Introduction to the Ecology and Urban Engineering MSc

The Ecology and Urban Engineering MSc is a valuable master's program designed to bridge the gap between built environment planning and ecological science. This multidisciplinary program enables students to devise new design approaches for cities, towns, and infrastructure, aiming to reduce emissions, improve the health of living systems, and increase resilience for the climate emergency.

Entry Requirements

• A minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree in life sciences, environmental science, civil engineering, urban design, or architecture subject area, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.
• Applicants with an appropriate professional qualification and relevant work experience (e.g., engineering design, green infrastructure, local government) will be considered.

English Language Requirements

The English language level for this course is Level 2. UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are available for international students to develop their academic English and skills required to succeed at the postgraduate level.

Course Overview

Throughout the program, students will have the chance to apply theoretical learning and project work across UCL's purpose-built facilities, including the People and Nature Lab at UCL East and the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment's Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA). The course is led by award-winning ecologists and conservation scientists, offering students the opportunity to work alongside planners, architects, industry professionals, and local authorities and communities to deliver real urban projects.

Who This Course Is For

This course is ideal for ecologists looking to apply their expertise to built environments and drive change in the spatial planning industries, as well as planners, engineers, and architects looking to incorporate a greater level of ecological knowledge in their planning and design.

What the Course Will Give You

• The built environment generates around 37% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce our impact on the natural world, we need ecological science to guide the design of our cities and urban spaces.
• This multidisciplinary master's enables you to deliver ecological expertise to the heart of the planning process.
• You will hone your biodiversity research skills, learning how to manipulate, visualize, and analyze ecological data.
• You will also gain a detailed understanding of the factors and principles that govern urban design, learning to create spaces that support the needs of both people and nature, and consider issues like flood prevention and green infrastructure.

What You Can Gain from This Course

• Learn from world-renowned expert academics from across the UCL Faculty of Life Sciences and the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment.
• Acquire sought-after data analysis and programming skills, using widely-adopted programming languages like R and SQL.
• Enjoy practical fieldwork activities in the purpose-built People and Nature lab, located at the UCL East campus in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London.
• Test and assess new ecological approaches to spatial planning at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA).
• Work in partnership with either an industry, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or local community organizations to tackle a Nature-Smart Challenge, putting your learning to good use.
• Design and implement your own practical research project, with guidance from expert UCL academics or industry partners.
• Build the program around your interests, with optional specialisms in areas like citizen science, inclusive design, and environmental AI.
• Support local authority decision-makers as they rise to the challenge of adapting our cities to meet new environmental, housing, and biodiversity targets.

The Foundation of Your Career

This program is designed to equip you with the specialist skills and ecological knowledge urgently needed to implement sustainable approaches to spatial planning. Your expertise in data science and data analysis will also be of critical importance for measuring and monitoring the success of sustainability measures and urban biodiversity initiatives.

Employability

Transformative legislation (including the UK Government's Environment Act 2021) means that future construction and infrastructure developments both here and overseas will need to promote biodiversity net gain (BNG) and adopt innovative emission-reduction approaches. This means that graduates of this multidisciplinary master's will be in high demand for project management roles in local and national government as well as a range of consultancy positions in construction and engineering industries.

Networking

You will have regular opportunities to connect, collaborate, and build professional contacts as part of your master's. Attend divisional, departmental, and faculty seminars and network with a varied cross-section of academic peers, senior investigators, and illustrious guest speakers. Take part in careers events through UCL Careers during the academic year and enhance your CV writing and interview skills. Work alongside a broad range of industry partners from local and national government agencies, consultancies, and NGOs as part of the Nature-Smart module.

Teaching and Learning

You will learn through a broad suite of teaching approaches, including lectures and seminars incorporating problem-based learning, group discussions, concept mapping, task-focused workshops, hands-on experience, and reflective learning. You will be assessed through a variety of means, including case study reports, individual video presentations, group presentations/pitches, open book exams, grant proposals, reflective summaries (group and individual), science communication, and a final research project developed in collaboration with UCL academics and/or with a program partner.

Modules

Full-Time

• In Term 1, you will take three core modules that cover:
  • The impacts of building and infrastructure design and construction on nature.
  • The fundamental aspects of ecological theory, survey design and sampling, sensing and sensor technology, and their ecological applications.
  • Experimental design, field techniques, data collection, visualization, management, and analysis.
• In Term 2, you will develop and integrate applied skills across a range of activities delivered through two core modules.
  • The first provides both theoretical and experiential explorations and develops practical insights on the design and build of projects that work with nature to improve biodiversity outcomes and support healthy ecosystem function.
  • The second module - Urban Engineering: Nature-Smart Challenge - spans two terms, and you will work in teams to deliver a solution to an urban design/construction problem posed by an external client (a program partner from industry, an NGO, or local community).
• You will further develop your interdisciplinary skills in Terms 1 and 2 via optional modules you choose, selected from People and Nature Lab (Technology for Nature; AI for the Environment; Foundations of Citizen Science) or other available UCL East electives (e.g., Inclusive Design and Environments).
• As well as finalizing the Urban Engineering Nature Smart Challenge, Term 3 will also see the start of your individual research project. With academic support from experts in the field, you will develop an original question with UCL academics and/or in collaboration with industry partners.

Part-Time

• Year 1:
  • In Term 1, you will take two core modules that cover the impacts of building and infrastructure design and construction on nature and the fundamental aspects of ecological theory, survey design and sampling, sensing and sensor technology, and their ecological applications.
  • In Term 2, you will develop and integrate applied skills across a range of activities delivered through a core module which provides both theoretical and experiential explorations and develops practical insights on the design and build of projects that work with nature to improve biodiversity outcomes and support healthy ecosystem function.
• Year 2:
  • In Term 1, you will take one core module that covers experimental design, field techniques, data collection, visualization, management, and analysis.
  • In Term 2, you will continue to develop and integrate applied skills across a range of activities delivered through Nature-Smart Challenge: Urban Engineering.

Compulsory Modules

• Foundations of Nature and Climate-Friendly Urban Design
• Computational Methods in Biodiversity Research
• Tools for Building Sustainable Resilient Cities
• Nature-Smart Challenge: Urban Engineering
• Foundations in Ecology and Ecological Monitoring
• MSc Ecology and Urban Engineering Research Project

Optional Modules

• Technology for Nature
• AI for the Environment
• Foundations of Citizen Science
• Urban Flooding and Drainage
• Spatial Databases and Data Management
• Inclusive Design and Environments

Fieldwork

There is a one-week fieldwork course in Term 1, which takes place in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park where the UCL East campus is based.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Fees and Funding

Fees for This Course

• UK students: ｣25,300 (full-time), ｣12,650 (part-time)
• International students: ｣42,700 (full-time), ｣21,350 (part-time)

Additional Costs

• For full-time and part-time offer holders, a fee deposit will be charged.
• Students are required to have a laptop suitable for running R software.
• UCL's main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East), and the cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is approximately ｣119.90.

Funding Your Studies

The UCL East Scholarship works to support the ambitions of east Londoners by funding the fees and living costs of eligible Master's programs, including this MSc at UCL. Further details are available on the UCL Scholarships and Funding website.

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