Civil and Geoenvironmental Engineering (MSc)
- Duration: 1 year
- Mode: Full time
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Why study this course
This course is designed to provide specialist postgraduate professional development in this emerging and inclusive discipline, which recognises that many environmental challenges cannot be solved by one traditional discipline alone. The programme encompasses areas traditionally within civil engineering, earth sciences and biology.
Engaging culture
There is an open and engaging culture between our students and our research-active staff, who are actively involved in the design and delivery of this course.
Cross-disciplinary learning
The course involves an innovative partnership between the Schools of Engineering, Earth and Environmental Sciences and Biosciences.
Industry links and projects
This course includes industrial input through invited lecturers, and you will have the opportunity to complete a research-led project.
Practical teaching
Professional practice issues are integrated with the scientific and engineering foundation of the degree programme through a series of short, workshop-style training courses covering practical aspects.
Professionally accredited course
This course is accredited by the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, and the Institute of Highway Engineers on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Candidates must hold a CEng accredited undergraduate first degree to comply with full CEng registration requirements.
This MSc offers you the knowledge and expertise that you need to help you forge a career as a consulting geoenvironmental engineer within a multi-disciplinary professional team. The course is designed to provide specialist postgraduate professional development in this emerging discipline, encompassing areas traditionally within civil engineering, earth sciences and biology.
Geoenvironmental engineering is an inclusive discipline which recognises that many environmental challenges cannot be solved by one traditional discipline alone. The solutions to environmental challenges relating to human interaction with soil, groundwater and surface water require engineers to possess a broad range of knowledge and expertise. Cardiff University's MSc in Civil and Geoenvironmental Engineering prepares you to meet these challenges.
Civil engineering, earth sciences and the life sciences are all part of the discipline of geoenvironmental engineering. As a geoenvironmental engineer you could be involved in a wide range of activities, including contaminated land management, hydrogeology, water resource management, geochemical analysis, groundwater and surface water contamination fate and transport prediction, environmental impact assessment, environmental risk assessment, and habitat management. Geoenvironmental engineers frequently work in multidisciplinary project teams and developments.
Accreditations
Where you'll study
School of Engineering
Study in one of the UK's leading engineering Schools for the quality of research and teaching.
Admissions criteria
In order to be considered for an offer for this programme you will need to meet all of the entry requirements. Your application will not be progressed if the information and evidence listed is not provided.
With your online application you will need to provide:
- A copy of your degree certificate and transcripts which show you have achieved a 2:2 honours degree in a relevant subject such as architectural, civil, geotechnical, structural engineering, or mechanical engineering from ENSAM/ParisTech, or an equivalent international degree. If your degree certificate or result is pending, please upload any interim transcripts or provisional certificates.
- A copy of your IELTS certificate with an overall score of 6.5 with 5.5 in all subskills, or evidence of an accepted equivalent. Please include the date of your expected test if this qualification is pending. If you have alternative acceptable evidence, such as an undergraduate degree studied in the UK, please supply this in place of an IELTS.
If you have a degree in biosciences, earth sciences or environmental sciences, you may still apply but should provide additional evidence to support your application such as a CV and references.
Application Deadline
We allocate places on a first-come, first-served basis, so we recommend you apply as early as possible. Applications normally close at the end of August but may close sooner if all places are filled.
Selection process
We will review your application and if you meet all of the entry requirements, we will make you an offer.
Find out more about English language requirements.
Applicants who require a Student visa to study in the UK must present an acceptable English language qualification in order to meet UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) requirements.
Criminal convictions
You are not required to complete a DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) check or provide a Certificate of Good Conduct to study this course.
If you are currently subject to any licence condition or monitoring restriction that could affect your ability to successfully complete your studies, you will be required to disclose your criminal record. Conditions include, but are not limited to:
- access to computers or devices that can store images
- use of internet and communication tools/devices
- curfews
- freedom of movement, including the ability to travel to outside of the UK or to undertake a placement/studies outside of Cardiff University
- contact with people related to Cardiff University.
Course structure
The course is comprised of taught modules in the Autumn and Spring semesters, followed by an individual research project.
The degree programme is available on a one year full-time basis or on a three year part-time basis. The full-time programme is delivered over two taught semesters followed by a research period and preparation of a dissertation. This MSc is a partnership between the School of Engineering, the School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Science and the School of Biosciences, and is administered by the School of Engineering.
The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum. Final modules will be published one month ahead of your programme starting.
Once you have completed the taught section of your course in Part 1, you will be required to undertake an individual research project in a specialist area of geoenvironmental engineering, leading to the preparation of a dissertation.
Project work is undertaken under the direct supervision of a member of staff in one of the three participating departments.
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial Practice | ENT512 | 10 credits |
| Professional Engineering Studies | ENT521 | 10 credits |
| Environmental Fluid Mechanics | ENT602 | 10 credits |
| Environmental Policy and Regulation | ENT620 | 10 credits |
| Engineering Case Study | ENT725 | 20 credits |
| Flood Design | ENT750 | 10 credits |
| Soil and Groundwater Chemistry | ENT752 | 10 credits |
| Waste Management and Recycling | ENT761 | 10 credits |
| Dissertation (Civil, Structural, Geoenvironmental, Water) | ENT509 | 60 credits |
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Numerical Techniques in Civil Engineering | ENT501 | 10 credits |
| Big Data and AI in Civil Engineering | ENT680 | 10 credits |
| ENVIRONMENTAL GEOTECHNICS | ENT682 | 10 credits |
| Theoretical Soil Mechanics | ENT714 | 10 credits |
| Coastal and Estuarine Engineering | ENT767 | 10 credits |
The University is committed to providing a wide range of module options where possible, but please be aware that whilst every effort is made to offer choice this may be limited in certain circumstances. This is due to the fact that some modules have limited numbers of places available, which are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, while others have minimum student numbers required before they will run, to ensure that an appropriate quality of education can be delivered; some modules require students to have already taken particular subjects, and others are core or required on the programme you are taking. Modules may also be limited due to timetable clashes, and although the University works to minimise disruption to choice, we advise you to seek advice from the relevant School on the module choices available.
Learning and assessment
How will I be taught?
Part 1 of your course involves taught classes such as lectures, laboratory sessions and tutorials. You will be taught by leading international researchers in the fields of civil and geoenvironmental engineering.
A feature of the MSc in Civil and Geoenvironmental Engineering is the series of short, workshop style training courses covering practical applications, integrating professional practice issues with the scientific and engineering foundation of the course. These workshops are delivered by recognised professional practitioners in the industry.
How will I be assessed?
Achievement of learning outcomes in the majority of modules is assessed by a combination of coursework assignments, plus University examinations set in January or May. Examinations count for 60%–70% of assessment in Stage 1 of the programme, depending on the options chosen, the remainder being largely project work and pieces of coursework.
Award of an MSc requires successful completion of Stage 2, the Dissertation, with a mark of 50% or higher. Candidates achieving a 70% average may be awarded a Distinction.
Candidates achieving a 60% average may be awarded a Merit. Candidates failing to qualify for an MSc may be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma for 120 credits in Stage 1. Candidates failing to complete the 120 credits required for Stage 1 may still be eligible for the award of a Postgraduate Certificate for the achievement of at least 60 credits.
How will I be supported?
You will receive supervision from experts in their field during your project and dissertation, and will have access to the research facilities of the School.
Feedback
You will receive written feedback for written coursework assignment and oral feedback for assessed presentations.
What skills will I practise and develop?
Knowledge and understanding
Upon completing this programme, you should be able to:
- Understand the multidisciplinary nature of geoenvironmental engineering and the need for the integration of knowledge from civil engineering, earth sciences and biological sciences in the management of geoenvironmental engineering challenges.
- Demonstrate awareness of the significance of geological, geochemical, hydrological and biological data in geoenvironmental management.
- Demonstrate awareness of the scientific, technical, legal and commercial issues affecting geoenvironmental engineering practice;
- Describe the techniques used to characterise flow of groundwater and surface waters.
- Describe and model the principal geochemical processes affecting contaminant mobility in the ground and their role in impacting the quality of groundwater and surface waters.
- Describe surface water biota and biological processes, and the effects of contaminants on the ecology of surface waters.
- Undertake mathematical and numerical modelling of groundwater flow and groundwater contaminant transport.
- Select appropriate methods for the investigation, assessment, management and mitigation of contaminants in the ground, in groundwater and in surface waters.
Intellectual Skills
- Use knowledge and scientific, evidence-based, methods in the assessment and solution of geoenvironmental engineering challenges, often on the basis of limited and possibly contradictory information.
- Deal with complex geoenvironmental engineering issues both systematically and creatively.
- Show originality in tackling both familiar and unfamiliar problems.
- Critically review the background to a geoenvironmental engineering problem and to formulate a programme of work to address the issue.
- Systematically undertake a significant research project in geoenvironmental engineering which includes originality in the application of knowledge and the exercise of critical engineering judgement.
- Collect, evaluate, synthesise and interpret qualitative and quantitative data in a variety of ways, and identify means to gain new data where needed.
- Conceive, plan, execute, and communicate the results of an extended in-depth piece of individual project work.
- Sustain a critical argument, both in writing and through presentations.
Practical Skills
-
Use appropriate mathematical and experimental methods for the modelling and analysis of geoenvironmental engineering problems.
Transferable Skills
- Manipulate, present and report data in a variety of ways.
- Manage resources and time.
- communicate ideas, principles and theories effectively by oral, written, and physical or practical means.
Tuition fees for 2025 entry
Your tuition fees and how you pay them will depend on your fee status. Your fee status could be home, island or overseas.
Learn how we decide your fee status
Fees for home status
| Year | Tuition fee | Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Year one | £11,700 | None |
Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland
If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss national, your tuition fees for 2025/26 be in line with the overseas fees for international students, unless you qualify for home fee status. UKCISA have provided information about Brexit and tuition fees.
Fees for island status
Learn more about the postgraduate fees for students from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
Fees for overseas status
| Year | Tuition fee | Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Year one | £29,450 | £2,500 |
More information about tuition fees and deposits, including for part-time and continuing students.
Financial support
Financial support may be available to individuals who meet certain criteria. For more information visit our funding section. Please note that these sources of financial support are limited and therefore not everyone who meets the criteria are guaranteed to receive the support.
Additional costs
Will I need any specific equipment to study this course/programme?
No specific equipment is required.
Living costs
We’re based in one of the UK’s most affordable cities. Find out more about living costs in Cardiff.
Funding
Career prospects
The record of employment of graduates of the Cardiff University MSc in Civil and Geoenvironmental Engineering is excellent, with the majority of graduates joining engineering consultants. A small number of graduates each year go on to further study, typically a PhD.
Substantial industrial involvement with the design and delivery of the course ensures the continuing relevance of the MSc as preparation for professional employment work in this area.
Next steps
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HESA Data: Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2021. The Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from its data. Data is from the latest Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20, published by HESA in June 2022.
