Energy, Environmental Technology and Economics (MSc)

Who is it for?

This course is for students who want to engage with different types of settings to research and establish the energy, environmental and technological implications that exist within them. Energy and Environmental Technology and Economics students will care for the environment as a sustainable system and ultimately have a desire to improve conditions for the wider population.

Students come from a range of backgrounds, including engineering, finance and economics – and from within the energy industry itself.

Objectives

This MSc degree has been designed to give you a wide perspective when it comes to analysing and forecasting the future for energy, environmental technology and economics.

The Energy and Environmental Technology and Economics MSc will help you:

• Understand the technologies for energy production: fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable
• Assess the economic factors affecting energy production and supply
• Know the economics governing consumer use and purchase of energy
• Analyse and forecast the future of energy, environmental technology and economics
• Evaluate the environmental effects of energy and other industrial production
• Gain a real-world understanding of the issues – from regulation and government funding, to behavioural psychology and emerging technologies
• Understand the technologies for reducing environmental impact and their economics
• Consider ethical responsibilities in relation to energy use
• Rapidly assess the most important features of a new technology
• Integrate information across a broad range of subject areas, from engineering
• through economics to risk assessment
• Identify a range of perspectives, and look at the influence of a myriad of other forces at play by engaging with practising businesses and trade associations
• The discipline of auditing energy consumption
• Monitoring performance and engaging with international energy management standards
• Relate to professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds, academic, commercial and industrial, from professors in engineering and mathematics through to consulting engineers to senior managers and directors of large, publicly quoted companies.

Accreditation

The course is accredited by the Energy Institute and fulfils the learning requirement for Chartered Engineer status.

Placements

There is no formal requirement to do an industry-based placement as part of the programme. However, some students arrange to undertake their dissertation research within a company or within their part of the world. A recent student investigated the future of coal-fired generation in Turkey, and another student is combining a work placement at The World Energy Council with their dissertation.

Teaching and learning

Teaching is organised into modules comprising four consecutive day courses taken at a rate of one a month or so. This format makes the programme accessible for students who want to study part-time while working. Full-time students are also welcome.

Whether you choose to take the course as a part-time or full-time student, we will offer a great deal of support when it comes to helping you prepare for the modules and project work. You will be expected to devote a significant part of your non-taught hours to project work as well as private study.

Our course is led by an exceptional group of experts in energy, supply, demand management and policies. As an example, one of our module leaders leads the UK contribution to writing international energy management standards and informing policy through the European Sector Forum for Energy Management. This forum looks at methodologies across the continent.

There is also input to global standards development through the International Standards Organisation (ISO). At City we bring on board people with well-established academic careers, as well as leaders from the energy industry. The programme has strong links with industry and commerce and involves many visiting lecturers who hold senior positions in their fields.

You will be assessed by examination on the four core modules and you will need to complete a post modular assessment (a 2,000 to 3,000-word essay) on all of the eight modules.

Modules

You will take four core modules and have six elective modules from which you can choose four topics from diverse subjects relating to energy supply and demand.

Each course module is taught over four consecutive days of teaching with one module each month. Alongside the teaching, you will have coursework to complete for each module. The modules run from October to April, and in the remaining time, you will concentrate on your dissertation, which forms a significant part of the programme.

You are normally required to complete all the taught modules successfully before progressing to the dissertation.

The dissertation gives you the opportunity to create your own questions and to decide on your own area of interest. It should be a detailed investigation into a subject on energy supply and/or demand, with your own analysis and conclusions outlining the way forward. You may see the focus of your dissertation as a future career path, but whatever your area of study, these final few months of the degree should embody your vision of the future.

If you are interested in sustainability, you have the option of taking up to two elective modules from the MSc in Environmental Strategy offered by the University of Surrey.

Core modules

• Introduction to energy and environmental issues (15 credits)
• Energy policies and economic dimensions (15 credits)
• The energy market from the purchaser's perspective (15 credits)
• Corporate energy management (15 credits)

Elective modules

• Energy, economics and finance (15 credits)
• Transport energy and emissions (15 credits)
• Energy in industry and the built environment (15 credits)
• Renewable energy and sustainability (15 credits)
• Risk management (15 credits)
• Water supply and management (15 credits).

Visit the Energy, Environmental Technology and Economics (MSc) page on the City, University of London website for more details!