Program Overview

This program is managed by the Water Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) in the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering. Our programmes are well-established and held in high regard by practitioners and employers from industry, and international development and emergency sectors.

The programme will be taught by world-leading academics with strong multi-disciplinary expertise in flood modelling, data analytics and disaster risk management. The teaching staff have considerable experience of working internationally and understand the practice of flood risk management in different cultural and development contexts.

Flooding is the most widespread type of natural hazard affecting the UK and most other countries and regions in the world. It is widely recognised that flood risk is increasing due to the impacts of climate change and a legacy of inappropriate development. There is an increasing need for graduates/professionals equipped with knowledge and skills that reflect the latest modelling and data analytics technologies to manage flood risk and address climate change challenges.

This exciting MSc programme builds on WEDC’s world-leading research on water engineering and development, especially in the field of flood modelling and risk management. The programme provides a unique training opportunity in developing and applying modern high-performance modelling tools, geographic information system (GIS) and data analytics techniques to support flood modelling, risk assessment and management, thus suitable for students from a wide range of backgrounds in engineering and relevant subjects. The programme particularly provides training to apply an openly accessible high-performance hydrodynamic model and data analytics tools to support flood simulation and risk assessment using real-world examples. After completing the course, students can take these skills back to their home country/employer and adapt the open-source model for application in the local context.

The course comprises compulsory modules covering all core aspects of flood modelling, GIS and other data analytics techniques to support the assessment and management of flood risk. There is also an individual research dissertation, which is linked to the students’ specific interests and often includes an opportunity to work with partners/agencies from around the world.