MSc Pollution and Environmental Control

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2027, the tuition fees are as follows:

• MSc (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £17,100
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £36,800

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

International student CAS deposit

Self-funded international applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2500 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. Some applicants will be required to pay a higher deposit. More information on tuition fee deposits .

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We offer a number of postgraduate taught scholarships and awards to outstanding UK and international students each year.

The University of Manchester is committed to widening participation in master's study, and allocates £300,000 in funding each year. Our Manchester Master's Bursaries are aimed at widening access to master's courses by removing barriers to postgraduate education for students from underrepresented groups.

We also welcome the best and brightest international students each year and reward excellence with a number of merit-based scholarships. See our range of master’s scholarships for international students .

And, if you have completed an undergraduate degree at The University of Manchester, or are currently in your final year of an undergraduate degree with us, you may be eligible for a discount of 10% on tuition fees if you choose to study on a taught postgraduate course here. Find out if you're eligible and how to apply .

For more information on master's tuition fees and studying costs, visit the University of Manchester funding for master's courses website to help you plan your finances.

The unit is run as a series of lectures and practicals where the focus is on preparing the student to be able to select the appropriate modelling technique to apply to water movement studies. Each week a new modelling approach will be introduced in a lecture under one of the water movement themes and students will then gain hands-on experience in applying models and interpreting model output during a computer practical. Modelling approaches taught in class include river modelling, forecasting modelling, dam breach modelling, dam and reservoir operation modelling, water resource modelling, modelling of urban drainage systems, water quality and pollution modelling using case studies from different climate zones from around the globe.
The unit complements ‘Measuring and Predicting’ Part 1 and Part 2 by exploring natural processes but also with an emphasis on using models used in industry to examine real-world problems rather than focusing the computational detail. This unit runs alongside ‘Environmental Measurement and Modelling’ further developing modelling techniques for a range of water movement themes.
The unit starts by examining the natural hydrological processes and how surface water moves overland, and how water moves in aquifers and between rivers and groundwater, and the role of natural lakes and artificial influences on impeding water movement. The unit explores the hydraulics of how water moves within river channels. Students apply advance 1D / 2D hydraulic models to examine the movement of water along rivers and on floodplain for rivers in the UK. The unit also examines how flood water is predicted with examples from the UK, Australia, and India.
The unit then explores urban water and its movement through the urban drainage systems. Students use hydraulic theory to understand urban drainage design and apply urban drainage models to provide sustainable flood risk solutions for cities in the UK and India. The students also undertake water quality assessments and make use of water quality model to examine the impact of pollution on the aquatic ecosystems.   
The unit explores water storage, water and energy, and water and food production. The unit prepares students to apply water balance models as a tool to solve water security problems. Students apply modelling techniques to optimise reservoir water storage, to release water to supply power generation, food production, and to the environment for river basins in Ethiopia and China.
Students apply models to design dams and to evaluate their impacts on water movement downstream. Students will model Glacier Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFS) in Nepal. These floods occur when natural dams surrounding glacial lakes fail. The unit finishes by exploring future trends and challenges in water movement and how technology such as remote sensing, Big Data, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial Intelligence (AI) may provide solutions. 
 

To prepare students to carry out an independent research project by teaching modelling skills related to the movement of water.

To develop students understanding of data analysis and application of environmental modelling approaches within the theme of water movement.

1-hour lecture (on campus) plus 2-hour practical in computer cluster (on campus or online) each week. 
Lectures will be supplemented with live demonstrations of key software using real-world example data sets, with some led by experts from industry. In-class quizzes and tests are used to check learning outcomes are being achieved. 
Content 
1.    Surface Water Systems. 
a.    Lecture: Surface Water Movement
b.    1. Introduction to Pollution Management in Practice Part 2
c.    2. Course content and structure
d.    3. Course software
e.    4. Artificial influences on flows
f.    5. Effect of lakes and reservoirs
g.    6. Impact of artificial influences
h.    7. Discharge and impacts
i.    8. Reservoir releases
j.    9. Flow hydrographs
k.    10. Naturalising flows
l.    11. Case Study – Xainhe River, China.
m.    12. Online Test.
Practical: Individuals work through exercises to explore case study catchment using GIS information and to naturalisation flows using data from the Chinese catchment.

2.    Environmental Flows.
a.    Lecture: Environmental Flows 
b.    1. Environmental flows in the UK. 
c.    2. Environmental flow indicator (EFI). 
d.    3. EFI using in RAMS, CAMs and WDF. 
e.    4. Environmental flows in China. 
f.    5. Monitoring Environmental Flows. 
g.    6. Methods for estimating environmental flows. 
h.    7. Case Study – Xainhe River, China. 
i.    8. Online Test. 
Practical: Individuals work through exercises to calculate environmental flows for the Xainhe River, China, and complete an online quiz.

3.    Groundwater Systems 
a.    Lecture: 3. Surface Water and Groundwater Interactions and Modelling
b.    1. What is groundwater? 
c.    2. Aquifer properties. 
d.    3. Monitoring groundwater. 
e.    4. Variation in groundwater.
f.    5. Surface and groundwater interactions. 
g.    6. Groundwater modelling. 
h.    7. Groundwater in Ethiopia. 
i.    8. Online Test. 
Practical: Individuals work through exercises to model groundwater in Lake Awassa Basin in Ethiopia using WEAP software and complete an online quiz.

4.    Water Quality and Pollution Waterway Systems – Natural catchments
a.    Lecture: Water Quality in Natural Catchments
b.    1. Water quality. 
c.    2. Global water quality.
d.    3. Physico-chemical water quality parameters. 
e.    4. Water quality monitoring in Lake Awassa Catchment Ethiopia. 
f.    5. Water quality and pollution characteristics for Lake Awassa. 
g.    6. Impacts on aquatic ecosystems. 
h.    7. Water quality modelling. 
i.    8. Sustainable management of water quality. 
j.    9. Online Test. 
Practical: Individuals work through exercises to model water quality using WEAP software for Lake Awassa Catchment and complete an online quiz.

5.    Water Quality and Pollution in

· Each theme is taught using lectures and practical exercises either classroom-based (on campus) or online using e-learning (off campus) with drop-in classroom sessions when requested.

· 1-hour lecture covers a different water movement theme each week; the relevant theory; modelling approach, and usage cases for the model, with examples. Lectures include in-class exercises and online guest experts.

· 2-hour computer practical each week, with guided learning where students download and use data and models to simulate environmental processes, and plot / interpret the results based on a theme introduced in the lecture

· Practical exercises can be done as guided online video, with drop-in classroom help sessions when requested, and with regular online help sessions.

· Supplemented with online video to aid with technical tasks.

· Experts from industry share their knowledge online during selected classes.

· Formative assessment through online BB tests during class with immediate feedback is given each week.

· Summative assessment is through a weekly online practical assessment related to each theme taught in class using questions in the same style as the formative tests and with immediate feedback.

· Summative assessment will also include a single online open-book examination using questions in the same style as the formative tests and with immediate feedback.