MSc Hydrology and Water Resources Management
Key information
Overview
Hydrology is concerned with assessment of the natural distribution of water in time and space, and with evaluating the impact of manmade changes on the distribution and quality of this water.
Applied hydrology has traditionally been concerned with floods and water resources. However, hydrologists are increasingly focusing on the problems of pollutant transport in surface water, soils and groundwaters, and wider issues such as the effects of land use and climate change.
Hydrology is strongly multidisciplinary, and this course includes a basic treatment of relevant physical and life sciences, mathematical sciences, and systems analysis.
All of our MSc courses are career-orientated and cover both theoretical background and practical design considerations. Lectures are given mainly by full-time staff but important contributions are made by visiting professors and guest lecturers who are eminent industrialists.
Many of our students continue their studies to undertake research towards a PhD.
Study programme
All of our MSc courses last one calendar year, comprising two terms of taught examinable material followed by a research dissertation.
A study tour is a compulsory part of the course.
Professional accreditation
This degree is professionally accredited by the following organisations on behalf of the Engineering Council:
- Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
- Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE)
- Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE)
- The Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation (CIHT)
Holding an accredited degree allows you to meet the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng). Registering as a Chartered Engineer will help provide improved career prospects, status, h
Our accreditation agreements run between 2016 and 2020.
Structure
Modules shown are for the current academic year and are subject to change depending on your year of entry.
Please note that the curriculum of this programme is currently being reviewed as part of a College-wide process to introduce a standardised modular structure. As a result, the content and assessment structures of this course may change for your year of entry. We therefore recommend that you check this course page before finalising your application and after submitting it as we will aim to update this page as soon as any changes are ratified by the College.
Find out more about the limited circumstances in which we may need to make changes to or in relation to our courses, the type of changes we may make and how we will tell you about changes we have made.
Core modules
You take all of the core modules below.
- Agriculture and Water
- Contaminated Land and Groundwater
- Design Project Hydrology
- Environmental Fluid Mechanics
- Environmental Management in Developing Countries
- Groundwater Flow and Quality Modelling
- Hydrogeology and Groundwater
- Hydroinformatics
- Hydrological Processes
- Hydrometry
- Mathematical and Statistical Modelling
- Meterology and Climate Change
- Rainfall-Runoff Modelling and Flood Hydrology
- Research Dissertation
- Stochastic Hydrology
- Study Tour
- Urban Hydrology and Urban Drainage
- Water Quality Engineering and Ecohydrology
- Water Resources Management
Teaching and assessment
Teaching methods
- Anonymous feedback evaluations
- Blackboard Learn
- Field data collection and overseas research
- Group coursework
- Group Exercises
- Individual research project
- Individual research project
- Lectures
- Online assignments and coursework
- Practical laboratories
- Seminars and Workshops
- Site Visits
- Tutorials
Assessment methods
- A research dissertation and poster
- Group projects and presentations
- Individual and group coursework assignments
- Laboratory practicals
- Written examinations
Entry requirements
We welcome students from all over the world and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
Admissions
Minimum academic requirement
Our minimum requirement is a 2.1 degree in civil engineering, natural sciences, earth sciences or a numerate discipline.
A suitable grounding in mathematics is required, for example: A-level Mathematics grade A or B.
Applicants who do not meet the academic requirements listed but who have substantial relevant industry experience may exceptionally be admitted following completion of a ‘Special Qualifying Exam’ (SQE).
International qualifications
We also accept a wide variety of international qualifications.
The academic requirement above is for applicants who hold or who are working towards a UK qualification.
For guidance see our Country Index though please note that the standards listed here are the minimum for entry to the College, and not specifically this Department.
If you have any questions about admissions and the standard required for the qualification you hold or are currently studying then please contact the relevant admissions team.
English language requirement (all applicants)
All candidates must demonstrate a minimum level of English language proficiency for admission to the College.
For admission to this course, you must achieve the standard College requirement in the appropriate English language qualification. For details of the minimum grades required to achieve this requirement, please see the English language requirements for postgraduate applicants.
How to apply
Making an application
Apply online
All applicants must apply online.
Visit our Admissions website for details on the application process.
You can submit one application form per year of entry. You can usually choose up to two courses.
Application fee
For 2021–22 entry, we are introducing a pilot application fee for our Master's courses. This helps cover some of the administrative and staffing costs associated with processing the large volume of applications we receive.
This fee will be £80 per application and not per course.
We will waive the fee for any applicant – Home or Overseas – who demonstrates that they are experiencing financial hardship.
There is no application fee for Postgraduate Certificates, Postgraduate Diplomas or PhDs. The fee for MBA applications to the Imperial College Business School is £135.
ATAS certificate
An ATAS certificate is not required for overseas students applying for this course.
Tuition fees and funding
The level of tuition fees you pay is based on your fee status, which we assess based on UK government legislation.
For more information on the funding opportunities that are available, please visit our Fees and Funding website.
Tuition fees
Home rate of tuition
2021 entry
£14,650 per year
Fees are charged by year of entry to the College and not year of study.
Except where otherwise indicated, the fees for students on courses lasting more than one year will increase annually by an amount linked to inflation, including for part-time students on modular programmes. The measure of inflation used will be the Retail Price Index (RPI) value in the April of the calendar year in which the academic session starts e.g. the RPI value in April 2021 will apply to fees for the academic year 2021–2022.
Fee status
Whether you pay the Home fee depends on your fee status.
Your fee status is assessed based on UK Government legislation and includes things like where you live and your nationality or residency status.
Find out more about how we assess your fee status.
EU/EEA/Swiss students
The Government has confirmed that EU/EEA/Swiss students who begin a course before the 31 July 2021 will be eligible to pay the same fee as Home students and have access to student finance for the duration of their course, as long as they meet certain requirements which are unchanged from previous years. This includes students who begin the course remotely.
EU/EEA/Swiss students starting a course on or after 1 August 2021 will no longer be eligible for the Home fee rate and so will be charged the Overseas fee. Please note we do not expect this to apply to Irish students or students benefitting from Citizens' rights under the EU Withdrawal Agreement, EEA EFTA Separation Agreement or Swiss Citizens’ Rights Agreement respectively. However, we are currently awaiting the formal publication of the amended Fees and Awards regulations.
The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) website has useful information on the conditions you currently need to meet to be entitled to pay tuition fees at the Home rate for study on a higher education course in England and reflect the regulations as they currently stand (not the amended regulations which are subject to publication).
UKCISA has also provided some information in response to Questions for students starting their course from the 1 August 2021.
For regular updates for EU students, please see our Imperial and the EU webpages.
Overseas rate of tuition
2021 entry
£34,000 per year
Fees are charged by year of entry to the College and not year of study.
Except where otherwise indicated, the fees for students on courses lasting more than one year will increase annually by an amount linked to inflation, including for part-time students on modular programmes. The measure of inflation used will be the Retail Price Index (RPI) value in the April of the calendar year in which the academic session starts e.g. the RPI value in April 2021 will apply to fees for the academic year 2021–2022.
Fee status
Whether you pay the Overseas fee depends on your fee status.
Your fee status is assessed based on UK Government legislation and includes things like where you live and your nationality or residency status.
Find out more about how we assess your fee status.
EU/EEA/Swiss students
The Government has confirmed that EU/EEA/Swiss students who begin a course before the 31 July 2021 will be eligible to pay the same fee as Home students and have access to student finance for the duration of their course, as long as they meet certain requirements which are unchanged from previous years. This includes students who begin the course remotely.
EU/EEA/Swiss students starting a course on or after 1 August 2021 will no longer be eligible for the Home fee rate and so will be charged the Overseas fee. Please note we do not expect this to apply to Irish students or students benefitting from Citizens' rights under the EU Withdrawal Agreement, EEA EFTA Separation Agreement or Swiss Citizens’ Rights Agreement respectively. However, we are currently awaiting the formal publication of the amended Fees and Awards regulations.
The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) website has useful information on the conditions you currently need to meet to be entitled to pay tuition fees at the Home rate for study on a higher education course in England and reflect the regulations as they currently stand (not the amended regulations which are subject to publication).
UKCISA has also provided some information in response to Questions for students starting their course from the 1 August 2021.
For regular updates for EU students, please see our Imperial and the EU webpages.
Additional costs
This section outlines any additional costs relevant to this course, which are not included in your tuition fees. It is possible that all, or only some, of these will be relevant to you.
Please note that the figures provided are usually based on the cost in the most recent academic year. These are likely to change from year to year. However, it is useful for you to be aware of the types of things you may have to pay for and their approximate cost to help you budget for student life at Imperial.
This section indicates whether any additional costs that apply are mandatory or optional. Mandatory costs are those that you will need to pay to fully participate in and complete your studies. Optional costs are not essential to your studies so you will be free to opt out of these.
| Description | Mandatory/optional | Guide to cost |
|---|---|---|
| Field trip | Mandatory | Less than £400 |
| Personal Equipment (safety boots) | Site dependent | Provided if required |
| Personal Equipment (other items) | Site dependent | Provided if required |
Postgraduate Master's loan
If you're a UK national, or EU national with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you may be able to apply for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan from the UK government, if you meet certain criteria.
For 2020-21 entry, the maximum amount was of £11,222. The loan is not means-tested and you can choose whether to put it towards your tuition fees or living costs.
Scholarships
We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students to support you through your studies. Find out more about our scholarships to see what you might be eligible for.
There are a number of external organisations also offer awards for Imperial students, find out more about non-Imperial scholarships.
Accommodation and living costs
Living costs, including accommodation, are not included in your tuition fees.
You can compare costs across our different accommodation options on our Accommodation website.
A rough guide to what you might expect to spend to live in reasonable comfort in London is available on our Fees and Funding website.
Further information
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