This MSc provides a broad introduction to geohazards, together with advanced courses in seismology, volcanology, hydrogeological hazards and meteorology. A key goal is to provide an essential grounding in quantitative modelling that can be widely applied to several fields, from pure research to the commercial sector.
The programme provides an introduction to the spectrum and impact of geophysical hazards, and a focus on quantitative models for hazard forecasting and assessment. Selected case studies illustrate how these models are essential for improving decision-making during emergencies, for raising the awareness of vulnerable populations, and for evaluating and implementing mitigation strategies.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of six core modules (120 credits) and a research dissertation (60 credits).
Core modules
Optional modules
There are no optional modules for this programme.
Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project in geophysical hazards, which culminates in a dissertation of 15,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, directed reading and practical exercises. There are excellent opportunities for field investigations in the UK and abroad. Assessment is through unseen written examinations, practical problem-solving exercises and essays. The independent research report is assessed through the dissertation and an oral presentation.
Fieldwork
Field sites for field trips are normally in Italy. The department pays for accommodation and transport in the field. Students pay to get to the field and subsistence.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Geophysical Hazards MSc
On graduation from this programme about one-third of students have followed careers in global insurance and re-insurance and another third have pursued research with a PhD in hazard-related studies. The remaining third have developed careers in a wide range of sectors, from non-governmental organisations, through teaching, to the fields of emergency planning and environmental management.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Employability
The MSc in Geophysical Hazards will provide essential training for careers in hazard assessment and risk evaluation, including: industry, from engineering to insurance; academic research; civil protection agencies and government organisations; and NGOs related to aid and development.
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
UCL Earth Sciences is engaged in world-class research into the processes at work on and within the Earth and planets.
Graduate students benefit from our lively and welcoming environment and world-class facilities. The department hosts UCL Hazard Centre, Europe's leading multidisciplinary hazard research centre, and engages in extensive collaborative work with the Royal Institution and the Natural History Museum.
This MSc aims to include a short field trip to locations that illustrate the impact of natural hazards. Previous trips have included the Neapolitan volcanic district, the Italian Alps and the Po Delta, and the Cádiz region in south-western Spain.
The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.
The following REF score was awarded to the department: Earth Sciences
92% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
Volcanoes threaten millions worldwide and improved hazard mitigation is a high priority. Our well-established MSc allows you to study alongside leading volcanologists in one of the largest groups of environmental scientists in the UK.
This MSc is ideal preparation for PhD research or work in the environment sector, and is suitable for students with a wide range of first degrees including Geography, Geology, Environmental Science and Physics.
As well as gaining a strong theoretical grounding, you will spend time in the laboratory and in the field, including field trips to study volcanic rocks in the nearby Lake District and a highly popular field module on Mount Etna.
You will study six taught modules which include core modules on volcanic and other geological hazards and optional modules which provide broader learning and practical skills in areas of particular benefit to aspiring volcanologists. Modules are taught by world experts from Lancaster Environment Centre and our partner institutions.
You will join our active volcanology group and conduct an independent dissertation research project under supervision from an internationally recognized researcher, taking advantage of our well-equipped experimental and geochemical laboratories. Within our group there are additional opportunities to participate in seminars, workshops and discussions.
Examples of previous dissertation topics are:
You will study a range of modules as part of your course, some examples of which are listed below.
Core
Optional
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, but changes may be necessary, for example as a result of student feedback, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes, and new research.
Coursework, presentations, examinations and dissertation
Geographic information systems have become really interesting to all of us with the increased innovation in smart phones and IOT, whether we are searching for a venue to eat and drink or looking for something specific in a difficult to reach location. At one time GIS was heavily used in planning and map creation, now we all have access to those maps on our mobiles and tablets and we now expect sensors in our phones to connect automatically to satellite systems to tell us our every move, whether we are walking or in the car. This has made the discipline incredibly interesting and opened up a lot more opportunities in terms of work. On top of the more obvious GIS enabled systems many businesses rely on this technology to inform them about weather, shipping, coastal locations, risks and hazards, agriculture and energy and minerals exploration.
Geospatial technologies are increasingly important across all industries and this programme gives you skills in developing remote sensing, working with wide ranging expertise from coastal, marine, ecology, energy, geology, spatial planning, and archaeology. You learn some very useful skills in programming, simulation and modelling, spatial databases and global positioning systems, plus cartography, remote sensing, digital image processing, geographic information systems, field data capture for a variety of devices.
It is worth visiting the Scottish Innovation Centres to find out more about innovations using GIS and the technologies it uses
Semester 1
Optional
Semester 2
Semester 3
Dissertation
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
Find out more about the online version
Find out about international fees:
Find out more about fees on the programme page
*Please be advised that some programmes also have additional costs.
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page and the latest postgraduate opportunities
Living in Aberdeen
Find out more about:
Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
Climate change, increasing urbanization and mounting exposure to natural hazards are imposing growing pressure on insurers and reinsurers to seek ways of limiting exposure. This programme offers students a better understanding of natural hazards and the means by which their impacts on the market can be mitigated or avoided.
Strong emphasis is placed on developing an improved understanding of natural hazards – the nature of available data, the conclusions we can draw from them, limitations and relevant cutting-edge research. Content focuses on hazards of most interest to the market, most notably windstorm, flood and earthquake, but also addresses geotechnical issues such as dam and reservoir safety, radioactive waste and energy resource issues.
Students undertake modules to the value of 60 credits.
The programme consists of two taught core modules (40 credits) and an independent research project (20 credits).
Core modules
Optional modules
There are no optional modules for this programme.
Research project/report
All students undertake an independent project, which culminates in an 8,000-word dissertation and an oral presentation.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through lectures, seminars, discussions, directed reading, and problem-solving exercises. Student performance is assessed through a combination of examination and coursework in the form of essays, reports and exercises. The independent project is assessed through an 8,000-word report and an oral presentation.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Natural Hazards for Insurers PG Cert
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
This programme is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), the premier professional organisation for those working in the insurance and financial services industry.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
Top hazard scientists at UCL and other leading academic institutions have worked with the under 35s reinsurance group and market professionals, to develop this flexible programme.
Students benefit from our welcoming environment and world-class facilities, which include the UCL Hazard Centre, Europe's leading multidisciplinary hazard research centre.
The programme is staffed by academics from UCL and partner universities,
the British Geological Survey and industry and market practitioners.
This is an online delivery of the on campus degree which you can take flexibly part time whilst you work anywhere in the world. The degree comes from Aberdeen University and city in the heart of the European oil and gas industry where the university provides postgraduate degrees worldwide to international students in the oil and gas industry.
Ageing infrastructure from the golden days of the oil and gas and energy industry is now being identified for decommissioning. Some of it is in the North Sea but many other countries are increasingly realising that they need to decommission properly and effectively due to environmental regulation. Building a platform has provided a rapid and continuous learning process since the start of the energy industry but learning how to decommission a platform has now started a rapid learning experience about best practise methods across the supply chain and facilities available to deal with entire platforms and their various facilities are now an important concern.
The degree will cover all aspects of decommissioning process including engineering, legal, environmental regulation, business and project management risks and challenges across the oil and gas industry, You study the important aspects of offshore subsea systems, well plugging, offshore installations, project evaluating and economics, environment impact assessment process an regulation, and a group project in comparative assessment. You also look at process shutdown and disposal. This is a highly complex area due to the level of environmental contaminants and different types of facilities to take down.
There are many oil and gas companies now decommissioning in the North sea with the Brent Delta platform being a highly publicised example. You may be interested in reading about decommissioning from the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy which gives you more information about the process, the companies involved and some examples of environmental statements and other useful information
Year 1
Compulsory
Year 2
Optional
*suitable for students with engineering, math or physics background
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
Find out about international fees:
Find out more about fees on the programme page
*Please be advised that some programmes also have additional costs.
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page and the latest postgraduate opportunities
Find out more about:
Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
You may be interested in the on campus Decommissioning MSc delivered at University of Aberdeen
Other engineering disciplines you may be interested in:
The MSc Hazard and Disaster Management course will develop knowledge, technical skills, interpersonal and management skills, and experience. You will study a range of hazards using examples from the UK and other countries. This will provide you with the experience to assess risks and vulnerabilities from desk-based research, laboratory and field situations, consider hazard management and disaster risk reduction strategies, develop emergency plans, and critically review the concept of resilience along with techniques for its development.
You will consider the dynamic and multi-faceted nature of disasters and examine a range of aspects pertinent to the operational, political and socio-cultural issues involved in disaster relief, including aspects of international law. The course will ensure a sound working knowledge and experience with one of the mostly widely used GIS platforms, extensively used by many planning authorities, GOs and NGOs, and you will develop valuable skills in the acquisition and processing of spatial datasets with a wide variety of disaster management applications, along with the ability to visualise and depict spatial information.
Opportunities for study on residential field courses will include the use of field simulations either in Finland or in the UK, and the opportunity to examine environmental hazards and evaluate management strategies on an overseas residential field course. Currently, the field course takes place in Italy or Greece, to examine volcanic, seismic, landslide and tsunami hazards.
The Disaster Management course is designed in a modular format and will be offered on a full and part time basis. Delivery will be mixed-mode, with a combination of traditional lectures, practicals and distance learning with supporting tutorials. For full time students, study will take place over 14 months, and for part time students, study may typically take two to three years.
The MSc Hazard and Disaster Management begins with a two week Summer School in August, where you will meet other students, academic tutors and visiting experts. You will:
You will undertake a field course simulation training exercise, which will focus on survival skills. You will reflect on the experiences of victims of disasters, develop decision making through active participation and it will orientate you to the type of experiences that you may encounter in a disaster field situation.
After the summer school, lectures and self-directed learning will take place in the Autumn and Spring terms. Teaching and training will also include fieldwork within the region as well as the option for overseas residential fieldwork.
Study will utilise a range of diverse learning approaches and activities to acknowledge the rich and diverse character and content of the body of knowledge that forms this Master’s degree course. It will include:
Each week, lectures and practicals will take place. This normally involves seven to 10 hours of class contact timetabled within two days of the week. In addition, through the week you will be engaged in distance learning tutorials and activities, background reading, and working on a wide range of assessments. Some weeks will also have additional field or simulation time. For a full-time course, a minimum of 37 hours of study time per week is expected.
The course will also require attendance at a Summer School (two weeks), on another overseas residential field course (about ten days), and will also provide options for other extended field- or work-placements. UK and EU students complete the Summer School at the start of their course in August and International Students complete it at the end of their course. International students therefore begin their course in September and not August. This is to allow enough time for you to get your visa.
Increasing urbanization, growing wealth concentration, climate change and environmental degradation are rapidly raising exposure to natural hazards in the developed and developing world. Growing numbers of stakeholders are thus seeking ways of reducing the risk from natural hazards. UCL's Natural Hazards PG Cert offers students a better understanding of natural hazards and the means by which their impacts on people, communities and business can be mitigated and managed.
A strong emphasis is placed on developing an improved understanding of
natural hazards and the processes that drive them. The latest research is
used to evaluate the nature of available data, the conclusions we can draw
from them and their limitations. The content focuses on the most destructive and costliest hazards, notably windstorms, floods and earthquakes, but also addresses geotechnical topics such as dam and reservoir safety and radioactive waste management. The programme provides students with intellectual and practical tools for making more informed decisions in their professional capacities.
Students undertake modules to the value of 60 credits.
The programme consists of two taught core modules (40 credits) and an independent research project (20 credits).
Core modules
Optional modules
There are no optional modules for this programme.
Research project/report
All students undertake an independent project, which culminates in an 8,000-word independent report and an oral presentation.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through lectures, seminars, discussions, directed reading, and problem-solving exercises. Student performance is assessed through a combination of examination and coursework in the form of essays, reports and exercises. The independent project is assessed through an 8,000-word report and an oral presentation.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Natural Hazards PG Cert
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
This programme is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), the premier professional organisation for those working in the insurance and financial services industry.
Top hazard scientists at UCL and other leading academic institutions have worked with professionals in the business and NGO arenas to develop a flexible programme that accommodates the demands of a full-time professional career.
The programme is staffed by academics from UCL and other universities, the British Geological Survey and partners from the business sector.
The programme is part-time and taught in three blocks over a period of ten months. The total programme length is 600 hours, of which 140 hours is contact time with tutors, which takes the form of lectures, seminars and discussions. The remaining study time is made up of directed reading, essay writing, problem-solving exercises and the preparation of an independent project report.
