Programme Specification
MSc Water and Environmental Management
Academic Year: 2014/15
This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if full advantage is taken of the learning opportunities that are provided.
This specification applies to delivery of the programme in the Academic Year indicated above. Prospective students reviewing this information for a later year of study should be aware that these details are subject to change as outlined in our Terms and Conditions of Study.
This specification should be read in conjunction with:
- Reg. XXI (Postgraduate Awards) (see University Regulations)
- Module Specifications
- Summary
- Aims
- Learning outcomes
- Structure
- Progression & weighting
Programme summary
Awarding body/institution | Loughborough University |
Teaching institution (if different) | Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) within the school |
Owning school/department | School of Civil and Building Engineering |
Details of accreditation by a professional/statutory body | The MSc, PGDiploma and PGCertificate programmes are accredited by The Joint Board of Moderators (JBM) has accredited the Water and Environmental Management |
Final award | MSc, PGDip, PGCert |
Programme title | Water and Environmental Management |
Programme code | CVPT71 + CVPT81 |
Length of programme | 1 year full-time, Diploma: 9 months full-time, Certificate: 2-3 months full-time |
UCAS code | |
Admissions criteria | http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/courses/departments/civeng/ The additional information about the programme available from |
Date at which the programme specification was published | Tue, 09 Sep 2014 14:37:31 BST |
1. Programme Aims
This programme is likely to be of particular interest to applicants who wish to develop careers in planning and managing work in the water and sanitation sector in low- and middle-income countries. It aims to:
- Provide graduates with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively plan, manage and coordinate water, sanitation and environmental services in low- and middle-income countries;
- Develop participants’ understanding of the principles and practice of sustainable water and environmental management for the public good;
- Equip students with appropriate expertise and skills for work in low- and middle-income countries; and
- Provide an opportunity for specialisation in one topic through in depth study during the Research Dissertation module.
2. Relevant subject benchmark statements and other external reference points used to inform programme outcomes:
This specification has taken into account the descriptors for a qualification at Masters (MSc), Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) and Postgraduate Certificate (PGCcert) levels that are set out in the “Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
This MSc programme is taught by the Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) in the School of Civil and Building Engineering at Loughborough University. The WEDC Mission Statement is:
Education, training, research and consultancy for improved planning, provision and management of physical infrastructure and services for development in low- and middle-income countries, focusing on the needs and demands of the poor.
WEDC’s postgraduate programmes are multidisciplinary in content so no single-subject benchmarks are wholly applicable to them. There are currently no benchmark statements for Engineering MSc programmes. Although the Subject Benchmark Statement for Engineering applies to first degrees in engineering, and not to postgraduate degrees, it has been used to inform the drafting of intended learning outcomes for this programme, with the expectation that postgraduate students attain a higher level than undergraduate students in relevant outcomes. The Subject Benchmark Statement for Master’s Awards in Business and Management has also been consulted because of the management content of the WEDC programmes; the list of skills for all Master’s programmes listed in Appendix 2 is of particular relevance. Note has also been taken of relevant parts of the Annex to Academic Standards – Engineering MEng Degrees.
Following an accreditation visit from CIWEM (Charted Institution of Water and Environmental Management) in May 2011, the accreditation panel recommended that the MSc, PGDiploma and PGCertificate programmes in Water & Environmental Management be accredited for a further period of five years with effect from the intake of Autumn 2010. Accreditation recognises that these programmes contribute to the academic requirements for CIWEM membership.
The Joint Board of Moderators (JBM) has deemed that the MSc programme in Water and Waste Engineering meets the requirements for ‘Further Learning’, for candidates who have already acquired an accredited CEng (Partial) BEng (Hons) undergraduate first degree, to contribute to achieving Chartered Engineer status, for student intakes 2011-2015 inclusive. (See http://www.jbm.org.uk for further information.)
3. Programme Learning Outcomes
3.1 Knowledge and Understanding
On successful completion of this programme participants should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of, or explain:
- the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to public health engineering and environmental management and ways to integrate various perspectives in project planning
- the links between water, sanitation and health
- key issues relating to pollution control, particularly for aquatic environments
- ways of integrating technical and non-technical considerations into project planning, design, execution and evaluation
- key issues in relation to effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and replicability in planning public health infrastructure and services with a view to reducing their impact on the environment
- key issues in relation to social and institutional aspects particularly for sustainability of water supply and environmental sanitation services that have minimum impact on the environment
- major international developments and initiatives, relating to some of the above-mentioned aspects
3.2 Skills and other attributes
a. Subject-specific cognitive skills:
On successful completion of this programme, participants should be able to:
- integrate and evaluate multi-disciplinary information, particularly that which relates to pollution control for the aquatic environment
- describe basic water supply and environmental sanitation options suitable for low- and middle-income countries, and be able to select appropriate options subject to specific constraints
- describe key water and sanitation sector reform issues such as new public management, decentralisation and public private partnerships.
- use an interdisciplinary approach to plan appropriate solutions to meet users’ needs and demands for water supply and environmental sanitation. This will include use of appropriate techniques for technical, financial and institutional analysis.
- plan, conduct and report a programme of original research.
b. Subject-specific practical skills:
On successful completion of this programme, participants[1] should be able to:
- demonstrate practical skills implied in the above statements.
- demonstrate some basic practical skills relevant to laboratory practical work.
c. Key transferable skills:
On successful completion of this programme, participants should be able to:
- Use literature critically, assessing it against other evidence, including personal experience
- Learn from, and contribute to, discussion with other professionals[1].
- Demonstrate originality in tackling and solving problems
- Analyse data, check their validity and make appropriate use of data when writing reports
- Communicate effectively in writing essays and reports. This will include presentation and justification of conclusions from quantitative and qualitative analyses.
- Show basic keyboard skills for word-processing on a computer
- Work as a member of a small team[2].
- Manage time and work to deadlines
- Continue to advance personal knowledge and understanding of relevant current issues, and develop new skills to a high level.
[1] Gaining these practical skills is not applicable to distance learners who do not also choose to come to Loughborough.
[2] Experience of working in a group is not gained if the Case Study module by DL is chosen instead of the Group Project.
4. Programme structure
4.1 The modules comprising the Programmes are listed below: The letters (DL) and an asterisk (*) beside the module code indicate modules offered by Distance Learning. Only those modules specified in Section 2.2 can contribute to the Water and Environmental Management programmes.
Module Code |
Module Title |
Module Weight |
CVP201 |
Management of Water and Sanitation |
15 |
CVP202 |
Water and Environmental Sanitation |
15 |
CVP204 |
Water Source Development |
15 |
CVP212 |
Environmental Assessment |
15 |
CVP215 |
Small-scale Water Supply and Sanitation |
15 |
CVP218 |
Integrated Water Resources Management |
15 |
CVP219 |
Solid Waste Management |
15 |
CVP223 |
Water Utilities Management |
15 |
CVP227 |
Data collection, analysis and research |
15 |
CVP228 |
Group Project |
15 |
CVP240 |
Short Project – Topical Review (Semester 1) |
15 |
CVP241 |
Short Project – Topical Review (Semester 2) |
15 |
CVP292 |
Research Dissertation (60 credits – 20 weeks) |
60 |
CVP293 |
Research Dissertation (60 credits – 72 weeks) |
60 |
|
Note that the following Distance Learning modules may contribute to Programme Code CVPT81, but not to Programme Code CVPT71. |
|
CVP251 * |
Management of Water and Sanitation (DL) |
15 |
CVP252 * |
Water and Environmental Sanitation (DL) |
15 |
CVP253 * |
Data collection, analysis and research (DL) |
15 |
CVP262 * |
Environmental Assessment (DL) |
15 |
CVP265 * |
Water for Low-Income Communities (DL) |
15 |
CVP268 * |
Integrated Water Resources Management (DL) |
15 |
CVP269 * |
Solid Waste Management (DL) |
15 |
CVP272 * |
Low-cost Sanitation (DL) |
15 |
CVP273 * |
Water Utilities Management (DL) |
15 |
CVP278 * |
Case Study (DL) |
15 |
CVP296 * |
Research Dissertation (60 credits – Two-years) (DL) |
60 |
CVP298 * |
Research Dissertation (60 credits – One-year) (DL) |
60 |
* by Distance Learning
The right is reserved to withdraw or make amendment to the modules available at the beginning of each session.
4.2 Modules required for each level of programme are shown in the following tables. (WEM stands for Water and Environmental Management.)
For the award of Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert), students must choose four modules from the following:
|
Postgrad Certificate |
Compulsory modules (Three) |
Optional modules (Choose one) |
|
WEM |
CVP201 or CVP251, CVP202 or CVP252, CVP218 or CVP268. |
CVP204, CVP212 or CVP262, CVP215, CVP219 or CVP269, CVP223 or CVP273, CVP227 or CVP253, CVP240 or CVP241 CVP265 CVP272. |
For the award of Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip), students must choose eight modules from the following:
|
Postgrad Diploma |
Compulsory modules (Six) |
Optional modules (Choose two) |
|
WEM |
CVP201 or CVP251, CVP202 or CVP252, CVP223 or CVP273, CVP218 or CVP268, CVP227 or CVP253, CVP228 or CVP278. |
CVP204, CVP212 or CVP262, CVP215, CVP219 or CVP269, CVP240 or CVP241 CVP265 CVP272 |
For the award of Master of Science (MSc), students must choose nine modules from the following:
|
MSc |
Compulsory modules (Seven) |
Optional modules (Choose two, but see Paragraph 2.3 below) |
|
WEM |
CVP201 or CVP251, CVP202 or CVP252, CVP223 or CVP273, CVP218 or CVP268, CVP227 or CVP253, CVP228 or CVP278, CVP292 or CVP293 or CVP296 or CVP298. |
CVP204, CVP212 or CVP262, CVP215, CVP219 or CVP269, CVP240 or CVP241 CVP265 CVP272 |
4.3 Module Numbers CVP251, CVP252, CVP253, CVP262, CVP265, CVP268, CVP269, CVP272, CVP273, CVP278, CVP296 and CVP298 are studied by Distance-learning. Some of these (CVP251, CVP252, CVP253, CVP262, CVP268, CVP269, CVP273, CVP278, CVP296 and CVP298) are direct alternatives to modules CVP201, CVP202, CVP227, CVP212, CVP218, CVP219, CVP223, CVP228, CVP240 or CVP241, CVP292 and CVP293 respectively, which are taught at Loughborough University. Candidates may not study two modules having the same Module Title but taught using different techniques.
4.4 Module Numbers CVP265 and/or CVP272 may be studied in place of CVP215; but candidates may not study CVP215 in addition to either CVP265 or CVP272.
5. Criteria for Progression and Degree Award
In order to be eligible for the award, candidates must satisfy the requirements of Regulation XXI.