Infrastructure Systems MSc
London, Bloomsbury
This MSc equips students with the capabilities to design, manage, and adapt infrastructure (transport, energy, etc.) systems to deliver better critical services. Students will learn the integrated and co-evolutionary nature of these systems and how they provide positive societal, economic and environmental impact. The MSc is for students from diverse backgrounds who want to specialise in infrastructure using complexity science approaches and methods to cope with uncertainty and feedback. It provides cutting edge knowledge and essential skills for tomorrow’s senior managers.
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2023/24)
Overseas tuition fees (2023/24)
Duration
Programme starts
Applications accepted
Applications open
Entry requirements
A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in an appropriate subject such as Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Computing, Architecture, Mathematics. Applicants with degrees in alternative disciplines will be considered if they have studied technical modules or have a minimum of 1 years’ work experience in any infrastructure service (e.g. utility operator, transport planning).
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The English language level for this programme is: Level 2
UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level. International Preparation Courses
Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.
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This programme is suitable for international students on a Student visa - study must be full-time, starting September.
Equivalent qualifications
Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.
International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.
About this degree
Infrastructure systems embrace transport, energy, water, wastewater, and data communications sectors which provide critical services to the public, industry, hospitals, businesses, government, etc. These services have significant economic, social, and environmental impacts. Disruptions must be managed and prevented even in the context of challenging performance demands (less cost, less material/resource use; accessibility requirement; and environmental concerns such as climate change, emissions, etc.). You will have the opportunity to learn how to solve these challenges through infrastructure design and adaptation.
Digital technologies are helping to create transparency about interdependencies between infrastructure systems and are driving industrial change. Innovations in business models, such as the circular economy, are finding novel ways to do less harm to the environment. You will explore innovations that underpin major transitions in infrastructure systems to meet industry, government and consumer needs.
There is such a diversity of organisations that contribute to infrastructure provision. Yet traditional programmes continue to take a sectoral focus ignoring interdependencies between systems. Complexity science provides a scientific basis for investigating integrated and co-evolutionary systems. You will learn about emergent properties of infrastructure, such as resilience, security, and performance, how they change over time, and how different organisations contribute to making them happen.
The programme also focuses on research skills through the term group project where you will learn to work as a team to identify research methods used to solve challenges in infrastructure systems. You will have opportunities to look at practical applications and receive input and feedback from the industry on your designs to improve performance. You will develop the skills to work confidently with data and grasp the underlying concepts and practical trade-offs in infrastructure systems transition.
Who this course is for
What this course will give you
UCL Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering is an energetic and exciting department with well-established research projects and networks in environmental engineering, transportation, urban resilience, wastewater provision, human settlements and renewable energy.
This programme educates students on the golden thread between essential services, their outcomes, and how they reduce the pressure on civil contingencies, social infrastructures (hospitals, emergency services, etc.), environmental exploitation, consumer costs, etc. The complexity science underpinning the programme provides an understanding of the interdependencies between traditionally discrete and siloed sectors and the transition pathways for an integrated national infrastructure
Students in this programme will gain skills in critical assessment, use of research for decision making, breadth of investigations, knowledge on resilience, digitalisation, circular economy, etc. For non-industry students, the programme will enable graduates unclear of their future career pathway to appreciate the breadth of opportunity in infrastructure systems allowing them to narrow their options. Furthermore, students will have the opportunity to engage across the range of stakeholders in infrastructure sectors so that their research dissertations will reflect these links and provide a springboard into recruitment into infrastructure sectors.
The foundation of your career
Employability
The programme enables you to be adaptable and reflective in your career in infrastructure. The scope and transdisciplinary approach of this programme helps to insulate our graduates from job market volatility and the whims of government policy regarding the incentives provided for different sustainable infrastructure systems.
Students can learn the following skills:
- Decision-making under uncertainty
- Manage complexity
- Systems thinking
- Team-working skills
- Critical thinking
- Creativity
- Communication of complex issues and solutions
- Leadership
- Practical application of innovations
- Scenario management
Graduates from this course will become strong candidates for senior technical infrastructure roles and better able to support decisions with an understanding of uncertainties in the field.
Accreditation
Chartered Infrastructure Engineer (Institution of Civil Engineers) when the student has sufficient work experience: Note the intention is to apply for accreditation for this programme and to request that this be backdated to the first intake, however accreditation cannot be formally conferred until at least one cohort has completed.Teaching and learning
The programme will be delivered using a combination of: traditional and pre-recorded lectures; seminars from external experts; tutorials and blended learning; both independent and group work; and project based dissertation projects. The topic is interdisciplinary addressing the opportunities created through interdependent infrastructure sectors and solutions, and so teaching uses the complex system inter-disciplinary framing. The programme will apply theoretical concepts and evidence to explain practical examples and case studies, guiding students and facilitating their work on designing technical solutions.
The programme will be delivered using a combination of: traditional and pre-recorded lectures, seminars from external experts, tutorials and blended learning, both independent and group work, and project-based dissertation projects. The topic is inter-disciplinary addressing the opportunities created through interdependent infrastructure sectors and solutions, and so teaching uses the complex system inter-disciplinary framing. The programme will apply theoretical concepts and evidence to explain practical examples and case studies, guiding students and facilitating their work on designing technical solutions.
The workload for students is approximately 40 hours per week.
This is typically made up of formal learning and teaching events such as lectures, seminars and tutorials, as well as self-directed study.
Modules
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Students take 120 credits of taught modules and 60 credits of project-based modules.
Students take two compulsory modules:
- Introduction to Complex Infrastructure Systems (15 credits, T1)
- Infrastructure Group Project (30 credits, T1 andT2)
Students select two pathways from the following:
Data/digitalisation
- Data driven decision making (15 credits, T1)
- Digitalisation in infrastructure (15 credits, T2)
Resilience
- Interdisciplinary thinking in urban sustainability and resilience (15 credits, T1)
- Risk, reliability, and resilience (15 credits, T2)
Sustainability
- Systems society and sustainability (15 credits, T1)
- Engineering for circular economy (15 credits, T2)
Public Policy
- Data driven decision making (15 credits, T1)
- Transport policy, governance and economics (15 credits, T2)
Students must also select a third optional module in T2 which may include any of the above T2 modules or:
- Building energy efficiency (15 credits, T2)
During T3 students take 60 credits of project-based dissertation modules. They must choose two from the three options below.
- Business Case Project (30 credits)
- PEARL (Person Environment Activity Research Laboratory) Project (30 credits)
- Public Policy Project (30 Credits)
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Students take 120 credits of taught modules and 60 credits of project-based modules over two years.
Year 1:
Students take one compulsory module:
- Introduction to Complex Infrastructure Systems (15 credits, T1)
Students select one pathway from the following:
Data/digitalisation
- Data driven decision making (15 credits, T1)
- Digitalisation in infrastructure (15 credits, T2)
Resilience
- Interdisciplinary thinking in urban sustainability and resilience (15 credits, T1)
- Risk, reliability, and resilience (15 credits, T2)
Sustainability
- Systems society and sustainability (15 credits,T1)
- Engineering for circular economy (15 credits, T2)
Public Policy
- Data driven decision making (15 credits, T1)
- Transport policy, governance and economics (15 credits, T2)
Students select a 15 credits term 2 module from:
- Building Energy Efficiency (CEGE0119, T2, 15 credits)
- Another T2 module (which if selected cannot be chosen in Year 2)
During term 3 students take 30 credits of project-based dissertation modules. They must choose one from the three options below.
- Business Case Project (30 credits)
- PEARL (Person Environment Activity Research Laboratory) Project (30 credits)
- Public Policy Project (30 Credits) (only if they selected the public policy pathway in Year 1)
Year 2:
Students take one compulsory module:
- Infrastructure Group Project (30 credits, T1 andT2)
Students select one pathway from the following (which must be a different pathway from Year 1):
Data/digitalisation
- Data driven decision making (15 credits, T1)
- Digitalisation in infrastructure (15 credits, T2)
Resilience
- Interdisciplinary thinking in urban sustainability and resilience (15 credits, T1)
- Risk, reliability, and resilience (15 credits, T2)
Sustainability
- Systems society and sustainability (15 credits,T1)
- Engineering for circular economy (15 credits, T2)
Public Policy
- Data driven decision making (15 credits, T1)
- Transport policy, governance and economics (15 credits, T2)
During term 3 students take 30 credits of project-based dissertation modules. They must choose one from the three options below and it cannot be the same as they chose in Year 1.
- Business Case Project (30 credits)
- PEARL (Person Environment Activity Research Laboratory) Project (30 credits)
- Public Policy Project (30 Credits)
Optional modules
Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Infrastructure Systems.
Accessibility
Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support & Wellbeing team.
Fees and funding
Fees for this course
| Fee description | Full-time | Part-time |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition fees (2023/24) | £16,100 | £8,050 |
| Tuition fees (2023/24) | £32,100 | £16,050 |
The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.
Additional costs
The costs associated with course materials such as books will vary depending upon which modules the student will select. Some modules may also charge for field trips. Students may need special protective clothing for laboratory work such as a lab coat and safety boots. There may be additional costs specific to the student's project. For example, travel costs to Dagenham if PEARL dissertation project is selected.
For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.
Funding your studies
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
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Brown Family Bursary
Deadline: 8 June 2023Value: £15,000 (1 year)Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial needEligibility: UK
Next steps
Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.
There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications and £115 for paper applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.
When we assess your application we would like to learn:
- why you want to study Infrastructure Systems at graduate level
- why you want to study Infrastructure Systems at UCL
- what particularly attracts you to this programme
- how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging programme
- where you would like to go professionally with your degree
Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.
Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.
Choose your programme
Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.
Got questions? Get in touch
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