Program Overview

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Freshwater Quality Monitoring & Assessment (Online)

Course Outline

Our online Postgraduate Diploma in Freshwater Quality Monitoring & Assessment will provide existing or future water professionals with the necessary knowledge to design and implement freshwater quality monitoring programmes and to assess water quality. The programme is offered in a part-time, online format that facilitates study in your own time. It will be useful to those already working in the water sector, including government agencies, and to staff in higher level education institutes who wish to gain a specialized postgraduate qualification in surface and groundwater monitoring, quality assurance and control, and data analysis and presentation.

Rivers, lakes and groundwaters are covered in detail and there is an option to study biological and ecological methods, the use of particulate material in monitoring and to take part in a field module during the second year of the programme. To be eligible to transfer to the MSc in Freshwater Quality Monitoring and Assessment a student must obtain a pass mark of at least 40% in each taught module and an aggregated mark of at least 50% across the 60 credits from Years 1 and 2.

Year 1 (30 credits)

• EV6001 Monitoring Programme Design for Freshwater Bodies
• EV6002 Quality Assurance in Water Quality Monitoring Programmes
• EV6003 Data Handling and Presentation for Water Quality Monitoring Programmes

Year 2: Specialised Modules (30 credits)

Two compulsory modules:

• EV6005 Monitoring and Assessment of Surface Waters
• EV6007 Monitoring and Assessment of Groundwater

And any two of the following:

• EV6004 Water Quality Monitoring in the Field (field course abroad or in Ireland)
• EV6008 Water Quality Monitoring using Biological and Ecological Methods
• EV6009 Water Quality Monitoring with Particulate Material

Academic Programme Catalogue

See the Academic Programme Catalogue where you can search for the complete and up-to-date content for this course. Note that the modules for all courses are subject to change from year to year. For complete descriptions of individual modules, see the Book of Modules.

Course Practicalities

Teaching will be on-line with each module running for 16 weeks (10 credits) or 8 weeks (5 credits), with the exception of the one-week, full-time optional field module EV6004. This module enables students to gain experience in practical freshwater quality monitoring methods.

Students are expected to spend approximately 15-20 hours per week of study effort per module, of which approximately 6 hours would be online engagement. Students are provided with a student e-mail account and access on-line to the UCC library but will need the use of a computer with an internet connection, modern browser, word processing, and spreadsheet software. Programme tutors will be in regular contact with students to provide support and advice throughout the programme.

Why Choose This Course

This unique on-line programme is designed to meet the needs for more sustainable management of freshwater resources in less developed countries. The new Sustainable Development Goal for water (SDG 6) includes an indicator for surface and groundwater quality that requires the collection of water quality data at national level.

This Postgraduate Diploma in Freshwater Quality Monitoring and Assessment will support countries who aim to meet the targets of SDG 6 by facilitating the advancement of expertise that will contribute to more sustainable management of water resources.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) GEMS/Water Capacity Development Centre (CDC) was founded in 2015 to provide global capacity development in water quality monitoring and assessment to UNEP’s global water quality monitoring system (GEMS/Water), through the provision of education, training and expert advice. The UN Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goal for water (SDG 6) is leading to an increased demand for knowledge, understanding and capacity in water quality monitoring and assessment worldwide, and through this postgraduate programme, the Centre is supporting this demand.

Skills and Careers Information

The Postgraduate Diploma is designed to give students a strong foundation in all aspects of water quality monitoring and assessment, equipping them to work in the area of water quality management in public or private sectors, including water and environment ministries, regulatory agencies, agriculture and industry. The programme will be of particular benefit for the career advancement of employees already working in the water quality sector.

Requirements

• Applicants must have a BSc in Environmental Science or cognate discipline; or a relevant professional qualification; or a portfolio of work and experience in the area of freshwater quality monitoring.
• Under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), applicants who do not hold a BSc will be judged on a case-by-case basis as to their suitability for the programme, subject to the approval of the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science.
• All applicants are required to have a sufficient level of English. Applicants, for whom English is not their primary language, should possess an IELTS of 6.5 (or TOEFL equivalent) with no less than 6.0 in each individual category. For detailed Postgraduate English Language requirements see here.

Fees and Costs

• Postgraduate EU and International Fees 2025/2026
• See our Postgraduate EU and Non-EU (International) Fee Schedule for the latest information.
• Deposits
• If your course requires a deposit, that figure will be deducted from your second-semester fee payment in January.
• Fee payment
• Fees are payable in two equal instalments. First payment is at registration and the balance usually by the end of January.
• How can I pay?
• See different options on our How Do I Pay My Fees? page.