Advanced Geotechnical Engineering with Industrial Practice (Taught)

Why choose this course?
Geotechnical engineering – the mechanics of the Earth’s materials – is a sector with a huge global skills shortage. This means that well-trained geotechnical engineers are in high demand.

Our MSc will equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge to pursue an exciting career in the geotechnical engineering sector, including offshore and earthquake geotechnics.

You’ll be taught in highly specialised facilities, such as our Geotechnics and Geology Teaching Laboratory, by academics who are leaders in their field. Throughout your course, you’ll also benefit from the expert knowledge of specialist guest speakers, including visiting academics and engineers working in industry.

You'll also have the opportunity to undertake a postgraduate placement year, allowing you to gain crucial workplace experience. We’ll support you in finding a placement with a company most suited to your career goals.

What you will study
Our MSc will develop your understanding of the principles and theories behind ground engineering, from soil mechanics to site investigation and from advanced soil testing to foundation design. We’ll provide you with the necessary skills to address technological challenges in the geotechnical engineering sector.

You’ll explore a variety of topics, including deep foundations in urban areas, deep water energy resources exploration, field monitoring, foundations for energy infrastructure and major bridges, and tunnelling.

The course covers the following:

Analysis techniques
Simplified (spreadsheet-based)
Standard (code-based methods or simple software)
Advanced (finite element method)
Back analysis of collapse of foundations
Design and construction of foundations for bridges, buildings, offshore structures, tunnels and deep basements in busy cities
Dissertation on a geotechnical topic
Fundamental soil mechanics and its modelling using numerical approaches
Testing of soils to obtain design parameters – we use our purpose-built SAGE laboratory for teaching.