Masters in Engineering (Civil)

friendface

/ I have posted the following in the postgraduate forum also, just thought I might be more likely to find answers to my questions here Thanks /

I'm in my final year of my degree course in Civil Engineering and I am interested in pursuing a Masters next year. I would like to get some advice though, as I'm really not sure what route to take and what would be most beneficial for my future career.

I have quite an interest in the area of sustainability and renewable energy but don't know what course would suit me. I was hoping someone here who is currently doing a masters or has already done a masters might be able to recommend some courses I could look in to.

Also, are there any colleges that are especially well-regarded in the field of engineering research. I would have no problem traveling abroad to study if I felt it was worth it.

Also, this might seem like a silly question: but can someone tell me what the difference is between the MEng and MEngSc on offer from some Universities.

Also, this might not be the right place to be asking this, but does anyone know what grants and scholarships are available for studying abroad, and would they be very difficult to get. I am currently getting the basic county council grant to study here but I don't think I would get a grant if I go abroad?

Excuse all the questions. I would just like to explore all my options and hopefully start making applications to a few courses after Christmas. There isn't much on the job market here for Civil Engineers at present so I believe a Masters or a pHD would be my best option for the moment, that is if I can get funding. It would also give me a chance to get experience in a specialist area, hopefully increasing my chance of getting a job when I qualify.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer, and Happy Christmas

dan_d

I'm told Trinity's civil engineering masters is very good, with a lot of emphasis on environmental and energy. Have the prospectus at home, but I have only flicked through it. Go onto their website, and you will find it after a bit of digging!They'll send you out a prospectus if you request one.
Other than that, your best bet is to use the internet to investigate other colleges, and maybe ask around about any courses that seem particularly good to you.

Eoin D

I looked into a masters this year myself, was going to do a taught masters though which end up as an Msc. Have put it on the long finger at the moment but will definately do one, as far as I remember in 2012 IEI will only start letting Masters graduates become chartered (Whether thats everyone or just people graduating from 2012 onwards I'm not sure).

I think this is the perfect time to be doing a masters as well, job prospects are going to be pretty slim worldwide for the next couple of years and if you can stay in college for it you'll be better off, and when you graduate you'll have that extra qualification on your CV as well.

In terms of sustainability I was looking into that myself, it's quite the buzz word and I thought it would look good. One of the courses I looked at was 'structural steel design and sustainability' and it was virtually identical to 'structural steel design' but had a lot more work on top of that (Economics, politics, mad stuff like that...) so I think I'm going to steer clear of it.

Two colleges I found interesting were Delft TU and Imperial College London if you want to have a gander

Turbulent Bill

friendface wrote: »

/ I have posted the following in the postgraduate forum also, just thought I might be more likely to find answers to my questions here Thanks /

I'm in my final year of my degree course in Civil Engineering and I am interested in pursuing a Masters next year. I would like to get some advice though, as I'm really not sure what route to take and what would be most beneficial for my future career.

I have quite an interest in the area of sustainability and renewable energy but don't know what course would suit me. I was hoping someone here who is currently doing a masters or has already done a masters might be able to recommend some courses I could look in to.

Also, are there any colleges that are especially well-regarded in the field of engineering research. I would have no problem traveling abroad to study if I felt it was worth it.

Also, this might seem like a silly question: but can someone tell me what the difference is between the MEng and MEngSc on offer from some Universities.

Also, this might not be the right place to be asking this, but does anyone know what grants and scholarships are available for studying abroad, and would they be very difficult to get. I am currently getting the basic county council grant to study here but I don't think I would get a grant if I go abroad?

Excuse all the questions. I would just like to explore all my options and hopefully start making applications to a few courses after Christmas. There isn't much on the job market here for Civil Engineers at present so I believe a Masters or a pHD would be my best option for the moment, that is if I can get funding. It would also give me a chance to get experience in a specialist area, hopefully increasing my chance of getting a job when I qualify.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer, and Happy Christmas

There's a distinction between a taught masters (with lectures, tutorials etc. and probably some project work) and a research one (where you do individual project-based research all the time). Taught masters are generally paid for by the student, while research masters are usually funded by the HEA, SFI etc. or private companies. There's plusses and minuses to both routes.

A good starting point would be to get the prospectuses from the main colleges, and ask your lecturers about opportunities.

godtabh

dan_d wrote: »

I'm told Trinity's civil engineering masters is very good, with a lot of emphasis on environmental and energy. Have the prospectus at home, but I have only flicked through it. Go onto their website, and you will find it after a bit of digging!They'll send you out a prospectus if you request one.
Other than that, your best bet is to use the internet to investigate other colleges, and maybe ask around about any courses that seem particularly good to you.

Its basic. If you did your undergrad at Trinity I dont think its worth while doing. I'm doing it part time and found that the soils lectures were nearly word for word the same as the ones I did in 4th year

friendface

Eoin D wrote: »

I looked into a masters this year myself, was going to do a taught masters though which end up as an Msc. Have put it on the long finger at the moment but will definately do one, as far as I remember in 2012 IEI will only start letting Masters graduates become chartered (Whether thats everyone or just people graduating from 2012 onwards I'm not sure).

Thank you for all your replies

I think that only applies to students graduating from 2012 onwards, at least that''s what we were told by our head lecturer. Anyone who graduates prior to 2012 will be eligible for IEI Chartership without a Masters.

Anyway, I've been doing some research and found a few interesting courses. Theres a Masters program in UCC in Sustainable Energy sounds interesting (http://www.ucc.ie/serg/mengsc.html).

Also, I was looking on postgrad.ie which gave me a few ideas about studying abroad. Theres a program on offer at the University of Sydney, Master of Professional Engineering, which sounds like a fantastic opportunity to get accredited to work in Australia. (http://www.eng.usyd.edu.au/gse/mpe/brochure.shtml)

I don't really want to go into the structural side of engineering as it doesn't interest me as much as other areas. Has anyone heard anything about the above courses or have any advice?

I don't know much about how grants work for study outside the EU and obvously if I cant get funding then that idea would be out of the question. I think the University of Sydney offer scholarships but I guess there would be huge competition for that, and i'm not even sure how much support they offer.