Course summary

Overview of Programme MSc Global Sustainability Engineering provides you with the opportunity to develop your engineering knowledge to identify existing unsustainable processes and practices and implement strategies to improve sustainability. The programme has been created in response to the current gap in industry and create graduates who have both a background in science or engineering and who can provide technical consultation and deliver specialist solutions to improve sustainability. You’ll learn from academics and a curriculum focused on and drawing inspiration from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. You’ll develop the knowledge and skills to become advocates for change within the sustainability engineering field, by understanding how both incremental and disruptive approaches can be harnessed for effective sustainable development. The programme adopts an interdisciplinary approach, to provide you with a holistic view of problems and solutions which can be developed. During the master’s programme, you’ll develop a working knowledge of the relevant science and technology core to sustainability engineering, including environmental science and engineering, energy, recycling, sustainable processing, impact assessment, and environmental economics. You’ll gain an awareness of the context and framework within which the environmental degradation and sustainability problem and solutions exist. You’ll explore the implications of global trends on the environment, society, economy, and organisations to develop sustainable products and services with the aim to improve sustainability performance. This degree offers one year of study across two semesters followed by a second year of study which will include an industrial work placement or industrial project, followed by a dissertation project. Our Expertise 96% of Heriot-Watt University’s engineering research was classed as world-leading in the REF 2021 review, which ranked us 1st in Scotland and 3rd in the UK for engineering research through a joint submission with the University of Edinburgh. Our MSc Global Sustainability Engineering is directly informed by the world class research carried out by Heriot-Watt’s Mechanical, Process and Energy Engineering (IMPEE) research institute and our Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS). Your learning environment The MSc Global Sustainability Engineering programme is taught though a combination of lectures, tutorials, and laboratory practicals, allowing you to get to know and build relationships with your teaching staff, academics, and peers. You will be assessed by coursework, exams, and your dissertation, and will receive support and feedback throughout the programme. During your studies, you’ll benefit from and have access to our specialist equipment, software and laboratories used by professional chemical and sustainability engineers, including a condensation rig, mock continuous stirred tank reactor, fermentation broths, flowmeter calibration, absorption columns, reactant distribution reactors, heat exchangers, distillation columns, absorption column, and fermenters. You will have the opportunity to work on real-world problems, and work across disciplines to deliver practical solutions with global impact in our state-of-the-art GRID (Global Research Innovation and Discovery) facility. In your second year, you will complete an industrial work placement or industrial project, before completing your dissertation. You'l undertake an extensive and specialised investigation into your chosen area of sustainability engineering through your dissertation. You’ll be required to demonstrate your mastery of the subject area by applying the latest sustainability engineering technology developments to an extensive investigation into an advanced or specialist topic relating to the subject area.