Triangle

Course overview

Our flagship course provides a solid grounding in core subjects, including structures, geotechnics, materials, fluids, surveying and construction management, with opportunities for MEng students to specialise in key areas such as geospatial science transportation infrastructure in later years. There are projects for all students in all years. They cover design, surveying and research in a range of topics.

Year one 

An introduction to the core disciplines and the context of civil engineering; engineering design is introduced through project work. Professional skills are introduced in workshops. There is also a residential surveying field course.

Year two 

Core subjects are developed in greater depth alongside further workshops and a structural design project to help you see the application of your studies.

Year three 

Core subjects continue alongside a range of optional modules and a major design-based project to help you see the application of your studies. There is also an optional Construction Practice module on-site. It may be possible to take a limited selection of fourth year modules as optional modules in the third year.

Year four 

There is the choice of a wide range of optional modules alongside a major group design project, and individual investigative project. It may be possible to take a limited selection of third year modules as optional modules in the fourth year, as long as the same number of fourth year modules were passed in the third year.

More information 

See also the Engineering and Science Foundation Year Programme.

Links with industry

We pride ourselves on our strong links with industry, and encourage students to take part in the opportunities they offer. Find out how an industrial placement might contribute to both your employability and university experience.


Entry requirements

All candidates are considered on an individual basis and we accept a broad range of qualifications. The entrance requirements below apply to 2019 entry.

UK entry requirements
A level AAA

Please note: Applicants whose backgrounds or personal circumstances have impacted their academic performance may receive a reduced offer. Please see our contextual admissions policy for more information.

Required subjects

Maths A level or 6 at Higher Level (IB) and A level or 6 at Higher Level, from physics, 3D design, chemistry, biology, design and technology, geography, geology, computing or further maths. Applicants taking A level biology, chemistry and/or physics are also required to pass the practical element of assessment.

General studies, critical thinking and citizenship studies, global perspectives and research, thinking skills are not accepted.

A level in Quantitative Methods is not acceptable in lieu of Maths requirements.

A foundation year is available for those with BBB grades.

IB score 36; 6 in maths at Higher Level and a science, preferably physics, at Higher Level

Mature Students

At the University of Nottingham, we have a valuable community of mature students and we appreciate their contribution to the wider student population. You can find lots of useful information on the mature students webpage.

Learning and assessment

How you will learn

How you will be assessed

Study Abroad and the Year in Industry are subject to students meeting minimum academic requirements. Opportunities may change at any time for a number of reasons, including curriculum developments, changes to arrangements with partner universities, travel restrictions or other circumstances outside of the university’s control. Every effort will be made to update information as quickly as possible should a change occur.

Modules

Core

Geotechnics 1

Giving you an introduction to the core areas of geotechnics, this module covers topics such as: origin and types of soil, soil as a 3-phase material, soil description and classification, compaction, water in soils, basic mechanics, and stresses in soils and ground investigation. In an average week you’ll spend four hours in lectures, example classes and practicals per week.

Hydraulics 1

This module introduces you to the fundamental principles of hydrostatics and enables you to apply these principles to model problems relevant to civil engineering. You’ll spend around four hours in lectures and example classes each week to study for this module.

Mathematical Methods for Civil Engineering

This module, delivered through a combination of lectures and workshops, for three hours each week, covers the fundamental tools to manipulate vectors and matrices relevant to applications in engineering, and introduces fundamental concepts and applications of differentiation and integration in one or more dimensions.

Portfolio of Civil Engineering Studies 1

This module builds on core skills and aims to: introduce students to structural analysis and modelling tools; develop their ability to communicate; introduce construction materials and their related design considerations; provide an opportunity to learn advanced surveying techniques.

Structural Analysis

Delivered through four hours of lectures each week, this module covers the following topics: analysis of 2D stresses and strains, virtual work method, strain energy method and analysis of arches and cables, the response of circular and non-circular members to torsion, the stress distribution of a beam under bending moment, shear and axial force, among others.

Group Project

This is a problem-based group design project which focuses on the application of knowledge and skills, from across the taught modules. Groups develop and cost a major civil engineering project and plan resources to ensure timely and cost-effective completion of the work. Then a design of an engineering structure will be carried out, including presentation of options and a detailed design stage. The final task will be to design and construct a model structure, which will be tested in the laboratory.

The above is a sample of the typical modules we offer but is not intended to be construed and/or relied upon as a definitive list of the modules that will be available in any given year. Modules (including methods of assessment) may change or be updated, or modules may be cancelled, over the duration of the course due to a number of reasons such as curriculum developments or staffing changes. Please refer to the module catalogue for information on available modules. This content was last updated on Friday 16 August 2019.

Core

Advanced Mathematical Methods

The module covers fundamental tools to manipulate complex numbers as well as ordinary and partial differential equations relevant to engineering. You’ll spend around three hours in lectures and example classes each week.

Fundamentals of Materials

You will be spending three hours a week in lectures exploring engineering materials and their basic properties, principles in material selection and sustainability and an understanding of the behaviour of construction materials.

Geotechnics 2

This module aims to develop further understanding of fundamental behaviour of soils and you will learn how to perform geotechnical analyses. You’ll spend five hours in lectures and two hours in practicals per week.

Hydraulics 2

On successfully completing the module, students will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the fundamental principles of fluid dynamics. You’ll be able to solve simple pipe flow problems and demonstrate awareness of open channel flows and boundary layers and drag. You’ll spend four hours in lectures and example classes per week when studying this module.

Portfolio of Civil Engineering Studies 2

This module builds on core skills and aims to: introduce students to structural analysis and modelling tools; develop their ability to communicate; introduce construction materials and their related design considerations; provide an opportunity to learn advanced surveying techniques.

Structural Analysis 2

The fundamental behaviour established in the first year is extended to cover the concepts of: virtual work, analysis of indeterminate structures, instability of structural systems, plastic analysis and design and vibration. You’ll spend four hours in lectures and example classes per week when studying this module.

The above is a sample of the typical modules we offer but is not intended to be construed and/or relied upon as a definitive list of the modules that will be available in any given year. Modules (including methods of assessment) may change or be updated, or modules may be cancelled, over the duration of the course due to a number of reasons such as curriculum developments or staffing changes. Please refer to the module catalogue for information on available modules. This content was last updated on

Core

Geotechnics 3

This module introduces the fundamentals of consolidation and the different components of settlement. In addition, shallow and deep foundation design, from both a fundamental and Eurocode approach is covered. Reinforced soil, 1D & 2D water flow through soils, and sustainability considerations in geotechnical design are also discussed.

Hydraulic Design and Experiments

This module addresses real-world hydraulic applications and designs using the theory learnt by the students in Hydraulics 1 and 2 and newly obtained knowledge about urban drainage systems, flood protection, water supply and surge protection. Seven laboratory experiments cover fundamental aspects of hydraulics in open channel flow, pipe flow and river flow. A number of common hydraulic systems will be designed under application of the newly obtained knowledge in the class room and the laboratory.

Structural Concrete Design

This module introduces reinforced concrete construction and the relationship between structural behaviour and the design of reinforced concrete elements. It includes the structural design procedures for reinforced concrete elements in flexure, shear and compression. On average you will spend about four or five contact hours per week in lectures, laboratory classes or in the design studio for this module.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) Project

Students work in groups on the design and planning of a civil engineering project that aims to integrate all the disciplines covered on the course. Typical projects include: water works, major highway schemes and retail parks. Staff and visiting professional engineers provide guidance.

Optional

Advanced Techniques in Ordinary Differential Equations
Computerised Methods in Engineering

The methodology and associated numerical techniques are introduced to enable a selection of mathematical operations to be evaluated with the use of computer-based software algorithms to problems that cannot be solved analytically.

Topics include: introduction to concepts of numerical analysis, quadrature and curve fitting, numerical linear algebra, qualitative and finite-difference methods for ODEs and numerical methods for solving PDEs. Each week there will normally be one one-hour lecture and a two hour workshop to introduce key mathematical knowledge on module topics.

Construction Practice

This module involves students in a scaled-down construction project going through the stages of design appreciation, construction planning and scheduling, organisation of work, execution of the construction phase and review. This module is completed during a fieldtrip in the Easter break.

Engineering Risk Management
Mapping for Engineering Surveying and GPS
Traffic Engineering

This module introduces some of the theory that forms the technical basis of the management and control of urban road networks, including; traffic flow theory, transport modelling and operation of traffic signal control systems.

Assessment method

This module will be assessed 100% by exam.

The above is a sample of the typical modules we offer but is not intended to be construed and/or relied upon as a definitive list of the modules that will be available in any given year. Modules (including methods of assessment) may change or be updated, or modules may be cancelled, over the duration of the course due to a number of reasons such as curriculum developments or staffing changes. Please refer to the module catalogue for information on available modules. This content was last updated on

Core

Individual Investigative Project

You will undertake a long-term individual research project appropriate to your particular interests. It normally takes the form of an investigative, development or design project ending as a detailed final report. Projects involve lab work, field investigations or computer modelling and require data collection and analysis.

Group Design Project

Working in groups, you'll design and plan a major civil engineering project. Typical projects include water works, major highway schemes and retail parks. Staff and visiting professional engineers provide guidance.

Optional

Advanced Structural Analysis

The module will look into advanced structural analysis methods including finite element, non-linear analysis and stability. It will also look into the analysis of dynamic systems.

Advanced Structural Design

The module will look into the design of specialised structural systems such as composite beams and floors, portal frames, tubular trusses, and pre-stressed concrete beams and slabs. It will also look into connection behaviour, the design of steel moment connections and sway stability of buildings. A major group design exercise will illustrate the approach to the design of complete structures.

Coastal Engineering

This module is delivered through six hours of lectures and computer-based tutorials each week and covers the principles of water height variation, ocean forces (from waves and tides) and energy conversion into electrical power and to the design of energy production systems.

Dynamics and Wind Engineering

This module considers the effects of wind on structures. It shows how the wind loading codes are developed from first principles and how they can be applied to predict wind induced forces in structures. The dynamic response of structures to wind is studied with the help of wind tunnel tests.

Environmental Fluid Mechanics

This module introduces fundamental principles of environmental fluid mechanics focusing on buoyancy driven flows, fluid instabilities and the effects of the earth’s rotation on large scale oceanographic and atmospheric features. 

Geotechnical Modelling

This module will reinforce and advance some of the principles of soil mechanics previously learnt, and describe the principles of Critical State Soil Mechanics (CSSM), a model used to predict the behaviour of soils.

It includes revision of previous concepts, shear box and triaxial tests data analysis, critical state line, elasticity and plasticity, development of an elasto-plastic soil model, and constitutive model application in numerical simulations.

Students will learn about and conduct their own triaxial tests on soil samples within the laboratory such that they can obtain constitutive model parameters for the soil. Students will learn to use a finite element method (FEM) software package that is popular for geotechnical analyses as well as the principles of physical modelling using a geotechnical centrifuge. The coursework element will require students to use constitutive model parameters obtained from triaxial testing within FEM analyses.

The FEM analyses will include

  1. the replication of the triaxial tests and verification of results against analytical predictions (using CSSM), and
  2. simulation of a boundary value problem (e.g. vertical loading of a foundation), for which they will compare numerical predictions against a centrifuge test data set provided to them.

Delivery

Activity Number of Weeks Number of sessions Duration of a session
Computing 3 weeks 3 weeks 2 hours
Lecture 8 weeks 3 weeks 2 hours

Assessment method

Assessment Type Weight
Coursework 50.00
Coursework 50.00
Highway and Pavement Design

This module covers the design of highway alignments, including curvatures, gradients, number of lanes, junction design and drainage. It also includes analysis and design of pavement structures and surfaces using different techniques and materials together with the deterioration mechanisms involved.

It module aims to:

  • Embed the ability to design sensible and functional highway alignments
  • Introduce the design of pavement structures
  • Give understanding of the roles and design of different pavement surfaces

Delivery

Activity Number of Weeks Number of sessions Duration of a session
Lecture 11 weeks 1 week 2 hours
Lecture 11 weeks 1 week 1 hour

Assessment method

Assessment Type Weight Requirements
Coursework 1 20.00 Highway design exercise
Coursework 2 20.00 Pavement design exercise
Exam 60.00 2 hour exam
Life Cycle Assessment

This module is delivered through a combination of lectures and workshops, for three hours each week, and is designed to deliver an understanding of sustainability principles and how, in particular, transport infrastructure engineering as well as the wider construction industry can contribute to sustainable development.

Managing Infrastructure and Systems

This module considers some of the most commonly-used system reliability assessment techniques applied to support system management.

It covers the construction of reliability models that use basic component failure information to describe specific system failure modes, the qualitative and quantitative analyses of these models, and the critical evaluation of systems using the analytical results. The models will be discussed in the context of their application to engineering systems and infrastructure assets.

The module aims to provide students with:

  • An understanding of the basic statistical, probabilistic and mathematical concepts required to predict the reliability of components and systems.
  • A detailed knowledge of the most commonly used system reliability assessment techniques.
  • The ability to critically evaluate systems and assets using mathematical models.

Assessment method

This module will be assessed by an in-class test (20%) and an exam (80%).

Mapping for Engineering Surveying GIS Practical

A practical module which complements the earlier engineering surveying modules. You'll work for three timetabled hours a week, individually and in small groups on projects involving the planning and the carrying out of observational and computational aspects of surveying for engineering and/or deformation applications. 

Railway Technology

This module will introduce the components of railway track structures, conventional and otherwise. It will include analysis of forces on a railway track and consequent deflections, stresses, alignment design principles, and an overview of the railway as a total system including operational issues, signalling and control.

Assessment method

This module is assessed by individual and group coursework (40%) and an exam (60%).

Delivery

Activity Number of Weeks Number of sessions Duration of a session
Lecture 11 weeks 1 week 2 hours
Lecture 11 weeks 1 week 1 hour

Assessment method

Assessment Type Weight Requirements
Coursework 1 20.00 Track maintenance group coursework - 4 spreadsheet returns at approx. 2 hours.
Coursework 2 20.00 Track design individual coursework - 1,000 word report
Exam 60.00 One 2 hour exam
Satellite-Based Positioning

A combination of theory and practice is involved in this module, which complements the earlier engineering surveying modules. For the practical element, you will work for three timetabled hours a week in small groups on projects involving the planning and the carrying out of observational and computational aspects of satellite-based positioning for engineering surveying applications.    

Sustainable Construction and Life Cycle Assessment

This module is designed to deliver an understanding of sustainability principles and how, in particular, transport infrastructure engineering as well as the wider construction industry can contribute to sustainable development.

The module will include the following themes:

  • Sustainability: an introduction to sustainability, sustainable development; sustainable construction; and how transport infrastructure engineering can contribute to sustainable construction.
  • Environmental impacts of infrastructure construction: a review of the positive and negative environmental impacts of construction including resources and waste and energy and climate change.
  • Social impacts of infrastructure construction: a review of the positive and negative social impacts of construction including; corporate social responsibility, responsible sourcing, poverty reduction and sustainable development goals.
  • Assessment: indicators, assessment systems, environmental life-cycle assessment, life-cycle cost analysis.

Delivery

Activity Number of Weeks Number of sessions Duration of a session
Lecture 11 weeks 1 week 2 hours
Workshop 11 weeks 1 week 1 hour

Assessment method

Assessment Type Weight Requirements
Coursework 100.00 2 hour exam
The above is a sample of the typical modules we offer but is not intended to be construed and/or relied upon as a definitive list of the modules that will be available in any given year. Modules (including methods of assessment) may change or be updated, or modules may be cancelled, over the duration of the course due to a number of reasons such as curriculum developments or staffing changes. Please refer to the module catalogue for information on available modules. This content was last updated on

Fees and funding

UK students

£9250
Per year

International students

£21060*
Per year

*For full details including fees for part-time students and reduced fees during your time studying abroad or on placement (where applicable), see our fees page.

If you are a student from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you may be asked to complete a fee status questionnaire and your answers will be assessed using guidance issued by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) .

Additional costs

If you choose to attend the Constructionarium, you will be charged an accommodation fee of approximately £200.

Scholarships and bursaries

The University of Nottingham offers a wide range of bursaries and scholarships. These funds can provide you with an additional source of non-repayable financial help. For up to date information regarding tuition fees, visit our fees and finance pages.

Home students*

Over one third of our UK students receive our means-tested core bursary, worth up to £2,000 a year. Full details can be found on our financial support pages.

* A 'home' student is one who meets certain UK residence criteria. These are the same criteria as apply to eligibility for home funding from Student Finance.

International/EU students

Our International Baccalaureate Diploma Excellence Scholarship is available for select students paying overseas fees who achieve 38 points or above in the International Baccalaureate Diploma. We also offer a range of High Achiever Prizes for students from selected countries, schools and colleges to help with the cost of tuition fees. Find out more about scholarships, fees and finance for international students.

Faculty-specific funding

In addition to the above, students applying to the Faculty of Engineering may be eligible for faculty-specific or industry scholarships.

Home students*

Over one third of our UK students receive our means-tested core bursary, worth up to £1,000 a year. Full details can be found on our financial support pages.

* A 'home' student is one who meets certain UK residence criteria. These are the same criteria as apply to eligibility for home funding from Student Finance.

International students

We offer a range of international undergraduate scholarships for high-achieving international scholars who can put their Nottingham degree to great use in their careers.

International scholarships

Careers

You will be equipped to embark on a career in civil engineering or other disciplines that require numerate problem-solving graduates. MEng graduates will have the breadth and depth of knowledge to reach the top in their chosen career.

Professional accreditation 

MEng Accredited CEng (Full)

This degree is accredited as fully satisfying the educational base for a Chartered Engineer (CEng).

See jbm.org.uk for further information.

Engineering Council accredited degree
 

This degree has been accredited by

Under licence from the UK regulator, the Engineering Council. Accreditation is a mark of assurance that the degree meets the standards set by the Engineering Council in the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC). An accredited degree will provide you with some or all of the underpinning knowledge, understanding and skills for eventual registration as an Incorporated (IEng) or Chartered Engineer (CEng). Some employers recruit preferentially from accredited degrees, and an accredited degree is likely to be recognised by other countries that are signatories to international accords.

Boost your earning potential

Which university courses boost graduate wages the most? Studying with us could help you to earn more.

  • We are second highest in the UK for female engineering graduate earnings, five years after graduation
  • We are second highest in the Midlands for male engineering graduate earnings, five years after graduation

(Source: Institute for Fiscal Studies data: www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-44413086)

Average starting salary and career progression

97.6% of undergraduates from the Department of Civil Engineering secured graduate level employment or further study within 15 months of graduation. The average annual salary for these graduates was £26,595.*

* HESA Graduate Outcomes 2020. The Graduate Outcomes % is derived using The Guardian University Guide methodology. The average annual salary is based on graduates working full-time within the UK.

Studying for a degree at the University of Nottingham will provide you with the type of skills and experiences that will prove invaluable in any career, whichever direction you decide to take.

Throughout your time with us, our Careers and Employability Service can work with you to improve your employability skills even further; assisting with job or course applications, searching for appropriate work experience placements and hosting events to bring you closer to a wide range of prospective employers.

Have a look at our careers page for an overview of all the employability support and opportunities that we provide to current students.

The University of Nottingham is consistently named as one of the most targeted universities by Britain’s leading graduate employers (Ranked in the top ten in The Graduate Market in 2013-2020, High Fliers Research).

Dummy placeholder image

Related courses

Important information

This online prospectus has been drafted in advance of the academic year to which it applies. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate at the time of publishing, but changes (for example to course content) are likely to occur given the interval between publishing and commencement of the course. It is therefore very important to check this website for any updates before you apply for the course where there has been an interval between you reading this website and applying.