Civil Engineering
Introduction
The Department offers a full-time MSc programme in Civil Engineering lasting twelve months. Students will have the advantages of studying in a multi-faculty college with a long tradition of excellence in teaching, research and scholarship, situated within the heart of one of the world's greatest cities. The first eight months of the programme will comprise multidisciplinary design project work and taught material. All the major areas of civil engineering will be included, reflecting the broad range of expertise available within the Department and its strong links with the engineering profession across the United Kingdom and further afield. There will be an emphasis on developing skills within a teamwork environment, equipping the students for subsequent professional practice. The final 4 months of the programme will be dedicated to an individual research project. Early in the year, students will be able to designate a preferred specialist area, which they will be able to pursue in the context of the multidisciplinary design projects and in their individual research project.
NOTE: Applicants for one year Civil Engineering MSc program are now required to complete an application test. Please go to the Entry requirements and Application section.
Programme Content
The programme consists of three equally important parts:
Design project work (45 credits):
- Design projects and workshops: establishing a background in design thinking and studio working.
- Integrated design: a teamwork project on the feasibility assessment and detailed design of a major civil engineering project, including the interaction between structural, geotechnical, fluid, environmental and transport considerations.
Individual research project (60 credits):
- Research project: involving an in-depth investigation of a specific topic in the student's chosen specialist field.
Programme Overview
There is one mandatory component (45 credits). In addition five optional taught modules from the list must be taken (15 credits each). The total number of credits acquired by all students should be 180 which includes the Dissertation (60 credits). Students are responsible for ensuring that they choose optional modules without clashes.
Term 1 & 2
| Mandatory | Optional |
|---|---|
| Integrated Design Civil Engineering Failures and Qualitative Analysis |
Seismic Design of Structures Seismic Risk Assessment Advanced Structures |
Term 1
Term 2
| Optional |
|---|
| Finite Element Modelling and Numerical Methods Urban Flooding and Drainage Coastal Engineering Natural and Environmental Disasters Project Management Roads and Underground Infrastructure |
Teaching & Learning Environments
The taught part of the programme is mainly in the form of lectures with tutorials, seminars and lab classes depending on a module. Large proportion of the Integrated Design consists of the collective and individual studio work. Research Project involves individual research and can involve laboratory, computational or field work depending on the nature of your project and your supervisor. Field trips will take place for Systems, Society and Sustainability in Term 1 and Coastal Engineering in Term 2. These dates will be made available as soon as they are confirmed.
Textbooks
Recommendations for references will be given during the programme by individual lecturers. Library facilities are available at UCL (in particular the Science Library in the DMS Watson building) and the University of London (Senate House).
Careers
The programme will provide you with a sound basis for a versatile, challenging and exciting professional career with a broad range of career opportunities within various areas of Civil Engineering. Career opportunities can be found in industry, consulting and construction activities, in public and technical services, and education and research. In your working life you will often be working in interdisciplinary teams, cooperating and integrating professionals from various fields and background.
Graduate Diploma in Civil Engineering / PRE-QUALIFYING YEAR
Applicants with a degree in a related subject (e.g. mathematics, physics or geology) may take a qualifying year before moving into the standard MSc programme. This provides grounding in fluids, soils, structures and materials engineering. The programme consists of 2nd and 3rd year core civil engineering subjects. Students are also required to complete a research project identical to the undergraduate 3rd year project.
This programme offers applicants without a first degree in Civil Engineering a unique opportunity to be awarded a fully recognised Civil Engineering MSc after 2 years of study, opening the path to a career in Civil Engineering as a chartered engineer. To be able to progress to fully chartered status students entering the pre-qualifying year should have degree in a related subject, e.g. Architecture, or a subject that would be approved by the Institution of Civil Engineers, e.g. Mathematics or Physics. This approval by the ICE is on an individual basis; the student is required to complete a form for Individual Assessment. Please refer to the ICE web page for information and application forms. There is a charge of £35 for this ICE service. The approval is not an entry requirement and can be obtained after entering the course. Practically all our students with very different backgrounds were able to receive such an approval.
General entry requirements and application procedures for the pre-qualifying year are the same as for the one-year MSc programme. When completing your application form you should enter “MSc in Civil Engineering” as the program title. If you satisfy all admission criteria you will be given a conditional offer, and the successful completion of the Graduate Diploma will be the condition of entry to the main MSc program. For further details please see here
Overseas students requiring a visa to study should note that the Graduate Diploma (Pre-qualifying year) and the MSc in Civil Engineering are treated as TWO separate programmes. This means that you will only be able to obtain a 1 year visa for the Graduate Diploma and then you will need to apply for a second visa to study the MSc. This will mean that you will almost certainly have to leave the UK between finishing the Graduate Diploma in June and commencing the MSc in September
Entry Requirements and Applications
The minimum entry requirements are a good second class honours degree in civil or structural engineering or a closely related subject from a UK university or the equivalent from an overseas institution. Applicants should be able to demonstrate a sound understanding of the principal disciplines within civil engineering. Normally, only candidates with a first degree at upper-second (2.i) level or higher will be accepted, although applicants with a second-class degree supported by good performance in the core subjects (structures, geotechnics, fluids) or extensive work experience covering these areas will be considered.
Please note that ALL applicants for the MSc programme will have to complete an entry test as one of the requirements for admission. Please click here for more details and to download the test paper. The test MUST be completed by anyone wishing to apply for the one-year Civil Engineering MSc programme (not by those wishing to apply for the pre-qualifying year).
Overseas applicants will need a recognised English language qualification. Some information relating to your country and UCL can be found here. To find out if your degree is recognised by UCL please contact the Admissions Office.
Please visit the Application & Entry website for downloadable and online application forms and details of application procedure as well as information on fees, living expenses and scholarships.
Applications are accepted throughout the year but applicants are advised to apply as early as possible to ensure commencement in the following September. It takes approx 8 weeks to process an application.
Frequently Asked Questions
It may also help you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions page. Here you can find more information on the application process, including visa issues for international students, as well as more general information applicable to all our Masters courses. Visit:
http://www.cege.ucl.ac.uk/teaching/postgraduate/faqs
If you have any queries you can contact us on (+44) (0)20 7679 3524 or email cege-postgraduate-enquiries (at) cege.ucl.ac.uk
Course Director: Dr Eugeny Buldakov
