Course Catalogue

The overall aim of the programme is to produce postgraduates who are able to develop into Chartered Engineers who are able to play a significant role as professional civil engineers. It aims to develop the skills needed by those who will take lead roles within the civil engineering profession. In particular it aims to provide a route for a student with a BEng in Civil or Structural Engineering to fulfil the learning requirements for Chartered Engineer status. The specific aims of the programme are: 1) To produce postgraduates who have a thorough understanding of civil engineering and a critical awareness of the current issues in the field, informed by the latest research. 2) To encourage students to develop their conceptual understanding of civil engineering to evaluate the latest research and design methodologies, and to develop their own methodologies. 3) To develop the students' awareness of the ethical issues of civil engineering and their responsibilities with regard to sustainable construction. 4) To offer experience in the planning and execution of an extended research project in the form of a dissertation. 5) To provide opportunities for students to develop subject specific skills, practical skills, cognitive skills and range of high level transferable skills

Acquisition of knowledge is achieved mainly through lectures, seminars and problem solving sessions. Students are expected and encouraged to take an active role in their learning through debates, discussions and student led presentations. Site visits and laboratory sessions supplement these. Students are encouraged to attend professional body talks and visits. The assessments are designed as part of the learning process, and both individual and group feedback on the assignments adds to their knowledge base. Assessment of the knowledge base is through a combination of written examinations, assignments, presentations and the dissertation. Intellectual skills are developed through interactive seminars and lectures of the taught modules, and through case studies and assignments. These skills are further developed in the dissertation module, which is supplemented by the teaching of these skills in the Research Methodology module. The skills of critical evaluation are an integral part of most assessments, and feedback on these assessments is an integral part of the learning process. Intellectual skills are assessed through a combination of written examinations, assignments, and the dissertation report. Professional skills are developed throughout the programme mainly through class discussion, interactive seminars, the dissertation, and professional body activities. The assessment of professional skills is mainly through assignments and presentations, but it is also assessed to a lesser degree in the written examinations. Transferable skills are taught throughout the programme, in all learning activities. Transferable skills are assessed throughout the range of assessment methods (written examinations, assignments, oral presentations and the dissertation).

To put the students' learning into appropriate vocational contexts project modules are based on real challenges faced by industry. Research modules are often centred around particular industrial challenges and looks at appropriate solutions and mitigations.