Program Overview

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This programme of study responds to the global demand for graduates with science or engineering backgrounds who can provide technical consultation and deliver specialist solutions to improve sustainability.

Graduates from MSc Global Sustainability Engineering will work at the forefront of sustainable development. They will be able to call on engineering knowledge to identify existing unsustainable processes and practices and implement strategies for improvement.

In developing this degree, Heriot-Watt University has built on over 30 years of experience in researching and teaching sustainable engineering. We have taken inspiration from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and want our graduates to be advocates of change; to understand how both incremental and disruptive approaches can be harnessed for effective sustainable development.

Courses will break down the barriers between disciplines and promote synergy between different branches of learning so that a holistic view of problems and solutions can be developed.

Students on this programme will take five mandatory courses and three optional courses. Five mandatory courses develop critical understanding of the fundamental issues impacting global sustainability whilst the selection of three additional courses from seven options allows each student to tailor the degree to their own area of interest and potential career pathway such as process engineering, building services and carbon management.

In addition to eight 15-credit courses, students will complete a mandatory 60-credit dissertation project in order to graduate with a full MSc qualification.

Heriot-Watt University’s Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS) is an interdisciplinary engineering centre with a track record of inspiring and delivering innovation for the wider deployment of technologies needed to meet necessary carbon targets.

A brand-new course on this degree, Carbon Solutions, has been directly informed by the world-leading work carried out by Heriot-Watt University’s Research Centre for Carbon Solutions.