Water and Wastewater Processes MSc - Environmental Science route

Make a difference in Water and Wastewater with your career

Our MSc in Water and Wastewater Processes offers you two distinct study routes to ensure you can tailor your study to your specific needs and career prospects.

In this Environmental Science route, students will apply scientific principles to assess the environmental impacts of climate change, pollution discharges and emerging contaminants on the quality and treatability of water resources, proposing solutions in a water and wastewater treatment context.

Water and Wastewater Processes MSc - Engineering

High value scholarships available:
重口味SM Merit Scholarships
Anglian Water Bursary
重口味SM India Scholarship
重口味SM Nigeria Scholarship
重口味SM Vietnam Scholarship

Overview

Start dateFull-time: October, part-time: October
DurationFull-time: one year, part-time: two-three years
DeliveryTaught modules 80 credits/800 hours, Group projects 40 credits/400 hours, Individual project 60 credits/600 hours
QualificationMSc, PgDip, PgCert
重口味SM typeFull-time / Part-time
Campus重口味SM campus

Who is it for?

The Environmental Sciences route is ideal for those who want to make a real difference in protecting public health, providing vital infrastructure for society, and improving the health of our rivers, lakes, groundwaters and coastal areas.

It is well-suited to those from a wide range of academic backgrounds, including (but not limited to) environmental science, social sciences, chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, and public health.

8 reasons to study water at 重口味SM

Your career

This MSc equips the students with the knowledge and skills required to pursue a career in environmental science in both public and private sectors. In addition to providing a basis to pursue further studies (PhD), the course prepares the students for a wide range of careers including process scientist, regulatory scientist/inspector, researcher government and NGO roles, catchment scientist, environmental consultant, water quality scientist, sustainability scientist.

重口味SM Careers and Employability Service

重口味SM’s Career Service is dedicated to helping you meet your career aspirations. You will have access to career coaching and advice, CV development, interview practice, access to hundreds of available jobs via our Symplicity platform and opportunities to meet recruiting employers at our careers fairs. Our strong reputation and links with potential employers provide you with outstanding opportunities to secure interesting jobs and develop successful careers. Support continues after graduation and as a 重口味SM alumnus, you have free life-long access to a range of career resources to help you continue your education and enhance your career.

重口味SM opened a lot of doors for me. I got my job offer with Mott MacDonald, three months away from finishing the course. I believe the experience I got from 重口味SM, and especially the group project helped me.

It is the best place because the interactions between students and lecturers are superb.

The MSc Water and Wastewater Engineering course has been challenging but also stimulating and exciting. The lectures are very interactive and engaging and oftentimes, there are even external presenters including 重口味SM alumni, who deliver presentations on certain topics.

The deep learning I have acquired, especially in the key principle of wastewater treatment systems, the constant opportunity to interact with experienced water professionals during classes and the site visits to UK water company facilities have helped me a lot to deepen the knowledge that I have acquired during classes.

Why this course?

Water and wastewater systems are under increasing strain from demographic and climatic changes. Our course will equip you with the knowledge and skills to help find sustainable solutions to those pressures and make a real difference for future generations. On this course you will:

重口味SM a truly interdisciplinary course, rooted in a system-level understanding of water and wastewater
Complete your thesis on a real-world project to suit your interests
Learn from internationally leading faculty who undertake cutting-edge research
Hear about relevant challenges (like sewage and river health) from a wide range of experts working across the sector
Visit active water and wastewater treatment sites to see technologies in the real world
Benefit from innovative, problem-oriented teaching activities
Develop practical skills and networking opportunities

Informed by industry

This MSc is supported by organisations from across the water sector, including water utilities, consultancies, regulators, and NGOs. They support us with guest lectures, problem-based activities, by hosting field trips (), and by sponsoring thesis projects. These links can give your career a boost by providing networking opportunities and giving you a real-world perspective on the topics discussed in the classroom. Many of our graduates have gone on to take up jobs within the organisations that participate in our course.

Course details

In this section

In the Environmental Science route, students will critically assess the water environment and its quality, how it is monitored, its influence in water and wastewater treatment systems, and how treated wastewater influences environmental water quality. They will also assess the processes that influence water resources, the impact of weather events and climate change and their consequences on water quality and availability.

The course comprises a taught programme of of five core modules, two route modules, and one elective module. You will then go on to study a group project and an individual project.

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Course delivery

Taught modules 80 credits/800 hours, Group projects 40 credits/400 hours, Individual project 60 credits/600 hours

The group project is an applied multidisciplinary team-based activity. It provides students with the opportunity, whilst working in teams under academic supervision, to apply principles taught during modules whilst taking responsibility for project tasks. Success is dependent on the integration of various activities, working within agreed objectives, deadlines and budgets. Students submit project reports and present their findings to representatives from industry. This develops professional practice in communication skills for technical and business areas of process development. Part-time students complete a single design project individually in a field of their choice.

Recent group projects include:

Students select their individual project in consultation with the thesis project coordinators. This provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate independent research ability working within agreed objectives, deadlines and budgets. The project is sponsored by industry and usually includes a four-month placement with the sponsoring company. Placements previously have been offered by all ten of the UK water utilities, the leading two French utilities, as well as multinational companies and SMEs operating in the water sector. Part-time students usually undertake their individual project with their employer.

Modules

Keeping our courses up-to-date and current requires constant innovation and change. The modules we offer reflect the needs of business and industry and the research interests of our staff and, as a result, may change or be withdrawn due to research developments, legislation changes or for a variety of other reasons. Changes may also be designed to improve the student learning experience or to respond to feedback from students, external examiners, accreditation bodies and industrial advisory panels.

To give you a taster, we have listed the compulsory and elective (where applicable) modules which are currently affiliated with this course. All modules are indicative only, and may be subject to change for your year of entry.

Course modules

Compulsory modules
All the modules in the following list need to be taken as part of this course.

Module Leader	Dr Heather Smith
Aim	This module will showcase the drivers of change in the water sector and evaluate their impact on the selection of water and wastewater treatment systems and how global trends influence systems operation.
Syllabus	Introduction to the UK water sector. Overview of water resources. Overview of water supply systems. Protect the river. LMIC. Drivers of innovation– Net Zero, CE and digitisation.
Intended learning outcomes	Relate the global-scale challenges affecting water resources, water supply and wastewater services, and explain how these challenges differ between high and low income countries. Derive the basic elements of water and wastewater services, from catchment to treatment to discharge and recycling, relate these elements to the global-scale challenges and discuss how they are being impacted. Appraise key trends driving change in water and wastewater services, compare how these trends, and predict how services will respond.

Module Leader	Dr Irene Carra
Aim	To acquire general knowledge of the processes employed in water and wastewater treatment and the scientific principles on which they are based.
Syllabus	Classification, significance and concentration ranges of contaminants in water and wastewater, including: suspended and dissolved solids, organic and inorganic compounds, micropollutants, odour and pathogens. Physical processes for removing contaminants such as coagulation, clarification, filtration, adsorption and membrane separation. Chemical processes for removing contaminants such as oxidation, precipitation, coagulation and ion exchange. Adsorption and ion exchange. Biological processes such as aerobic and anaerobic processes, activated sludge and sludge digestion. Water recycling, resource recovery and options to achieve net zero. Nature based solutions, their benefits and limitations. Examples of flow sheets and unit operations used in treatment plants.
Intended learning outcomes	Relate the scientific principles of water and wastewater treatment processes. Assess the nature of contaminants in water systems and their contribution to water and wastewater quality and treatability. Critically select appropriate treatment processes, based on water and wastewater quality, and the intended use of the treated water.

Module Leader	Dr Luca Alibardi
Aim	You will learn about the basic scientific and engineering principles on which water and wastewater treatment processes are based including water chemistry, organic chemistry, chemical and biochemical kinetics, mass balance, reactor theory, mass and heat transfers. You will learn data analysis techniques and statistical tools that are relevant for the analysis of data generated during the operation and monitoring of water and wastewater treatment process, experimental tests or pilot scale trials. The knowledge that you will gain in this module will form the scientific and engineering basis to understand, apply and appraise process design procedures and methodologies as well as understand, appraise or develop reactor operation procedures and diagnosis approaches that will be presented in the next modules.
Syllabus	Aqueous chemistry: moles and equivalents, solubility, the behaviour of acids and bases and the concept of pH, kinetics, and equilibria. Basic concepts of organic chemistry. Basic concepts of microbiology and biodegradability. Kinetics – chemical and biochemical. Mass balances. Reactors – continuous stirred tank and plug flow reactors. Mass and heat transfers. Data analysis and statistical tools.
Intended learning outcomes	Review relevant fundamental scientific and engineering principles forming the basis for process design, diagnosis and operation that are relevant for water and wastewater treatment. Assess the chemistry and microbiology concepts involved in water processes. Critically assess the science and engineering principles for reactor design and operation of to water and wastewater treatment processes (mass balance, mass and heat transfers, reactor theory , chemical and biochemical kinetics). Appraise data analysis procedures and statistical tools for water and wastewater treatment systems.

Module Leader	Professor Peter Jarvis
Aim	The module is designed to provide you with the process science and engineering knowledge necessary to be able to effectively select, design, and monitor the biological, chemical and physical treatment processes used for conventional water and wastewater treatment.
Syllabus	Process science and application of water and wastewater treatment processes: Coagulation. Clarification. Filtration. Disinfection. Ion-exchange & adsorption. Membranes. Fixed film biological processes. Suspended biological processes. Sludge treatment. Anaerobic digestion.
Intended learning outcomes	Appraise the operation of different conventional treatment water and wastewater treatment processes using theoretical and empirical principles. Derive theoretical and empirical process science calculations in order to develop the basis of design for water and wastewater treatment processes. Evaluate how treatment processes can be applied for removal and processing of contaminants and waste streams.

Module Leader	Professor Bruce Jefferson
Aim	The challenges that water and wastewater treatment processes need to tackle to maintain their efficacy of treatment is ever evolving and in recent times appears to be accelerating in complexity and scale. The combination of climate change, population growth, emerging chemicals and tightening regulations are compounded through greater awareness and response form the general public. In light of this it can be argued that traditional flowsheets are moribund. Consequently, change is needed, and the associated people involved (process scientists, engineers, etc) need to embrace change in terms of the technologies we use and the flowsheets that contain them. This module will help you navigate this journey and equip you with the skills and knowledge to thrive in the delivery of solutions against such challenges and feel confident in when and how to adopt new technology.
Syllabus	Key emerging challenges for water and wastewater treatment. Development of future flowsheets and selection of suitable technologies. Four specific key challenges will be covered including: Details of the problem and potential flowsheets. Design, operation and challenges of the key technologies used. Economic and receptivity considerations where relevant. The challenges are: Bulk DOC removal and DBPs, impact of climate change and new regulations, PFAS, protect the river.
Intended learning outcomes	Explain key global challenges for water and wastewater treatment (e.g. PFAS, DBPs, protecting river ecosystems, indirect water recycling). Critically assess the benefits of emerging and/or novel technologies and mitigate uncertainties of their implementation. Develop suitable flowsheets and technologies for solving emerging challenges.

Module Leader	Dr Robert Grabowski
Aim	Climate change and human activity are having profound impacts on catchments. Increasing temperatures, more frequent and intense rainstorms, and more prolonged droughts are causing direct and indirect changes to vegetation, soils and rivers that affect water quantity and quality via multiple mechanisms. In this module, you will develop the knowledge and skills to conceptualise the climate change impacts on water resources, at catchment scale, based on an understanding of hydrological, geomorphic, chemical and ecological processes.
Syllabus	Catchment hydrology, Precipitation and evapotranspiration, Climate change impacts on precipitation and evapotranspiration, Soil structure, diversity and hydrology, Soils, vegetation and nutrients, Human impacts on soils, Groundwater principles, Groundwater flow through the landscape, Groundwater flow to pump, water quality issues, Climate change impacts on groundwater levels and quality, Runoff generation, River discharge and hydrograph analysis, Probably – hydrological data and applications, Rivers – geomorphology, Rivers – water chemistry, River process interactions – hydrological, geomorphic, chemical and ecological, Climate change impacts on river processes.
Intended learning outcomes	Appraise how water moves through catchments and the hydrological changes induced by human activities and development, Evaluate how soil, geological and river characteristics affect the flow and chemical characteristics of water, considering the influences of vegetation and impacts of human activity, Integrate and evaluate data and information from a variety of sources to characterise the factors affecting catchment processes in a case study catchment and assess the impacts of climate change.

Module Leader	Dr Pablo Campo Moreno
Aim	Water of good quality is necessary for domestic, environmental, industrial, recreational and agricultural applications. As a result of the conditions prevailing in the catchment area, natural and anthropogenic constituents in water bodies will define potential uses according to established criteria. Hence, for those working in water science, a comprehensive understanding of regulations applicable to water quality is needed. This module provides you with an overview of Water Framework Directive and other relevant water quality regulations and policies that govern the management and assessment of surface waters. If quality is to be adequately monitored, it is also important to acquire knowledge about sampling and measurement of water parameters and interpretation of acquired data. It also provides background in ecological processes, aquatic communities, and survey design and data analysis to help those working in environmental water management to interpret water quality data in the context of the catchment characteristics and pressures.
Syllabus	Importance of water quality for human health, drinking water and the environment. Water quality regulation and standards. UK methods to assess the status of surface water bodies. The physical and chemical attributes and processes structuring the biological community in aquatic ecosystems in the landscape (e.g. rivers, lakes, floodplains, estuaries and coastal zones). Design of water quality monitoring programmes: sampling strategies, sampling methods, quality assurance, and data handling. Water quality sampling & analysis: field sampling techniques and laboratory analysis methods. Statistical analysis of ecological and water quality data.
Intended learning outcomes	Evaluate the chemical, biological and hydromorphological processes and their interactions that determine the ecological status of a surface water body. Critically analyse water quality based on knowledge of the sampling and data analysis methods, and analyse them to identify significant spatial and temporal differences. Classify major point and non-point sources of water pollution derived from natural sources and human activities, and identify emerging threats to water quality.

Elective modules
One of the modules from the following list needs to be taken as part of this course.

Module Leader	Dr Andrea Momblanch
Aim	The increasing global concern for water scarcity, pollution, and the need for sustainable infrastructure calls for the importance of nature-based solutions (NBS) for water and wastewater treatment. NBS offers a paradigm shift, leveraging natural processes and ecosystems to enhance water quality, mitigate flooding, and restore ecological balance etc. To understand the roles of NBS and their functional mechanisms, learning from existing successful implementations is essential to support system design and operational guidance, allowing NBS to deliver not only regulatory standardised treatment effluent but also contribute to broader ecological benefits. This module aims to equip you with a cutting-edge education that combines theoretical knowledge with practical design skills on NBS for water and wastewater treatment.
Syllabus	Introduction of NBS in water and wastewater: Examples, trade-offs and opportunities, Latest innovations in NBS interventions, Optimising resources for maximum NBS impact. Treatment wetlands design: Wetland components and processes, Sizing for sewage applications, Sizing for industrial wastewater, Tutorial and exercise. Treatment wetland implementations: Ancillaries and hydraulic design, Commissioning and monitoring, Incorporating multiple benefits in wetland design, Wetland design tutorial: multiple benefits, Wetland benchmarking – building a business case, Visit 重口味SM experimental wetlands. Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDs): Introduction of SuDs, SuDs design: CIRIA guidance, and SuDS in practice, SuDS design equations, SuDS design tutorial and exercise - Ecosystem restoration - Biodiversity net gain - Visit MK SuDS schemes.
Intended learning outcomes	Evaluate different nature-based solutions and their implementations for water and wastewater treatment, Critically appraise the multiple benefits and evaluate the limitations and trade-offs of nature-based solutions, Size Treatment Wetlands to meet specific sewage treatment targets, Design sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) for water management based on guidance and best practices.

Module Leader	Professor Ana Soares
Aim	The water sector is embracing sustainable practices to effectively manage water and wastewater, aligning with circular economy principles and striving towards NET-ZERO goals while promoting resource recovery. This paradigm shift entails comprehensive, interdisciplinary strategies that prioritise not only technological advancements but also the establishment of metrics and key performance indicators. Considering regulatory frameworks and engaging local stakeholders are pivotal aspects. This module offers insights into the latest advancements in resource recovery from water, municipal, and industrial wastewater. It explores the drivers, challenges, opportunities, success stories, and tools essential for evaluating resource recovery implementation within the water sector.
Syllabus	Sustainable practices to manage water and wastewater. Circular economy. Resource recovery strategies and processes. Regulatory framework around resource recovery. Nutrient recovery. Energy recovery/net zero
Intended learning outcomes	Appraise sustainable practices in managing water and wastewater, including their alignment with circular economy principles and NET-ZERO targets. Derive strategies for resource recovery technologies applicable to water, municipal, and industrial wastewater treatment processes. Evaluate of drivers and challenges on the adoption of resource recovery practices. Assess tools and metrics to explore opportunities for resource recovery within the water sector, including potential economic, environmental, and social benefits.

Teaching team

重口味SM is recognised internationally as a centre of excellence for postgraduate courses. The Water Theme at 重口味SM is the UK's largest academic group specialising in process science and technology.

Our MSc course is delivered by leading academics and industry practitioners, with real-world research feeding into the coursework.

The Course Director is Dr Irene Carra and the Deputy Course Directors are Dr Pablo Campo Moreno and Dr Kristell Le Corre Pidou (part-time).