MSc Water and Environmental Engineering

The MSc dissertation will require you to conduct research and/or display the ability to critically evaluate evidence. Dissertation projects could be based on original laboratory experimentation, field testing, pilot plant work or literature review.

Modules are taught during both the Autumn and Spring semesters of the academic year. One module comprises a European Study Tour which is normally completed during the Easter vacation and assessed on the quality of a fieldbook and a formal report.

The MSc and Postgraduate Diploma programme in Water and Environmental Engineering provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge in five compulsory modules. In addition, MSc and Postgraduate Diploma students will be provided with opportunities to develop a comprehensive understanding in at least a further three optional modules chosen from the remaining four available. Postgraduate Certificate students will develop and demonstrate knowledge in four modules chosen from the full compulsory and optional module list with the approval of the Programme Director.

If you are enrolled on an MSc programme, you are required to produce a dissertation on a suitable topic (specific requirements will be supplied in the programme regulations). The dissertation involves a focused study of a particular topic and is formally assessed by two examiners. Some projects are University-based, some may involve collaboration with industry, and others involve collection of data from overseas countries. You will be required to submit a proposal and a detailed plan for the project. The proposals will be approved by the programme team and an appropriate supervisor assigned to you.

All compulsory and optional modules are worth 15 credits. The dissertation project is worth 60 credits.

Each module corresponds to150 hours of work, which includes 30 hours of lectures.

Teaching and learning will normally be achieved by a combination of formal lectures, coursework, demonstrations and group projects, except in the case of the European Study Tour and the dissertation modules. In all other modules, assessment will be by a combination of examinations and continuous assessment. Coursework sometimes involves individual or group projects.

Each module will be examined separately. Where appropriate, there will be a written examination for a module at the end of each semester.

Water and Environmental Engineering lectures are delivered primarily by staff from the Centre for Environmental Health and Engineering (CEHE) and visiting lecturers with national or international reputations in the topic area.

In recent years, CEHE has benefited from investment in new equipment in both the small centre facility, which primarily supports fieldwork, and a larger, more extensively equipped microbiology and chemistry laboratory. The laboratories are equipped with recently acquired state-of-the-art analytical equipment including ICP-OES, GC/MS, TOC, Ion Chromatograph, Particle Counter, water quality loggers, Delagua kits and so on, available for fieldwork.

A water and wastewater research pilot plant is located at Thames Water’s Shalford and Godalming Water Treatment Works, just a few kilometres away from the University campus. Over the years, many MSc dissertation projects have been completed at this facility, most of them to assist in the development or testing of relief agency systems.

A parallel wastewater research pilot plant has recently been established, again with the support of Thames Water, at Godalming Sewage Treatment Works.

Library Facilities

The University Library is currently resourced for books, journals and electronic resources, as the postgraduate programme in Water and Environmental Engineering has been well established over the last decade. The programme draws on science, engineering and other areas of knowledge, and the overall diversity of academic groups within the University ensures that there are library resources to answer most needs. The provision of British Standards online has reduced the copyright requirements and the quantity of photocopying required. Passwords are available from the Library web pages for all other electronic resources.

CEHE Resource Centre

Provision is made within CEHE to access a limited range of textbooks, previously completed MSc dissertations, a selected range of journals and software mounted on PCs in the Catchment Modelling Laboratory or available on CD.

Professional Institution Resources

Library and learning resources are available at the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management and other appropriate professional bodies.

All categories of members of the professional institutions are allowed to borrow books from the institution libraries by post, and in some cases to access other services online.

Computing

There are suitable computing facilities available both within the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences and through central University facilities.

Teaching Rooms

Teaching is primarily in flat floor teaching rooms, although there are occasions when formal lecture theatre facilities are used. All of the usual academic support materials and systems are available and pre-printed notes are distributed during every lecture.

CEHE is able to draw on the specialised expertise of professional contacts to give an added dimension to the MSc programme.

CEHE has collaborative links with numerous industrial organisations in the UK and overseas. A number of these contacts have been associated with MSc teaching and dissertation-related research or development activities. More recently these have included Thames Water, Southern Water, Wessex Water, Black and Veatch, Veolia Environmental Services Ltd, Atkins, Mott McDonalds Ltd, Water Quality Management Ltd, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Stadtwerke Karlsruhe, Germany.

Particularly strong collaborative relationships are maintained with the Drinking Water Inspectorate. The British Geological Survey, Imperial College, London, University College, London, Kings College, London, the Natural History Museum, London, and the Reading Public Health Laboratories all contribute to the MSc programme.

The Centre has a particularly prestigious international profile. CEHE is part of a designated World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre and also an invited member of the UNICEF WASH Cluster Group of Relief Agencies. In recent years, extensive connections relating to development and testing operations have been maintained with Oxfam UK. RedR training programmes have been hosted by the Centre. Other developing world or humanitarian relief connections have included MSF, PAHO and CEPIS, Peru.