Masters Degrees in Solid Mechanics

Our Structural Engineering postgraduate programme is delivered by the Faculty’s own staff, together with practising engineers from consultancies and local authorities.

For practising engineers engaged in the planning, design and construction of structural engineering works, this programme provides an opportunity to update their knowledge of current design practice and to become familiar with developments in codes and methods of analysis.

You will be able to choose from a rich and varied selection of specialist structural engineering subjects. The programme is offered in the standard full-time mode, in addition to part-time and distance learning options.

Graduates from the programme are highly employable and may progress to relevant specialist PhD or EngD research programmes in the field.

Programme structure

This programme is studied full-time over one academic year and part-time or distance learning over two to five academic years. It consists of eight taught modules and a dissertation project.

This degree is accredited as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer (CEng) for candidates who have already acquired an Accredited CEng (Partial) BEng (Hons) or an Accredited IEng (Full) BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree.

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.

Structural Engineering Group Modules

• Steel Building Design
• Spatial Structures
• Structural Mechanics and Finite Elements
• Subsea Engineering
• Concrete Building Design 
• Structural Safety and Reliability
• Earthquake Engineering
• Design of Masonry Structures

Bridge Engineering Group Modules

• Bridge Deck Loading and Analysis
• Prestressed Concrete Bridge Design
• Durability of Bridges and Structures
• Bridge Management
• Steel and Composite Bridge Design
• Long-Span Bridges

Geotechnical Engineering Group Modules

• Advanced Soil Mechanics
• Energy Geotechnics
• Geotechnical Structures
• Soil-Structure Interaction
• Deep Foundations and Earth Retaining Structures

Construction Management Group Modules

• Construction Management and Law
• Construction Organisation
• Project and Risk Management

Infrastructure Engineering Group Modules

• Infrastructure Investment and Financing
• Infrastructure Interdependencies and Resilience
• Infrastructure Asset Management
• Sustainability and Infrastructure

Water and Environmental Engineering Group Modules

• Environmental Health
• Water Treatment
• Wastewater Treatment
• Applied Chemistry and Microbiology
• Pollution Control
• Groundwater Control
• Regulation and Management
• Water Resources

Dissertation

• Dissertation Project

Modes of study

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).

Distance learning

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. Get further information about the details of our distance learning programme.

Academic support, facilities and equipment

As part of your learning experience, you will have at your disposal a wide range of relevant software, including ANSYS, ABAQUS, DIANA, SAP 2000, Integer SuperSTRESS, LUSAS, CRISP, MATLAB, PertMaster DRACULA and VISSIM.

Educational aims of the programme

The programme aims to provide graduates with:

• A comprehensive understanding of engineering mechanics for structural analysis
• The ability to select and apply the most appropriate analysis methodology for problems in structural engineering including advanced and new methods
• The ability to design structures in a variety of construction materials
• A working knowledge of the key UK and European standards and codes of practice associated with the design, analysis and construction of civil engineering structures and the ability to interpret and apply these to both familiar and unfamiliar problems
• The necessary technical further learning towards fulfilling the educational base for the professional qualification of Chartered Engineer.

Global opportunities

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.

Read less

This course is aimed at graduates with an honours degree or relevant professional experience who want to develop their understanding and skills as structural engineers.

Key benefits:

• The emphasis is on current methodology and practice
• You will be well equipped to meet the challenges of the modern structural engineering industry
• Meets the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer (CEng)

Visit the website: http://www.salford.ac.uk/pgt-courses/structural-engineering

Suitable for

Suitable for engineering graduates who want to specialise in structural engineering.

You may be working in industry and want to formalise your training or you may be a recent graduate and wish to gain extra qualifications to help you stand out in the jobs market or enter your engineering career at a higher level.

Programme details

The course meets the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer (CEng) for candidates who have already acquired an Accredited CEng (Partial) BEng (Hons) or an Accredited Eng (Full) BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree. See http://www.jbm.org.uk for further information.

Format

The course is delivered via a combination of lectures, tutorials, design projects, computing sessions and laboratory demonstrations. You will be encouraged to attend meetings of the professional institutions, where relevant topics are being discussed. Where possible, pertinent site visits and guest lectures will be organised.

Semester 1

• Introduction to Design with Computer Applications (30 credits)
• Seismic Engineering and Practical Applications of Finite Element Analysis (30 credits)

Semester 2

• Further Design with Applications to Building Structures (30 credits)
• Bridge Engineering (30 credits)
• MSc Dissertation (60 credits)

Assessment

Coursework 42%, Examination 47% and Dissertation 11%.

Career Prospects

Graduates of this course will be well equipped to meet the challenges of the modern structural engineering industry. They may occupy pivotal appointments in prestigious building schemes and the prospect of a challenging career to provide and protect the infrastructure that underpins society.

Graduates might typically work as a structural engineer in a design office or for an engineering consultancy.

How to apply: http://www.salford.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/applying

Read less

This MSc offers you the knowledge and expertise for a career as a consulting structural engineer within this specialist professional area of civil engineering. It is designed to provide specialist postgraduate professional development across the areas of steel, concrete and timber design, structural dynamics, and structural mechanics. It will provide you with a sound scientific, technical and commercial understanding of structural engineering issues and practice, while training you in engineering research methods in order to develop a range of related transferable skills. It will cover the diverse nature of structural engineering through the integration of knowledge from mechanics, materials, structural analysis and structural design. You will gain new advanced level skills in engineering theory and practice related to the management of structural engineering challenges.

Distinctive features:

• The employment record of graduates is excellent, with the majority of graduates joining engineering consultancies.

• The MSc in Structural Engineering is accredited by the ICE, IStructE, IHT and IHIE as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer under the provisions of UK-SPEC for intakes 2014-2018 inclusive, for candidates that have already acquired a CEng accredited BEng (Hons) undergraduate first degree or an IEng accredited BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree.

• You will be learning in a research-led teaching institution taught by staff rated in the highest possible category by independent Government assessment.

• It will give you the opportunity to work in facilities commensurate with a top-class research unit.

• Available as 1 year full-time study or 3 years part-time study which provides the flexibility for you to continue working and study at the same time.

Structure

The programme is presented as a one-year full-time Master's level programme, and is also available in part-time mode over three years.

The programme is presented in two stages:

• In Stage 1 you will follow taught modules to the value of 120 credits, with a limited amount of choice between option modules.
• Stage 2 consists of a Dissertation module worth 60 credits.

Summative assessment is undertaken at the end of each stage (or each year if part-time).

For a list of modules for the FULL-TIME route, please see website:

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught/courses/course/structural-engineering-msc

For a list of the modules for the PART-TIME route, please see website:

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught/courses/course/structural-engineering-msc-part-time

Teaching

A wide range of teaching styles will be used to deliver the diverse material forming the curriculum of the programme. You will attend lectures and participate in examples classes. All students must complete 120 credits in Stage 1 in order to progress to the dissertation, for which they are allocated a supervisor from among the teaching staff. Dissertation topics are normally chosen from a range of project titles proposed by academic staff, usually in areas of current research interest, although you are encouraged to put forward your own project ideas.

Assessment

Achievement of learning outcomes in the majority of modules is assessed by a combination of coursework assignments, plus University examinations set in January or May. Examinations count for 60%–70% of assessment in Stage 1 of the programme, depending on the options chosen, the remainder being largely project work and pieces of coursework.

Award of an MSc requires successful completion of Stage 2, the Dissertation, with a mark of 50% or higher. Candidates achieving a 70% average may be awarded a Distinction. Candidates achieving a 60% average may be awarded a Merit. Candidates failing to qualify for an MSc may be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma for 120 credits in Stage 1. Candidates failing to complete the 120 credits required for Stage 1 may still be eligible for the award of a Postgraduate Certificate for the achievement of at least 60 credits.

Career prospects

This course's graduate employment record is excellent, with the majority of graduates joining engineering consultancies.

Read less

Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Erasmus Mundus Computational Mechanics at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).

Swansea University has gained a significant international profile as one of the key international centres for research and training in computational mechanics and engineering. As a student on the Master's course in Erasmus Mundus Computational Mechanics, you will be provided with in-depth, multidisciplinary training in the application of the finite element method and related state-of-the-art numerical and computational techniques to the solution and simulation of highly challenging problems in engineering analysis and design.

Key Features of Erasmus Mundus Computational Mechanics MSc

The Zienkiewicz Centre for Computational Engineering is acknowledged internationally as the leading UK centre for computational engineering research. It represents an interdisciplinary group of researchers who are active in computational or applied mechanics. It is unrivalled concentration of knowledge and expertise in this field. Many numerical techniques currently in use in commercial simulation software have originated from Swansea University.

The Erasmus Mundus MSc Computational Mechanics course is a two-year postgraduate programme run by an international consortium of four leading European Universities, namely Swansea University, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain), École Centrale de Nantes (France) and University of Stuttgart (Germany) in cooperation with the International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE, Spain).

As a student on the Erasmus Mundus MSc Computational Mechanics course, you will gain a general knowledge of the theory of computational mechanics, including the strengths and weaknesses of the approach, appreciate the worth of undertaking a computational simulation in an industrial context, and be provided with training in the development of new software for the improved simulation of current engineering problems.

In the first year of the Erasmus Mundus MSc Computational Mechanics course, you will follow an agreed common set of core modules leading to common examinations in Swansea or Barcelona. In addition, an industrial placement will take place during this year, where you will have the opportunity to be exposed to the use of computational mechanics within an industrial context. For the second year of the Erasmus Mundus MSc Computational Mechanics, you will move to one of the other Universities, depending upon your preferred specialisation, to complete a series of taught modules and the research thesis. There will be a wide choice of specialisation areas (i.e. fluids, structures, aerospace, biomedical) by incorporating modules from the four Universities. This allows you to experience postgraduate education in more than one European institution.

Modules

Modules on the Erasmus Mundus MSc Computational Mechanics course can vary each year but you could expect to study the following core modules (together with elective modules):

Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations

Continuum Mechanics

Advanced Fluid Mechanics

Industrial Project

Finite Element Computational Analysis

Entrepreneurship for Engineers

Finite Element in Fluids

Computational Plasticity

Fluid-Structure Interaction

Nonlinear Continuum Mechanics

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Dynamics and Transient Analysis

Reservoir Modelling and Simulation

Accreditation

The Erasmus Mundus Computational Mechanics course is accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM).

The Joint Board of Moderators (JBM) is composed of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT), and the Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE).

This degree is accredited as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer (CEng) for candidates who have already acquired an Accredited CEng (Partial) BEng(Hons) or an Accredited IEng (Full) BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree.

See http://www.jbm.org.uk for further information.

This degree has been accredited by the JBM under licence from the UK regulator, the Engineering Council.

Accreditation is a mark of assurance that the degree meets the standards set by the Engineering Council in the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC). An accredited degree will provide you with some or all of the underpinning knowledge, understanding and skills for eventual registration as an Incorporated (IEng) or Chartered Engineer (CEng). Some employers recruit preferentially from accredited degrees, and an accredited degree is likely to be recognised by other countries that are signatories to international accords.

Links with Industry

On the Erasmus Mundus MSc Computational Mechanics course, you will have the opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge in computational mechanics in an industrial context.

As a student on the Erasmus Mundus MSc Computational Mechanics course you will be placed in engineering industries, consultancies or research institutions that have an interest and expertise in computational mechanics. Typically, you will be trained by the relevant industry in the use of their in-house or commercial computational mechanics software.

You will also gain knowledge and expertise on the use of the particular range of commercial software used in the industry where you are placed.

Careers

The next decade will experience an explosive growth in the demand for accurate and reliable numerical simulation and optimisation of engineering systems.

Computational mechanics will become even more multidisciplinary than in the past and many technological tools will be, for instance, integrated to explore biological systems and submicron devices. This will have a major impact in our everyday lives.

Employment can be found in a broad range of engineering industries as this course provides the skills for the modelling, formulation, analysis and implementation of simulation tools for advanced engineering problems.

Student Quotes

“I gained immensely from the high quality coursework, extensive research support, confluence of cultures and unforgettable friendship.”

Prabhu Muthuganeisan, MSc Computational Mechanics

Read less

As a researcher in the School of Engineering, you can benefit from the expertise of our academics and award-winning industry links. Research opportunities are available in a variety of areas relevant to today’s engineering industry.

The School of Engineering is a Centre of Industrial Research and Development Excellence, with expertise centred on core disciplines of intelligent systems and control, power and energy, and materials, manufacturing and processing. During the programme, you will have the chance to collaborate with industry on projects that can deliver tangible benefits to employers, the sector and society.

The MSc by Research degree enables you to pursue a one year full-time (or two years part-time) individual programme of research.

Read less