from a range of engineering disciplines in the management of hydro-environment engineering challenges
- Describe the techniques used to characterise the hydrodynamics of free surface flows, including species and particle transport
- Describe and model the principal geochemical processes affecting contaminant mobility in the ground and their role in impacting the quality of groundwater and surface waters
- Describe surface water biota and biological processes, and the effects of contaminants on the ecology of surface waters
- Describe the modelling of river systems and the interpretation, using IT, of the results
- Understand the basis of the finite element and finite difference methods and apply the methods to 2D water problems
- Demonstrate knowledge which is at the forefront of a range of disciplines selected from: geological, geoenvironmental, flooding, environmental law, environmental and highway engineering and the management of engineering
Intellectual Skills
- Use knowledge and scientific, evidence-based, methods in the assessment and solution of hydro-environment engineering challenges, often on the basis of limited and possibly contradictory information
- Deal with complex water engineering issues both systematically and creatively
- Critically review the background of a hydro-environment engineering problem and formulate a programme of work to address the issue
- Systematically undertake a significant research project in hydro-environment engineering which includes originality in the application of knowledge and the exercise of critical engineering judgement.
- Show originality in tackling both familiar and unfamiliar problems
- Collect, evaluate, synthesise and interpret qualitative and quantitative data in a variety of ways, and identify means to gain new data where needed
- Conceive, plan, execute, and communicate the results of an extended in-depth piece of individual project work
- Sustain a critical argument, both in writing and through presentations
Practical Skills
- Use appropriate mathematical and experimental methods for the modelling and analysis of hydro-environment engineering problems
Transferable Skills
- Manipulate, present and report data in a variety of ways
- Manage resources and time
- Communicate ideas, principles and theories effectively by oral, written, and physical or practical means
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
The record of employment of graduates of the Cardiff University MSc in Civil and Water Engineering is excellent, with the majority of graduates joining engineering consultancies. A small number of graduates each year go on to further study, typically a PhD.
Program delivery
How will I be Taught?
A wide range of teaching styles will be used to deliver the diverse material forming the curriculum of the programme. You will attend lectures and participate in example classes. You must complete 120 credits in Stage 1 in order to progress to the dissertation, for which you will be allocated a supervisor from among the teaching staff. Dissertation topics are normally chosen from a range of project titles proposed by academic staff, usually in areas of current research interest, although you will be encouraged to put forward your own project ideas.