CEG8198 : MSc Project and Dissertation in Environmental Engineering
- Offered for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Professor Adam Jarvis
- Lecturer: Professor Russell Davenport, Dr Elizabeth Heidrich, Professor Thomas Curtis, Dr Lucia Rodriguez Freire, Prof. David Graham, Professor David Werner, Professor Oliver Heidrich
- Owning School: Engineering
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 2 |
| Semester 3 Credit Value: | 68 |
| ECTS Credits: | 35.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
The aim of this module is to enable students to put their specialist skills, knowledge, and understanding into practice, through the medium of a significant individual research project on a contemporary environmental engineering subject. Data will be assembled in new ways, or new data will be created, and then critically evaluated in a coherent written report (dissertation).
Outline Of Syllabus
The project is a chance for students to specialise and is a challenging and rewarding experience. Having first designed their projects, students carry out their research in our excellent Environmental Engineering laboratories, UK field sites, with the option to work with industry or overseas.
Project related training sessions including a field course in water and environmental engineering, presentation skills, critical writing skills, and literature searching hints, laboratory requirements, risk assessment, plagiarism, data presentation and statistics. Specific laboratory training sessions will also be arranged as necessary.
Students are required to attend an assessed interview near the start of the project, discussing the project aim, objectives, methodology, expected outcomes and the time plan, and to produce a laboratory dossier before commencing any laboratory work. A dissertation is submitted at the end of the project and all students are required to deliver a 15-minute oral presentation to an audience of students and staff during Semester 3.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 240:00 | 240:00 | Dissertation preparation inc. contact with supervisor |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 40:00 | 40:00 | Oral presentation preparation and delivery |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | 1 x 1 hour Module introduction. |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 15:00 | 15:00 | Preparation of interview document and assessed interview. |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 182:00 | 182:00 | Reading, synthesis and analysis of literature |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 220:00 | 220:00 | Data collection, including field and/or laboratory |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Scheduled on-line contact time | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Q&A on project topics, discussion with potential supervisors. |
| Total | 700:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Students practice and develop their discipline related skills and knowledge, and their generic skills, through the medium of an individual research project. They gain the skills and knowledge delivered by the module mostly by “learning through doing” as they undertake the project, although knowledge is also gained through all previous taught modules. They are, in addition, supported by one or more academic supervisors who advise on methodologies, interpretation and presentation.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Presentation | 15 | 3 | M | 7 | Presentation slides submission and oral presentation at an MSc conference event |
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research proposal | 2 | M | 3 | Assessed interview and document to demonstrate understanding of the research project (2500 words minimum). |
| Dissertation | 3 | M | 90 | Written dissertation assessed in semester 3, approximately 50- 70 pages |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The specialist and generic skills, and the knowledge and understanding practised and developed during this module are assessed primarily through examination of a written dissertation and complemented by assessment of an oral presentation on the dissertation project. The assessed interview is designed to ensure that students have made a satisfactory start to their projects, ensure that feasible objectives have been agreed, and for students to receive formal feedback at an early stage.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- CEG8198's Timetable