This course will provide you with an in-depth knowledge of how to deliver effective modern water supply, sanitation and other public health interventions in urban and rural areas in low-income and transitional economies.
Aimed at consultants, and working professionals in national and local government, non-government organisations, international development organisations and public health agencies, it has a strong focus on developing practical and policy skills and addresses the critical future challenges of climate change, population growth and urbanisation. You’ll develop your understanding of technical interventions in water supply, sanitation and solid waste management.
Run in conjunction with the Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development, one of the UK’s preeminent public health research centres, and informed by research undertaken by our Institute for Public Health and Environmental Engineering, this programme will give you the knowledge and skills to identify and deliver investments that will have major benefits for health and development.
Institute for Public Health and Environmental Engineering
Our Institute for Public Health and Environmental Engineering is renowned worldwide for its pioneering work in developing countries. The institute undertakes research in all aspects of the built environment in which the presence of pathogens influences design, including water treatment, solid waste and airborne transmission of disease.
Staff teaching on this course have close working links with a number of key institutions in the field of international development, including UNICEF, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, WaterAid, World Vision, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the African Development Bank.
You’ll also benefit from using our specialist facilities, such as our public health labs with separate areas for solid waste, water and wastewater, and a class II microbiology lab and clean room. We have all the specialist software you’ll need for your programme, and you’ll have access to a dedicated study suite for Masters students.
This degree is accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators 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.
This course is also accredited by EUR-ACE, the European quality label for engineering degree programmes at Bachelor and Master level.
A series of compulsory modules will develop your knowledge and skills in a range of areas. You’ll gain an understanding of the wider issues surrounding public health around the world and how they impact on policy and practice, as well as current debates around the complex topics of health, equity and development understand how health policy is shaped and planned.
At the same time, you’ll be introduced to the principles and practice of public health engineering to bridge the gap between theory, policy and practice and explore key technologies in water supply, sanitation, wastewater and solid waste management. You’ll also consider engineering responses to complex emergencies, especially regarding the provision of water supply, sanitary services and shelter.
You’ll build your knowledge of technical issues in water resource and sold waste management, as well as natural wastewater treatment, and undertake an independent research project. Working with your supervisor, you’ll complete this research or design-based project during the summer months at the end of the programme to demonstrate the knowledge and skills you’ve gained.
Want to find out more about your modules?
Take a look at the 2016 Water, Sanitation and Health Engineering module descriptions for more detail on what you will study.
Compulsory modules
Our groundbreaking research feeds directly into teaching, and you’ll have regular contact with staff who are at the forefront of their disciplines. You’ll have regular contact with them through lectures, seminars, tutorials, small group work and project meetings.
Independent study is also important to the programme, as you develop your problem-solving and research skills as well as your subject knowledge.
You’ll be assessed using a range of techniques including case studies, technical reports, presentations, in-class tests, assignments and exams. Optional modules may also use alternative assessment methods.
This programme will equip you with a unique blend of civil engineering and public health policy skills.
As a result, you’ll be ideally placed to take up a senior position in public health ministries and public health departments in countries of the global south, or to work with international development agencies and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Graduates have gone on to work for organisations such as WaterAid Liberia/Sierra Leone, Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
You’ll have access to the wide range of engineering and computing careers resources held by our Employability team in our dedicated Employability Suite. You’ll have the chance to attend industry presentations book appointments with qualified careers consultants and take part in employability workshops. Our annual Engineering and Computing Careers Fairs provide further opportunities to explore your career options with some of the UK’s leading employers.
The University's Careers Centre also provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
This MSc attracts UK and overseas graduates who wish to take advantage of the considerable global interest in water, wastewater, sanitation and waste to develop their careers.
Many graduates from the programme go on to work for consultancies, water utilities, contractors, relief agencies, regulatory bodies and international organisations.
Graduates from the programme also have the potential to progress to relevant specialist PhD or EngD research programmes in the field.
In the past, scholarship students have been accepted from a range of schemes, including: Foreign Office and British Council Chevening, World Bank, Commonwealth, Thames Water, Commonwealth Shared Scholarships, and the Royal Academy of Engineering, together with students from numerous overseas national schemes.
This programme is studied full-time over one academic year and part-time students must study at least two taught technical modules per academic year. It consists of eight taught modules and a dissertation project.
Example module listing
The following modules are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that not all modules described are compulsory and may be subject to teaching availability and/or student demand.
Apart from the usual full-time mode, there are also part-time options. The majority of Bridge, Geotechnical and Structural Engineering modules can be studied by distance learning through the use of an interactive web-based e-learning platform (SurreyLearn).
This programme can be studied via distance learning, which allows a high level of flexibility and enables you to study alongside other commitments you may have. Download our distance learning PDF to learn more.
Laboratories and pilot plants
In recent years, CEHE has benefited from investment in new equipment in both the small centre facility, which primarily supports fieldwork, and a larger, more extensively equipped microbiology and chemistry laboratory.
The laboratories are equipped with recently acquired state-of- the-art analytical equipment including ICP-OES, GC/MS, TOC, Ion Chromatograph, Particle Counter, water quality loggers, Delagua kits and so on, available for fieldwork.
A water and wastewater research pilot plant is located at Thames Water’s Shalford and Godalming Water Treatment Works, just a few kilometres away from the University campus. Over the years, many MSc dissertation projects have been completed at this facility, most of them to assist in the development or testing of relief agency systems.
A parallel wastewater research pilot plant has recently been established, again with the support of Thames Water, at Godalming Sewage Treatment Works.
Library facilities
The University library is currently resourced for books, journals and electronic resources, as the postgraduate programme in Water and Environmental Engineering has been well established over the last decade.
The programme draws on science, engineering and other areas of knowledge, and the overall diversity of academic groups within the University ensures that there are library resources to answer most needs.
The provision of British Standards online has reduced the copyright requirements and the quantity of photocopying required. Passwords are available from the library web pages for all other electronic resources.
CEHE resource centre
Provision is made within CEHE to access a limited range of textbooks, previously completed MSc dissertations, a selected range of journals and software mounted on PCs in the Catchment Modelling Laboratory or available on CD.
Professional Institution resources
Library and learning resources are available at the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management and other appropriate professional bodies.
All categories of members of the professional institutions are allowed to borrow books from the institution libraries by post, and in some cases to access other services online.
Computing
There are suitable computing facilities available both within the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences and through central university facilities.
Teaching rooms
Teaching is primarily in flat floor teaching rooms, although there are occasions when formal lecture theatre facilities are used. All of the usual academic support materials and systems are available and pre-printed notes are distributed during every lecture.
The programme aims to provide graduates with:
We often give our students the opportunity to acquire international experience during their degrees by taking advantage of our exchange agreements with overseas universities.
In addition to the hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience, time spent abroad adds a distinctive element to your CV.
