MEng/BEng (Hons) Civil and Environmental Engineering

Year 2 Core Modules

You must study and pass all five core modules​

Brief description

Advanced structural analysis and basic structural design procedures.

Indicative content:

• Structural analysis: Compression members: modes of failure, slenderness and instability, Euler’s buckling load i.e. timber columns. Basic concepts: Statically determinate vs statically indeterminate structures i.e. flexibility and stiffness methods. Influence lines Symmetry.
• Structural design: Requirements of structural design, design philosophies. Design requirements, loads and material strengths, partial safety factors, design process Introduction to timber column design. Introduction to masonry. Introduction temporary works.
• Laboratory work: Timber beams tested to destruction and Buckling of (model). Struts.

Brief description

Fundamental principles of hydrology and hydrostatics. Learn to apply these principles to model problems relevant to water resources and civil engineering.

Indicative content:

• Hydrology: Review of the hydrological cycle. Fundamental principles of hydrology. Precipitation, occurrence and forms, estimation and measurements, rain gauges and methods of data handling. Evaporational influences and estimation methods.
• Water Use and Quality: Demand, use and re-use of water. Sustainable water use. Human and environmental needs for water and water conservation. Introduction to water quality parameters; quality of various types and sources of water; factors affecting quality.
• Water related disasters, and Sustainable Water Management: Floods and droughts - nature and causes. Sustainable water management, sustainable catchment management and sustainable drainage systems (SUDS).
• Fluid Properties: Review of the properties of liquid fluids. Reynolds experiment; Reynolds number, mean velocity, discharge; description of types and patterns of flow; velocity gradients, laminar and turbulent motion, streamlines and flow nets.
• Fluid Statics: Variation of pressure in a fluid; pressure measurements; pressure forces on surfaces; hydrostatic forces on plane and curved surfaces submerged in fluids; buoyancy forces; stability and metacentric height.
• Fluid Dynamics: Continuity equations, conservation of mass, steady flow; Bernoulli equations: application to devices; the momentum equation.

Brief description

The properties and application of a range of construction materials as an introduction to highway design and Building Information Modelling (BIM).

Indicative content:

• Properties and Uses of Materials: Origin, occurrence, appearances, identification, classification, properties, manufacture, conversion, production and uses of various construction materials; material selection and specification, sustainability of materials.
• Materials Testing: Testing and evaluation applied to common construction materials.
• Highway Engineering: Road Alignment: Theory and practice in the layout of vertical and horizontal curvature. Road realignment project with a focus on sustainability. Computer based road design packages. Influence of safety on design solutions.
• Highway Intersections: Layout and analysis of priority junctions, roundabouts, signal control and grade- separated interchanges. Influence of safety on design solutions. Highway Materials, Design and Construction Pavement construction: flexible and rigid pavements, bound and unbound materials, mix design, specification for materials and construction, testing. Pavement loading, design of flexible and rigid pavements. Sustainability and recycling issues.
• Highway Pavements: Design and Construction Pavement construction: flexible and rigid pavements, bound and unbound materials, mix design, specification for materials and construction, testing. Pavement loading, design of flexible and rigid pavements. Sustainability and recycling issues.
• BIM: BIM in practice, BIM in cost estimation and control.

Brief description

This module applies the principle of environmental engineering in the analysis and management of environmental pollution.

Indicative content:

• Water Quality: Overview of the principles of air, water and land interaction and surface water quality management: Introduction of water quality and management; Fate of water pollutants in rivers and lakes; Drinking Water Quality standards, UK and EU Directives; Fundamentals of self-purification; Models used as quality predictive tools: Streeter Phelps equation.
• Water Treatment: Coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration and disinfection process.
• Groundwater quality and management: Surface Water and Groundwater Interaction, Stream- Aquifer Interaction. Aquifer management.
• Air quality and pollution management: Overview on sources of air pollution and monitoring and control of emissions of air pollutants; Dispersion of air pollutants in atmosphere; Air pollution modelling approaches and Indoor air pollution.
• Environmental impact assessment (EIA): EIA procedure. Preparation of Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Case studies and EIA of developments.

Year 2 Microcredentials - Term 2

If you are a Direct Entrant (new student) to this year of study and have not previously taken module ABE101, then you MUST take ABE201 as part of your Microcredential selection. If you have previously taken ABE101 then you are NOT permitted to take ABE201.

Instructions: Please choose a total of TWENTY credits of microcredential (ABE) modules.

Brief description

Throughout the microcredential you will become familiar with university systems (including the virtual learning environment), consider what attributes make a successful student and develop key successful student habits.

Indicative content

• Navigating Abertay Systems: Be introduced to and understand how to engage with Abertay systems and tools such as MyLearningSpace, MS Teams, OASIS, MyAbertay etc.
• Expectations of University and You: Explore your own and the universities expectations of you and of the university; Consider the code of conduct; independent learning; blended learning; how university is structured; health and safety; and the Abertay attributes.
• Understanding and Searching Information: How scholarly information is generated and disseminated, key characteristics of different information types. Planning, using, and refining appropriate search strategies; online search tools; using a range of web and database search functionality. 
• Successful Student Behaviours: Develop strategies to key successful student behaviours including Defeating Procrastination, Time Management, Notetaking and preparing for classes, Growth Mindset, Accessing student support and opportunities.
• Referencing: Understand what is meant by academic integrity, plagiarism, and the need for appropriate referencing; creating reference lists and in-text citations; use of referencing tools to manage information.
• Sounding Academic: Explore what lecturers mean by “academic style” and “the right language”; Understand what is meant by and how to learn the rules of academic writing characteristics. Consider how this differs between college and university; Learn how to paraphrase. Explore how assessments, marking and feedback works at university.
• Evaluating Information: Using appropriate quality criteria to critically evaluate information from any source to determine authority and bias.

Brief description

This microcredential provides you with the space and time to develop your skills in designing, planning, delivering, and showcasing an artefact responding to the societal issue. The microcredential is flexible and you will have a choice of what and how you create your response.

Indicative content

• The Big Issue: You will be introduced to the big society issue that will be the focus of your artefact response. Learning materials available will help you consider your response to the challenge.
• Developing Ideas: You will think creatively as to how you will respond to the big issue. You will consider your intended artefact aims, outcomes and target audience. 
• Responding to the Challenge: Resources and guidance will be available as you respond to the challenge and create your artefact.
• Preparing for the Showcase: Guidance will be available on how best to showcase your artefact for the assessment. You will develop your presentation skills to support you in showcasing the artefact. 
• Showcase Event: You will attend a showcase event and present your artefact.

Brief description

You will discuss a range of anti-racist approaches and how they apply within the context of professional communications. You will examine case studies and scenarios to identify the nature of bias in society explore ways to be anti-racist especially in professional communications.

Indicative content

• Racial Bias in Society: Using case studies and scenarios to discuss various forms of racism in society, you will explore the need for anti-racist practice in professional communications. 
• Classification of Anti-Racist Practice: This section compares different anti-racists approaches applied across several contexts. You will discuss the challenges and benefits of each approach. You will identify barriers to implementation of anti-racist practice.
• Discuss Anti-Racist Approaches for Successful Professional Communications: You will be introduced to various communications frameworks (e.g. the humanity-centric framework) and will explore scenarios for the application of these frameworks in a range of professional contexts.
• Embedding Anti-Racism in Digital and Social Media Communications: How can you discuss matters of race and anti-racism on digital and social media while maintaining a professional persona. We will examine cases for best practices and explore ways to avoid bigoted language in digital communications. 

Brief description

In this module you will study two ways of analysing language: (i) a basic introduction to conversation analysis and discourse analysis as applied to ordinary talk/texting, and (ii) and introduction text mining, based on identifying patterns and developing insights from text-based data available on the Internet (e.g., social media data, online texts, online reviews etc).

Indicative content

• Conversation Analysis and Talk and Text as Action: A brief overview of the CA focus on language as action; an examination of how people talk in terms of questions, answers, invitations, excuses, justifications etc.; an examination of texting, emojis, misunderstandings.
• Text Mining: Introduction to text mining and its uses in a social sciences and business context; Online data sources; The text mining process: data collection, pre-processing and analysis; effectively communicating and visualising insights from textual data.

Brief description

By the end of this microcredential, you will be able to evaluate and select machine learning algorithms and AWS services to be appropriately applied to different business problems.

Indicative content

• Introduction to Machine Learning: What is ML? ML process, business problem solved with ML, ML tools, Amazon SageMaker, ML challenges, supervised learning (regression, classification), unsupervised learning (clustering, dimensionality reduction), reinforcement learning, etc.
• Implementing a ML pipeline using Amazon Sage Maker: Formulating ML problems, collecting and securing data, extracting, transferring and loading data, evaluating your data, finding corelation, feature engineering, data cleaning, dealing with outliers, training, deployment, performance evaluation, hyperparameters and model tuning.
• Forecasting: Time series analysis, Amazon Forecast, Implementing a forecast model, Stock Predictions.
• Computer Vision: Facial Recognition, Image and Video Analysis, Dataset Preparation.
• Natural Language Processing: Amazon Comprehend, Polly, Translate, and Lex, Creating a chatbot, Alexa, etc.

Brief description

This online module will support you to get familiar with sustainability and introduce you to tools that can help you to understand and reduce your climate impact. By increasing your sustainability self-awareness, you will be able to make a positive difference in your own life, and in the organisations and communities around you.

Indicative content

• What is sustainability and how is it linked to Climate Change?: We define sustainability, enhancing understanding of the links between society, economy, and environment. Climate change is explained and linked to sustainability. We provide clear accessible information about the reliable science of climate change. We describe the need efforts towards limiting human-induced global warming (limiting cumulative CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions). 
• Global Sustainability: We introduce the United Nations Sustainability Goals (SDGs). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. 
• Personal Sustainability: The WWF environmental footprint tool is a great way to start your personal sustainability journey. The planet is in crisis - from climate change to the pollution in our oceans and devastation of our forests. It's up to all of us to fix it. Take your first step with our environmental footprint calculator. 
• Community Sustainability and Climate Resilience: Community climate resilience comes in many forms. In this topic we introduce ideas which can provide multiple benefits of people, planet, and prosperity. We showcase inspiring examples whereby working with natural processes (Biophilic design, blue and green infrastructure) we can connect people with nature to improve their well-being and quality of life, whilst simultaneously tackling climate change and storing carbon.
• Global Solutions: What is the world doing about it? What impact do Global Climate and Biodiversity agreements (COP26 etc) really have? What’s happening here? Where are the challenges and the good news stories? We showcase positive initiatives focussed on progress.

Brief description

By the end of the module, you will know more about key aspects of nutrition and health and be better equipped to identify and tackle the barriers that prevent you from eating well.

Indicative content

• Healthy eating on a budget: This topic will show you that healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive! You will be given basic nutritional knowledge, as well as skills and practical tips to be able to eat a healthy diet on a budget. You will then be able to develop your own menu and share it with your peers, so you learn from us as well as from each other.
• Prebiotics, probiotics and health: You will learn about the importance of our microbiota on health, and how what we eat can modulate it. You will be provided with cooking tips and will be able to develop your own fermented foods for better gut health.
• Fat or sugar, which is worse?: You may have heard that fats are bad for our health, or perhaps you have heard it is all about the sugars? You will learn about the role of both sugars and fats in our diet; what makes them good or bad for health and the science behind it. You will be given the tools to assess your own sugar and fat intake as well as tips to implement the changes you need to eat better. 
• The British diet vs Mediterranean diet: What is a Mediterranean diet and what are its real benefits? Is it just a diet or a pattern? Can we get the same benefits as those living in Mediterranean countries? In this topic, you will explore how feasible it is for us to adopt the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle, considering the seasonality of ingredients as well as sustainability. 
• What drives our food choices?: How healthy do you think your diet is? Do you find it easy to eat well? With this topic you will become more aware of our obesogenic environment, of how the food industry talks to us, and how the media report nutritional claims. You will learn to look more closely and more critically at your environment, so you can make healthier decisions.

Brief description

This microcredential will help you to refine your current writing skills through the analysis and discussion of a range of texts and exercises, enabling you to then apply these techniques to assignments for your other modules.

Indicative content

• Speaking the language: How to develop your academic and professional vocabulary: understanding the genre; understanding your reader’s expectations.
• Meeting expectations: Why different assignments have different requirements: decoding instructions; selecting appropriate writing techniques.
• Tightening up the nuts and bolts: How to improve your writing accuracy: reviewing key grammar and punctuation issues; improving your editing and proofreading.
• Standing on the shoulders of giants: How to borrow from the greats: reviewing the principles of citing sources; using writing techniques to incorporate research into writing.

Brief description

This module will help you develop a better understanding of the difference between media reporting and scientific evaluation. It will equip you with the skills to look beyond sensational stories related to human behaviour and dig deeper into a topic area to validate the evidence.

Indicative content

• Paranormal Beliefs and Experiences: Is Extrasensory Perception Real? Is there really evidence that we can predict the future?
• Myths about the Brain: Can repressed memories be recovered in therapy? How easily are false memories created? What are the implications for the justice system? 
• Myths about our Mind and Body: Is the key to success in everyday life simply a case of posing like a powerful superhero? 
• Myths about Language: Does being bilingual make you smarter and keep your brain younger? Are bilingual people less likely to get dementia as a result of this lifelong brain training?

Brief description

Through this microcredential you will gain an insight into what the world of work may look like in the (near) future. This includes developing a knowledge of how the economy and labour market evolves and why individual skills-sets and employability are so important and intrinsically linked to this process.

Indicative content

• The future of work: What will the future of work look like? What is used to predict how the world or work will change? Can the future of the economy and of work be accurately predicted? 
• Key factors that influence change: Identifying some of the key factors that influence how the world of work and our economy evolves and changes.
• The key role of skills and personal employability: The emergence and decline of skills: skills are fundamental to the economy (and graduate employers). What skills will be most in demand and/or be most valuable to our economy in future and why? Understand the importance of skills to the economy (and to graduate employers) at both the macro and micro level. Know what specific new skills are emerging and becoming more valuable and sought after, (as others are in decline) for our modern economy and graduate labour market. 
• Labour market information - what is it for?: Labour market Information is hugely important to our understanding of our economy at any given time: and also, in looking at the present and past to help predict future growth, opportunities, shortages and skills gaps. Recognise the importance of key Labour Market Information (LMI). Have the ability to source and use key Labour Market Information (LMI). Understand how to use accurate Labour Market Information as a tool to help their own personal development and future career planning. 
• What now?: Some help and steer – suggestions to you may wish to use your new knowledge and insight to help with your own career aspirations, planning and personal/professional development while at university.

Brief description

Some businesses have the sole focus of making money whereas others exist to also make a difference. Social enterprises are becoming more popular, and recognisable, and are making an impact across the world. From supporting the homeless, to giving waste products a second life, social enterprises are fighting for various causes. 

Indicative content

• What is a social enterprise and how does it function?: What the definition of a social enterprise is with examples from different sectors.
• How do social enterprises identify problems to tackle?: How social enterprises decide on what they will tackle and how they will do it. 
• How do you gather evidence that there is a problem requiring a solution?: Way in which you can gather evidence and data to validate the idea for a social enterprise. Determining needs and wants within a category. 
• How to identify skills and knowledge gaps: Understanding the skillsets within a founding team to fulfil the tasks required to start a social enterprise. 
• How to understand the problem you are trying to solve: Knowing the problem, you are trying to solve and how this effects the target customers the social enterprise is aimed at. Looking at the issues in a customer-focussed way. 
• How to develop a social impact plan: What is involved in a social impact plan and how to put one together. 

Brief description

This module will introduce you to the study of AI and Society. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a set of technologies and concepts and can be understood as using computers and software to denote problem-solving capacities and knowledge acquisition (intelligence) which otherwise we believe only belongs to natural beings such as humans.

Indicative content

• Introduction to the core concepts: A brief introduction to the concepts of “artificial”, “intelligence” and “society”. 
• Introduction to the problem of AI and Society: A discussion of where the problem of the impact of AI on Society comes from, presentation of some of the original debates and examples.
• Contemporary debates: A discussion of the contemporary debates about the impact of AI on Society, with examples.

Brief description

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how has it shaped our past and present? These are questions we will explore on a guided tour of AI from the past to the present and the future. You will develop a better understanding of what AI is and isn’t.

Indicative content

• Historical AI: Tracing the historical development of “traditional” AI systems including aircraft autopilots, expert systems, and accounting/financial software.
• Current AI: Covering the contemporary generation of AI technologies in areas such as speech recognition (e.g., Alexa, Siri) and recommendation systems (e.g., Amazon, YouTube). Examples will be drawn from Health, Sport, Games, Engineering, Business, Law and Computing. 
• Future AI: Exploring the limitations of today’s AI when it comes to general intelligence and contextual adaptation. Examples will be drawn from Health, Sport, Games, Engineering, Business, Law and Computing.
• My AI: How AI will impact your future, and how you can use AI to help you achieve your career goals.  Reflection on how AI may inform your subject area going forward.

Brief description

This microcredential is aimed at you, if you have an interest in technology but are not experts. The microcredential will develop your digital safety and how to stay safe online.

Indicative content

• Threat Landscape: Cyberattacks and online threats. System vulnerabilities. Social Engineering. Rights and computer laws.
• Authentication: Password security. Biometrics. MFA and Password managers. Good practices for authentication.
• Secure Communication: Web browser security. Certificates and trust. Effective encryption. Secure communication methods.
• Personal Information Privacy: Information leakage. Personal information privacy and open-source intelligence. Device encryption and security. Security mindfulness.
• Malware: Types of malware. Identifying malicious software. Malware propagation techniques. Malware removal and preventative measures.

Brief description

This microcredential will help you to develop and build your own confidence in applying numeracy skills in real world situations.

Indicative content

• What is my GPA and how likely am I to get a First? (BASIC NUMERACY): Calculation and manipulation of data using Percentages, Indices (Powers), Roots, Probability, and simple equations. 
• The power of prediction (GRAPHS): Straight line graphs, Gradients, Equations of a straight line, Intercepts. Drawing graphs - Linear equations, Distances between points. Simultaneous linear equations.  
• Love a good puzzle (ALGEBRA): Changing subject of formulae. Factorisation - common factors, Difference of two squares, Trinomials. Solving simultaneous equations by Substitution and Elimination.
• Advanced power of prediction (FUNCTIONS): Introduction to functions – Linear and Quadratic and solving quadratic equations. Factorising Quadratic equations.
• Love a good triangle (TRIGONOMETRY): Trignometric functions - Sine, cosine and tangent. Trignometric formulae.

Brief description

In this microcredential, you will learn more about how digital media production professionals in the UK and China are working together to reduce barriers and identify new opportunities for collaboration and growth.

Indicative content

• History and future of videogames in China: Focussing on the videogame sector as a case study of Chinese digital creative industries, how has the videogames market and industry developed in China, how is the Chinese videogames economy currently constituted, and what does the future hold?
• Consumer trends and audience preferences: What is popular with audiences in China? What can we note about preferences in terms of narrative content, aesthetics, play styles etc. when compared with other markets?
• Policy and regulation: What unique regulations or limitations are imposed on digital media within China, and what similarities are there with other national and transnational regulations? How is creative content development and publishing shaped by policy in China? What social and ethical challenges are presented by regulation, in China as well as in the UK?
• Transnational working and co-production: How is digital creative content conceived, developed, and released by professionals working across borders? What are the challenges for small and independent creative studios, compared with multi-nationals with studios based in and outside China?
• Publishing in China: How do digital media content like videogames make it to market in China? What processes and requirements must creative businesses be aware of, and how do developers find, connect to, and work with Chinese publishers? How to consumers in China access content, including on grey markets?
• Challenges and success: Hear from UK and Chinese professionals on the China market, co-operation, the hurdles they cleared, and how they found success.

Brief description

Increasingly, the role of creativity in supporting and maintaining wellbeing is being researched and celebrated. This module will introduce you to the current theory in this area, as well as a range of creative resources shown to be helpful for both self-care and the support of others.

Indicative content

• Why does creativity matter?: An introduction to why creativity matters when it comes to mental health.
• Your brain on words: The place of stories in their various forms as a resource for wellbeing.
• Engaging the senses: The potential of tools such as music and art for self-care.

Year 3 Core Modules

You must study and pass all four core modules

Brief description

Structural design in reinforced concrete and steel. Learn to investigate and solve geotechnical and structural problems related to the built environment.

Indicative content:

• Design loads: Wind loading and snow loading.
• Reinforced concrete: Material properties, limit state design requirements, loads and partial safety factors, failure mechanism and criteria Design of structural elements including singly and doubly reinforced beams, one-way and two-way slabs, axially loaded columns, foundations and cantilever retaining walls.
• Design of steel structures: Material properties and grading, partial safety factors, section properties and classification, Design of beams subject to uniaxial bending, Design of columns and base plates, Design of steel connections.
• Plastic collapse of steel structures: Plastic hinge formation, plastic moment capacity, plastic section modulus, shape factor, failure criterion, upper and lower bound theorems, plastic analysis of statically indeterminate beams and single storey, single bay portal frames.
• Use of computer packages and design.
• Laboratory work: Concrete lab. Safe working practices in a laboratory situation.

Brief description

Initial development of geotechnical analysis and design, and their application in civil engineering. Gain an understanding of soils physical and mechanical properties in theory and practice, and an introduction into geotechnical engineering problems.

Indicative content:

• Physical properties of soil: Factors controlling the weathering of rock and the formation of soils. Moisture content, density, void ratio, porosity, air content and saturation.
• Soil compaction and re-use: The compaction of soils − theory and practise. Suitability criteria and the re−use of fill for engineering purposes.
• Effective stress: The concept of total and effective stress and pore water pressure.
• Soil shear strength: The theory of soil shear strength, Mohr Coulomb failure criterion. Determine shear strength parameters for design purposes from shear box, undrained triaxial.
• Consolidation of soils: Measurement of the consolidation of cohesive soils in the laboratory, theoretical consideration of amount and rate of settlement, over-consolidation ratio and the application of the e/log p’ graph.
• Seepage: Flow net construction, seepage into excavations, seepage forces and piping.
• Laboratory work: Determine moisture content, Atterberg Limit and shear strength of sand and saturated clay. Safe working practices in a laboratory situation.

Brief description

Prepare for the diverse opportunities provided within the engineering profession. Develop essential knowledge and skills in order to contribute to the organisation and management of engineering projects.

Indicative content:

• Health and Safety: CDM and other current health and safety regulations, roles obligations and responsibilities under legislation for health and safety.
• Procurement strategies, tendering and construction contracts: Management of the design process, estimating and tendering, pre-tender planning, construction contracts; contract formation, contractual problems. Topical procurement issues.
• Project control tools: Planning and programming tools and techniques, strategies for managing uncertainty, PERT and related techniques. Cost control systems, quality management.
• Economic and sustainability assessment: Economic evaluation: life Cycle costing, CEEQUAL and BREEAM. Cost benefit analysis Sustainability assessment approaches. Sustainability indicators, Multi-criteria analysis.
• Professional employability skills: Employer/employee relationship. Interview skills and techniques. Presenting a professional CV. Equality and diversity. Professional codes of conduct (such as ICE) and specific issues including resolving ethical dilemmas through case studies.

Brief description

Gain structured and practical experience of working in the world of Civil Engineering through a work placement. As a planned part of your education and training, a placement is a complement to and an extension of the work you undertake while at university. It provides an opportunity for you to accept responsibility for your own personal and professional development, learning and training.

Indicative content:

• Briefing: Final preparation for placement building on Civil Engineering Practice module.
• Placement: Individual learning experiences will vary depending on the organisation to which you are attached. The work placement is unpaid and for the whole of the term. You are visited at least once during the placement period by your university supervisor.​
• Debriefing: Follows immediately upon completion of the period of work placement and is designed to offer guidance to better enable able you to transfer your learning experience back into the university-based setting and for consideration for future learning.

Year 4 Core Modules

You must study and pass all six core modules

Brief description

Understand the interaction between geotechnical and structural analysis in the design of civil engineering structures.

Indicative content:

• Design of foundations: Design of foundations on cohesive and granular soils and bedrock. Comprehend the value of safe and economic design.
• Design loads: Design of gravity and cantilever retaining wall.Wind loading and snow loading.
• Slope stability: Stability of soil and rock slopes.
• Selected specialist subject within structural engineering. e.g. Pre-stressed concrete, fire safety

Brief description

Regulatory and technical aspects of waste and wastewater treatment and management. Gain the skills required for the selection, design, operation and maintenance of sustainable systems for the treatment and management of wastes, contaminated soil and wastewaters, and associated by-products. 

Indicative content:

• Waste and Contaminated Land Regulations: European and UK policy on land, waste management and the role of environmental regulatory agencies. The EU/UK Waste Management Hierarchy. Different regulatory framework and approaches to remediation of contaminated groundwater, compared with contaminated land. E.g. the “limit of detection” threshold for pollutants in groundwater.
• Waste Characterisation, Collection, Transport and Storage: Waste arisings by type, quantity and disposal route. Collection and Transport options.
• Waste Management and Treatment Technologies: Waste minimisation, re-use and recycling. Treatment technologies: Thermal (Incineration, Pyrolysis and Gasification); Anaerobic digestion and Composting. Landfill Technology.
• Contaminated Land Management and Remediation: Ground investigation techniques. Assessment of hazards and risks. Treatment/Remediation methodologies and techniques.
• Wastewater Management and Treatment: Wastewater management regulations. Characterisation of municipal wastewater (sewage). Consideration of unit treatment processes and operations including sedimentation and biological processes. Analysis of various treatment systems for large and small and decentralised populations. Analysis of treatment and management options and objectives for industrial effluents.
• Sludge Treatment and Management: Analysis of options for treatment, utilisation and disposal of wastewater treatment sludges, with associated environmental standards.

Brief description

The theories, concepts and principles of research methodology and statistical analysis and the range of methods used in conducting research. Gain the skills and knowledge necessary to undertake an original in-depth investigation in those fields. 

Indicative content:

• Introduction to Research: The nature and purpose of research; different types of research (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, developmental, practice-based) and their mapping within different philosophical paradigms (positivism, interpretivism, pragmatism); strengths and weaknesses.
• Dealing with practical issues: the research process; identifying a research topic and setting research objectives; developing a research strategy; characteristics of a good research project; ethical issues in conducting research.
• Searching and reviewing the literature: The purposes and main steps of a literature review; searching, evaluating, organizing and synthesizing the relevant literature; and, writing a literature review and managing bibliographic records. In addition, developing research questions for qualitative and quantitative research; and identifying characteristics/attributes
• Data collection and analysis: Approaches to data collection and analysis (quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, iterative); questionnaire design; populations, samples, and sampling methods; data mining.
• Writing your research proposal: Identifying a research problem or issue, the purpose of the research and the main research question(s); choosing the research strategy and methods; writing a research proposal. In addition: discussing findings, formulating conclusions, making recommendations, and reporting; planning, executing, writing up, and submitting a dissertation.
• Descriptive statistics for quantitative and qualitative data: Summarising and visualising data sets; finding trends in data and formulating a research hypothesis.
• Introduction to Probability and Statistical Inference: Basic concepts of probability and probability distribution; discrete and continuous random variables; basic probability distributions; introduction to the hypothesis testing procedure.
• The Hypothesis Testing Procedure: Parametric and non-parametric tests; Chi-squared Test for Association; Independent Sample t-Test; One and Two Way Analysis of Variance ANOVA; power calculation and sample size estimation.
• Correlation and Regression: Relationship between two numeric variables, dependent and independent variable; Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient; Simple Linear Regression.
• Multiple Regression: Multiple Regression Analysis and introduction to the General Linear Model.

Brief description

The opportunity to work with others as part of a diverse team, integrating skills learned in previous modulesto solve a realistic series of project problems for a construction project..

Indicative content:

• Review of client brief: Justification of design options and production of outline design solutions.
• Project analysis and design: including calculations and detailing of the design project.
• Review of solutions: including sustainability assessment, taking off quantities, producing risk assessments and method statements, pricing bills of quantities and carbon costing.
• Building information management: Review of building information management in the design and operation of the project.

Brief description

Undertake an individual in-depth study of a relevant specialised aspect of civil and environmental engineering. Provide a report and deliver a presentation.

Indicative content:

• Supervision: A member of academic staff will assist and guide you in carrying out the project, and monitor progress. It is recommended you meet with them at least once in a fortnight to discuss progress. You must keep a log book whichis part of the assessed materials.
• Final Report and Presentation: Submit a final written report on your chosen subject, prepared in accordance with the University's regulations for the submission of theses. Present yourself for a final oral assessment.

Brief description

Apply the fundamental principles of fluid dynamics to be able to analyse and design water infrastructure.

Indicative content:

• Fluid dynamics: Review of basic concepts of fluid motion. Continuity equations, conservation of mass, steady flow; the Bernoulli equations: application to devices; the momentum equation.
• Pipeline: Pipe flow and Reynolds number. Frictional effects in pipe flow and Darcy head loss equation. Analysis of pipe systems - use design aids: flow charts, computational packages.
• Drainage systems: Combined and separate sewer systems. Urban storm water pollution control. CSOs. Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems. Estimation of foul and storm flows. Design of simple systems for foul and surface water.
• Hydraulic machines: Types of hydraulic machines. Selection and installation of pumps, using pump and system performance curves. Cavitation and associated issues.
• Open channels uniform flow: Frictional resistance formulae for steady uniform flow in open channels. Channel design considerations, including optimum shape of cross-section for uniform flow in open channels.
• Non-uniform flow in open channels: Specific energy and alternative depths of flow. Occurrence of critical flow conditions. Flow over a broad-crested weir. Classification of water surface profiles. The hydraulic jump and the use of critical depth in flow measurements. Design of spillways.