Environmental Systems Engineering MSc
London, Bloomsbury
This is the programme information for 2025 entry
Study mode
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)
Duration
Programme starts
Applications accepted
Applications open
Applications open
About this degree
As global populations grow and the demand for better living standards and a move to a circular economy increases, the need for environmental systems engineers is rising. This Master's will equip you with the tools you need to succeed.
This comprehensive course offers the theoretical underpinnings of environmental engineering, to hands-on project-based experience with an industrial client.
You'll cover a range of topics, including policy, urban water systems, water resource management, green infrastructure, waste management, decarbonisation, hydraulics and hydrology, and more – to examine the complex interactions between the natural environment, people, processes, and technologies.
You’ll learn all about the decisions engineers need to make from sustainable and environmental engineering points of view, so you can design holistic engineering projects and technological systems that can help the world to reverse climate change, and move to Net Zero.
There’s a big emphasis on transferable skills too, like problem-solving, management, diplomacy, systems thinking, collaboration, and contextual intelligence. You'll also gain significant understanding of your work in alignment to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals This, when coupled with your technical expertise, will make you highly sought after for engineering jobs in regional and municipal authorities, consulting, research and development organisations, and more.
Who this course is for
This programme is ideal if you aspire to a high-level career in the environmental and sustainable engineering sector.
It is suitable for applicants with a first degree in civil engineering, environmental engineering, or a similar field, who want to pursue a life-long and fulfilling career as an engineer or who want to conduct further research.
What this course will give you
This programme offers you the following benefits and opportunities:
- A postgraduate degree from a top-ranked university. UCL is consistently ranked among the best universities globally (ranked 9th in the latest QS World University Rankings 2025), providing you with a prestigious qualification that is highly regarded by employers worldwide.
- Work with expert academics and researchers in UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, who specialise in different disciplines, including environment, industrial ecology and policy, water, urban resilience, energy, waste and more.
- Build strong collaborative skills, working alongside experts from UCL and carrying out an environmental systems research projects with one of our industry partners.
- Take advantage of our industry and research links, including attending seminars and exhibitions by industry leaders taking place at UCL.
- Study in the world's best city for university students (QS Best Student Cities 2024). UCL’s Bloomsbury campus is in the heart of a London district famous for its cultural and educational institutions.
Making an impact
Case study: UCL takes leading role in UN-backed centre for circular economy research
UCL has partnered with four other research institutions to establish a world-first, UN-backed Centre of Excellence, tasked with developing new approaches to the circular economy and resource efficiency.
The foundation of your career
Our graduates excel in engineering roles in consultancies, agencies, government and non-governmental bodies. Graduates from our department have gone on to work with employers such as Ford Motor Company, KPMG, EDF Energy, Jacobs Solutions, Multiplex, Thames Tideway Tunnel Project, and more.
I preferred UCL's Environmental Systems Engineering because it seemed the most applied, bringing more real-world Engineering into it.
Employability
Our programme offers a combination of theory, practice, and innovation that will give you the strong technical and contextual foundation you need to progress into an environmental engineering career in either industry or research.
Networking
You’ll have regular opportunities to connect, collaborate and build professional contacts as part of your Master’s.
- Engage with peers, industry experts and faculty members at guest lectures and special seminars.
- Take part in collaborative group projects, field trips, site visits, case studies, and workshops within the department and with industry partners.
- Access UCL Careers for a variety of resources and events to support your career development, including CV workshops and 1-2-1 guidance.
Accreditation
This degree is accredited 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.
Where you'll study
The Department boasts award-winning next-generation research facilities across UCL’s estate. Over the past few years, we have developed new state-of-the-art facilities dedicated to versatile and ambitious research aimed at creating safer and more inclusive public spaces. CAVE (Controlled Active Ventilation Environment) and PEARL (Person Environment Activity Research Laboratory) are two innovative research spaces that provide a full-scale testing facility where researchers can simulate real-life environments. These facilities are in line with UCL's Sustainability Strategy, supporting our bold ambition to become a net-zero carbon institution by 2030. PEARL is UCL's first net-zero carbon building. The StrEnTHE (Structural & Environmental Testing at Here East) laboratory offers large-scale structural and environmental testing capabilities, including the UK's only integrated environmental-mechanical rig for testing masonry wall specimens and other large structural elements under various loading and environmental conditions.
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