The MSc Environmental Design and Engineering course at UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering supports students in developing skills for sustainable engineering practices.

To combat climate change and achieve net-zero carbon targets, there is an urgent need for a sustainable, efficient and healthier built environment.

UCL's Environmental Design and Engineering MSc equips students for a successful career in sustainable building design and operation. 

School: UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering
Course: Environmental Design and Engineering MSc
Type: Postgraduate
Location: Bloomsbury, London, UK
Course dates: Start date September 2026
Application deadline: 6 June 2026 or applicants who require a visa and 28 August 2026 for applicants who do not require a visa

Find out more about the course and apply ›

What will I learn during this course?

– Design for the climate emergency using passive strategies, ventilation, solar heating and cooling and by reducing embodied carbon
– Evaluate how buildings influence health and wellbeing based on indoor environmental quality (air, thermal, acoustic and visual comfort)
– Use building performance simulation and modelling to support sustainable design decisions
– Apply net-zero carbon design approaches by evaluating whole-life carbon emissions at system and building scale
– Carry out laboratory and field experiments to investigate real building performance
– Analyse how design, engineering and regulation in the built environment influence energy demand

What are the requirements?

A second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. architecture, engineering, physics and other relevant disciplines in built environment) from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

What facilities and resources are available?

– The Bartlett's specialist built environment library
– State-of-the-art study spaces, which includes the UCL Student Centre
– Over 1,000 pieces of research equipment for studying building performance, which includes tools to evaluate thermal comfort, air quality, lighting, acoustics, energy use, moisture, humidity and ventilation
– Access to extensive facilities at UCL's Here East campus

What career prospects can I expect upon graduating?

This MSc is ideal for recent graduates and early to mid-career building professionals seeking to enhance or pivot their careers towards sustainable and environmental design and engineering. For early and mid-career professionals, this degree offers the opportunity to deepen your expertise in sustainability, environmental impact, energy efficiency and health issues related to buildings.

Our graduates typically move into professions such as architecture, low energy/carbon design consultancies or building services engineering. Some continue with MPhil/PhD research. Recent graduates have joined firms like Foster and Partners, Arup, WSP, Atkins, Buro Happold, PassivSystems, EnergyExcel, Max Fordham, NEAPOLI, Cundall Johnson and Partners, Tongji Architecture Design, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, C40 Cities, Hoare Lea, XCO2 and more (HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey 2017-2023).

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