Program Overview

Environmental Engineering (MSc)

Overview

Environmental Engineers work at the interface between the Natural and the Built Environment. Environmental Engineering deals with the Impacts of the Built Environment and Human Activities on the Natural Environment and vice versa. The Programme provides the Technical Understanding of these Interactions across the Engineering and Environmental Sciences and develops your Practical Skills to Characterise and Monitor these key Processes and to find Solutions to address these Challenges. In doing so, Environmental Engineering is key to supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals and to finding and implementing Solutions to Mitigate and to Adapt to Climate Change. Environmental Engineering is a broad discipline which is accessible to those from many different backgrounds. The Programme offers a wide variety of elective modules across Environmental Engineering to suit your particular interests. The Programme provides the opportunities for a career in the environmental, consultancy, regulatory, management, and engineering industry at home or abroad.

Entry Requirements

Normally a 2.2 Honours degree or above or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University in a relevant Engineering/Science discipline, e.g. Civil Engineering. Applicants must also demonstrate sufficient mathematical background (a minimum of A-level standard or equivalent) however undergraduate courses with a high mathematical content, e.g. Statistics, will be considered on a case-by case-basis. A 2.1 Honours degree or above, or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University, is required for those with an insufficient mathematical background. Applicants with qualifications below 2.2 Honours degree standard (or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University) will be considered on a case-by case-basis. Supplementary form to be completed along with application. Professional Qualifications may be considered alongside extensive relevant professional experience. Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 30th June 2025 for courses which commence in late September. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal prior to the deadline stated on course finder. Notifications to this effect will appear on the application portal against the programme application page. Please note: A deposit will be required to secure a place.

International Students

Our country/region pages include information on entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships, student profiles, upcoming events and contacts for your country/region. Use the dropdown list below for specific information for your country/region.

English Language Requirements

Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required (*taken within the last 2 years).

Tuition Fees

Northern Ireland (NI) £7,300 Republic of Ireland (ROI) £7,300 England, Scotland or Wales (GB) £9,250 EU Other £25,800 International £25,800

Additional Course Costs

Students are expected to supply their own waterproof clothing and sturdy footwear to participate in field-based activities, where applicable. Students who choose to undertake their MSc research project in collaboration with external organisation may be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure Check with Access NI costing £33.

Career Prospects

Environmental Engineers are in high demand. The challenges of Sustainable Development, Decarbonisation and Climate Change Adaptation require technical competencies alongside practical skills to find and implement solutions to these challenges. The programme provides its graduates with the relevant competencies and skills for successful careers in environmental engineering, monitoring, management and consultancy, and establishes a basis for interdisciplinary research studies. Over the past two decades, the programme has developed a strong recognition with employers in industry, governmental agencies and academia with many of our past graduates having become Senior Industry Leaders and actively recruiting from the programme. Past graduates have found employment with a wide range of employers, eg environment regulatory agencies, civil engineering and specialist contractors as well as engineering and environmental consultancies in the UK, Ireland and abroad.

Prizes and Awards

Relevant completed MSc Dissertation Projects are eligible to be nominated for the William Bald Scholarship Award and the Esso Energy Prize.

Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills

In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.

Modules

• Eng Hydrology and Hydrogeology (20 credits)
• Sustainability Management (20 credits)
• Land & Water Quality (20 credits)
• Assessment of Environmental Impacts (20 credits)
• Project-Environmental Engineering (60 credits)
• Mitigating Climate Change (20 credits)
• Project Planning for Sustainability (20 credits)
• GIS and Spatial Analysis (20 credits)
• Water and Wastewater Treatment (10 credits)
• Skills for Sustainable Development (20 credits)
• Introduction to Renewable Energies (10 credits)

Module Details

Eng Hydrology and Hydrogeology

• Overview: The course provides an introduction of the principles of surface and groundwater flow and its implications on the management of water as a natural resource.
• Learning Outcomes: On completion of the course, you should have: a broad recognition of the key concepts related to surface & groundwater flow and water management; an understanding of how surface & groundwater behaves in the wider environment and how it impacts both natural processes and human activity; an understanding of the legislative framework for protecting and improving the quality of water; an understanding of sampling/monitoring strategies for groundwater & surface water; an understanding of tools for assessing quality of "natural" waters; an understanding of key physical parameters which affect "natural" waters; an understanding of the principles of water chemistry and geochemistry and the chemical composition of water bodies; begun to understand and identify characteristics of key hydrogeological environments; begun to understand and apply/identify key concepts of groundwater management; begun to identify principle remediation strategies for contaminated groundwater.
• Skills: On completion of the module, you should have a broad recognition of the key concepts related to surface water and groundwater flow and water management. The module is furthermore aimed at developing your practical skills in applying key concepts and analysis techniques to real life case study examples and to allow you to formulate the results of hydrological monitoring and hydrogeological investigations and assessments in the form of technical reports.

Sustainability Management

• Overview: Over the course of the 1-semester module (12 weeks), the module will cover the following key elements: Introduction to Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG); Introduction to Green Economy; Sustainable Finance in Context; Fundamentals of Sustainable Finance; Examples of Sustainable Finance taxonomies; Sustainable Finance as Driver for Environmental Engineering Practice.
• Learning Outcomes: On completion of the course, you should have: A broad recognition of the key concepts related to Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance; An introductory understanding of Green Economy concepts and frameworks for measuring green economy progress; An understanding of the role of Sustainable Finance (SF) in delivering global goals on climate change and development; Begun to identify the core concepts of Sustainable Finance and associated corporate reporting/disclosures; An introductory understanding of current examples of Sustainable Finance taxonomies and their environmental/technical screening criteria; An understanding of the role of Environmental Engineering Practice within Sustainable Finance frameworks and corporate reporting; Begun to understand examples of Sustainable Finance products and how Environmental Engineering relates to these.
• Skills: On completion of the module, you should have a broad recognition of the key concepts related to Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance and Sustainable Finance Frameworks and how Environmental Engineering Practise contributes to these. The module is furthermore aimed at developing your practical skills in applying these key concepts in combination with technical environmental engineering skills to real life case study examples, to allow you to assess the performance of companies with regard to ESG and SF taxonomies and to demonstrate the contributions of your technical Environmental Engineering skills to company reporting/disclosures.

Land & Water Quality

• Overview: The purpose of the course is to develop an introduction to the theoretical and practical strategies used for assessing and managing the quality of soils and water.
• Learning Outcomes: On completion of the course you should: Have knowledge and understanding of the legislative framework for protecting and improving the quality of land and water; Have knowledge and understanding of site walk over surveys and sampling/monitoring strategies for soil and soil gas; Have understanding of the application and derivation of Generic Assessment Criteria and other tools for assessing quality of soils and groundwater; Have understanding of the implementation of options appraisal using sustainability metrics, remediation strategies, and plans for contaminated soils and groundwater; Have knowledge and understanding of the verification of remediation of soils and groundwater; Have knowledge and understanding of key principles of groundwater chemistry; Have knowledge and understanding of main processes governing the fate & transport of contaminants in the water environment; Apply the Source, Pathway, Receptor model and pollutant linkages for contaminated land to synthesize preliminary risk assessments in the form of desk studies; Define, apply and formulate conceptual models; Create decision records arising from preliminary risk assessments; Apply decisions from preliminary risk assessments to designing both non intrusive and intrusive methods of site investigations as well as to assessing health and safety considerations; Apply, formulate, create and interrogate Detailed Quantitative Risk Assessments; Undertake options appraisals of risk management solutions; Identify key chemical properties of groundwater systems and rock-water interactions; Identify key processes underlying contaminant fate & transport in the water environment.
• Skills: On completion of the course you should be able to: Create and evaluate qualitative and quantitative conceptual models for contaminated land; Perform preliminary risk assessments to a standard required by a regulator; Use the outcomes of preliminary risk assessments to undertake decision making relating to health and safety risks and the requirement for further investigations/remediation; Apply conceptual models to develop sampling strategies for contaminated land; Perform basic detailed quantitative risk assessments; Correctly apply, interrogate and make decisions based on industry standard risk assessment models; Evaluate remediation options and make decisions on remediation strategies; Evaluate hydrochemical data in the context of varying groundwater environments.

Assessment of Environmental Impacts

• Overview: This module aims to introduce students to how the impacts of engineering projects are assessed within the framework Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Impact Assessment and sustainability evaluations.
• Learning Outcomes: By the end of this module, the student should have knowledge and understanding of: the regulatory drivers for Environmental Impact Assessment/Strategic Environmental Assessment; the current standards and guidance for quantifying environmental impacts through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); relevant legislation relating to different waste management scenarios; how to evaluate the impacts of various waste streams on the social and environmental locale; how to define the waste hierarchy and concept of zero waste; how to critically evaluate and communicate succinctly the relationship between wastes management and sustainable development; regional waste strategies and demonstrate their links to land use planning; the various stakeholders in the waste management decision making process.
• Skills: By the end of this module, the student should be able to: define the scope of an LCA and undertake inventory analysis; understand how life cycle approaches are employed in industry through resource management, low carbon construction and carbon/energy/water foot printing; define the need to, and difficulty of, balancing diverse criteria during decision making processes; make cases for the adoption of a particular waste technology or combination of waste technologies (options appraisal); identify technical, financial and social risks associated with different waste management technologies.

Project-Environmental Engineering

• Overview: Thesis work allows each student to perform independent research work on an agreed project including: development of idea, literature review, experiment design, data collection and analysis and report writing.
• Learning Outcomes: The successful completion of the Thesis Research module should equip students: To evaluate research problems within the chosen project area, including choosing appropriate methodologies and analysis techniques (key elements); To understand & formulate the significance of specific research outcomes in the chosen project area within the context of the existing body of research (key elements).
• Skills: The successful completion of the Thesis Research module should allow students to: identify & appraise key methodologies applied in practical research within the chosen Project area; apply relevant practical methodologies within the chosen project area, including carrying out relevant lab and/or field experiments and collating & analysing data sets.

Mitigating Climate Change

• Overview: This module explores the techniques used to mitigate climate change, both in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and removing carbon from the atmosphere.
• Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of the module, students will be able to: Understand net zero as a scientific concept and political target for climate mitigation; Evaluate the role various nature-based and technological solutions play in climate mitigation, as well as methods to reduce consumption; Apply a range of practical methods relevant to climate mitigation; Communicate information relevant to climate mitigation to a range of audiences.
• Skills: General & Employability Skills: Bibliographic searching; referencing of published literature; Critical evaluation of published literature; Abstraction and synthesis of information into coherent written arguments; Ability to communicate complex scientific ideas to a range of audiences; Quantitative data and statistical analysis; Data presentation; Ability to undertake independent learning; Time management. Subject-specific Skills: Fieldwork; Lab work; GIS and Remote Sensing.

Project Planning for Sustainability

• Overview: The need for infrastructure to be sustainable is one of the driving factors behind project planning, design, construction and operation.
• Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of the module the student should be able to: Evaluate and effectively apply the wider concept of sustainability including how environmental and social risks are taken to account in all stages of a building or infrastructure project; Critically evaluate a real world problem to identify its sustainability risks and impacts and mitigate for the same, taking into account the project’s physical, regulatory and commercial context.
• Skills: On successful completion of the module the student should be able to: Assess, analyse and present complex information in written form; Solve problems involving incomplete information and complex issues; Apply subject-specific knowledge to generic engineering and management challenges.

GIS and Spatial Analysis

• Overview: The module will be run for twelve weeks from September to December and examines two aspects of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Spatial Planning.
• Learning Outcomes: 1. Generate integrated and well substantiated responses to spatial planning challenges. 2. Demonstrate how efficient resource management helps to deliver effective spatial planning. 3. Explain the contribution that planning can make to the built and natural environment and in particular recognise the implications of climate change. 4. Demonstrate effective research, analytical, evaluative and appraisal skills and the ability to reach appropriate evidence based decisions. 5. Recognise the role of communication skills in the planning process and the importance of working in an inter-disciplinary context and be able to demonstrate negotiation, mediation, advocacy and leadership skills.
• Skills: Oral and written presentation skills; working in a team; spatial literacy; report writing skills; and qualitative and quantitative research skills.

Water and Wastewater Treatment

• Overview: This course is designed to introduce students to the basic principles and underlying concepts of water and wastewater treatment.
• Learning Outcomes: Understanding of: the need for water and waste water treatment; the range of contaminants which affect water quality; the main treatment methods in use at present for potable water; preliminary, primary & secondary treatment of wastewater; the main health & safety issues concerning water & wastewater treatment in this country; basic aspects of legislation concerning water & wastewater treatment in this country; methods of disposal of effluent & sludge.
• Skills: The ability to: calculate the capacity of storm water systems for wastewater treatment plant; assess the settlement of suspended solids; calculate the size requirements for settlement tanks and grit chambers; carry out calculations relating to the operation & backwash of granular media filters; calculate the dilution of discharged effluent.

Skills for Sustainable Development

• Overview: This is a broad ranging module exploring the major global issues in environmental sustainability, such as Climate Change, Biodiversity, Waste Management, Water Management and Renewable Energy.
• Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to: conceptualise the global context of environmental sustainability; recognise and judge the effectiveness of techniques and methodologies for sustainable development; identify and assess the pressures caused to the environment by human activities and explore current solutions which have been applied to help combat these.
• Skills: Competence in appreciating the complexity and diversity of the natural environment; an ability to assess the merits of key theories and debates of sustainable development with particular reference to the natural environment; apply techniques and methodologies for sustainable development in a local context and evaluate its emergence as a response to problems of the natural environment.

Introduction to Renewable Energies

• Overview: The objectives of the module are to provide an introduction to Renewable Energy Technologies, their applications and legislative framework.
• Learning Outcomes: On completion of the module, students should begin to understand and apply/identify: key concepts of renewable energy technologies; key fundamentals of the regulatory framework for the application of renewable energy technologies; basic criteria for the assessment of conceptual suitability of renewable energy technologies; the complexities of marine tidal environment in particular in relation to extraction of tidal power and be able to apply this to any site around the world; basic requirements for developing offshore wind as a leading source of energy in coming years.
• Skills: On completion of the module, students should have a broad appreciation of the issues and a broad recognition of the key concepts related to Renewable Energy Technologies. Students should furthermore have developed their practical skills in applying key concepts and analysis techniques to real life case study examples to allow them to formulate the results of conceptual assessments in the form of technical reports and oral presentations.