Civil Engineering MSc

This MSc course offers civil engineering graduates and professionals the opportunity to widen their expertise across the key sub-disciplines within civil engineering. It is designed to provide both holistic knowledge and practical experience in the discipline.

From the perspective of industry and government, graduates possessing a broader understanding of Civil Engineering problems are better equipped to contribute to global challenges, such as meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (https://sdgs.un.org/goals) and tackling the climate emergency. The programme consists of nine compulsory modules spanning structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, water and hydraulic engineering, as well as project and infrastructure management.

Throughout the course, students will have full access to our state-of-the-art technical laboratory facilities. Our purpose-built computer labs are equipped with the latest industry-standard engineering software packages. These facilities are also at the disposal of students for their dissertation projects.

In addition to the course’s broad-based approach across various sub-disciplines, it also teaches advanced design skills and the versatility that engineers require to tackle the complex current challenges in the field of civil engineering.

At the end their final year, engineering and maths students are invited to showcase their project work at Brunel Engineers +, an event that both celebrates their achievements and gives them the chance to network with industry figures and employers. This video shows some of the projects exhibited at the 2024 Brunel Engineers + event, with explanations by the students themselves.

This degree is accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM) comprising of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Structural Engineers, Institute of Highway Engineers, and the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer (CEng) for candidates who have already acquired a partial CEng accredited undergraduate first degree.* See www.jbm.org.uk for further information.

NB: It should be noted that candidates completing the MSc who hold an underpinning accredited IEng degree or a non-accredited bachelor’s degree will need to apply for an academic assessment to determine whether they will meet the educational base for CEng registration.

You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.

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Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel

An MSc Civil Engineering degree will equip you with advanced knowledge and skills to work on a vast range of modern projects in the construction and civil engineering sector. From the perspective of the needs of industry and government, graduates of this MSc, who will have a broader understanding of Civil Engineering problems, would be able to contribute to global challenges that require more holistic knowledge such as fulfilling UN Sustainable Development Goals (https://sdgs.un.org/goals) and addressing climate emergency.

Many of our civil engineering graduates have technical and creative roles with contractors and consultants working on large infrastructure projects.

Some go on to jobs with national and local government agencies or major firms of consulting engineers. Others specialise in construction, sustainability, innovative materials, foundation engineering, geotechnical exploration, and highway engineering.

An integrated holistic approach is taken for delivering the teaching including classroom lectures/seminars, self-studies, individual research reports, laboratory experiments and field trips. A number of practical (physical or computer labs) and field works are employed for delivering the module blocks. The labs (physical or computer labs) and field trips will be delivered using a hybrid model (online and face-to-face).

Some teaching innovations introduced in recent years improve the teaching and learning experiences including Team-Based Learning (TBL) and the use of digital media for teaching and assessment. The CEE’s Industry Advisory Panel (IAP) facilitates speakers/guest lecturers from industry providing practical inputs towards making the teaching/learning process more relevant to industry.

It is ensured that the teaching/learning strategy is aligned with nine attributes recommended by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) through addressing them in various study blocks. Although students are not expected to fully meet ICE attributes during their study or even a few years after graduation, it is important that they learn about the professional attributes and plan to fully comply with them during and after their studies.

The assessment strategy is aimed at covering all learning outcomes and helping students to achieve the programme aims. The assessment is arranged through a series of summative and formative assessment across various modules.

The envisaged summative assessments are final exams (from 50% to 70%), oral presentations, assignments and design projects. The final exams are time-limited (2-3 hours) and are held either in January or May in a closed-book format (except for the pandemic time where exams are held in an at-home style).

The assignments and design projects are planned across all modules and give students the opportunity to apply the knowledge to real-world situations. Assignment briefs are prepared beforehand by module leaders and are communicated to students at least one month before assignments’ due dates. Module leaders provide support to help students accomplish the tasks requested by assignments and design projects.

Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.