Program Overview

Overview of the Circular Economy and Recycling Technologies Program

The Circular Economy and Recycling Technologies program is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to tackle the challenges of implementing a circular economy in a global context. This program focuses on waste management, scarcity of resources, minimizing emissions and energy use, and maximizing selective reuse and recycling processes.

Course Details

• Awards: NFQ Level 9
• Number of Places: 20 Places
• Next Intake: September 2025
• Course Director: Professor Iouri Gounko
• Closing Date: 31st July 2025

Admission Requirements

This program is suitable for graduates who have achieved an upper second-class Honours degree (at 2.1 or above) or the international equivalent in either Science or Engineering. Those with an equivalent professional qualification are also encouraged to apply. Exceptions for those with relevant industrial or other experience may be considered and will require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies.

English Language Requirements

All applicants to Trinity are required to provide official evidence of proficiency in the English language. Applicants to this course are required to meet Band B (Standard Entry) English language requirements.

Course Structure

The program structure includes online components, as well as group work, presentations, and individual research. Teaching will be provided by a multidisciplinary team of experts across the Schools of Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, and Natural Sciences, all of whom are active researchers in this cutting-edge area. This course also includes a research project that will be supervised by one of our academic experts across the Schools of Chemistry, Engineering, Physics, and Natural Sciences.

Course Content

The course will consist of eight taught modules delivered either through online or in-person teaching. This includes a cross-cutting introductory core module designed to equip students with the foundational information necessary to progress through the remaining modules in the program.

• Introduction to Circular Economy and Materials Science
• Introduction to Energy Economics
• Plastics, Composites, and Plastics Recycling Fundamentals of plastics
• Waste Management and Energy Recovery
• Sustainable Materials and Environmental Management
• Raw Materials Management and Recycling
• Engineering for the Environment
• Life Cycle Assessment
• Supervised Research Project

Career Opportunities

Graduates of this program will be uniquely placed to work in a wide range of sectors such as manufacturing, environmental and recycling industries. Graduates will provide significant expertise and added value to companies, and support growth and competitiveness across relevant Irish and European industries.

Course Fees

For a full list of postgraduate fees, please refer to the relevant section of the university's website.

Program Description

The Circular Economy concept offers alternative solutions to the problems of waste management, scarcity of resources, minimizing emissions and energy use, and maximizing selective reuse and recycling processes. The main goal of this approach is to keep products, components, and materials at their highest levels of use and value by closing the loop of product life cycles. This approach requires allowing economic activity to grow while minimizing the use of finite resources and waste generation.

The circular model is based on three principles: designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, regenerating natural systems. This course will provide students with core knowledge of the Circular Economy concept as well as the relevant technologies used in the recycling area. Through a blended delivery of modules, this program will explore topics such as life cycle assessment (LCA), waste management, waste rock reclamation, waters, and sludge treatment as well as recycling, reprocessing, and remanufacturing. It will allow students to develop a unique perspective of the design process to enable the recovery and reuse of materials.