COURSE CURRICULUM

The Master of Engineering Science (Water Engineering: Catchments to Coast) at UNSW Sydney is a 96 Units of Credit (UOC) postgraduate program designed to develop advanced technical expertise in water systems, hydrology, and coastal engineering. The program is aimed at graduates and professionals who wish to specialise or retrain in large-scale water engineering and environmental systems. It focuses on understanding the complete water cycle, from catchments to coastal environments, and applying engineering solutions to manage water resources sustainably. The program begins with 6 UOC of foundational core courses that introduce essential principles of water engineering and environmental systems. Students then complete 30 UOC of disciplinary knowledge electives, covering key areas such as surface water hydrology, urban drainage, stormwater management, catchment modelling, groundwater systems, and river engineering. This is followed by 12 UOC of advanced disciplinary knowledge electives, allowing deeper exploration of specialised topics in water resource systems and environmental engineering. The program includes 24 UOC of advanced disciplinary core courses that focus on complex water systems analysis, coastal and estuarine processes, hydrodynamics, and infrastructure design. In addition, 6 UOC of engineering technical management courses develop leadership, communication, ethics, and project management skills. The final 18 UOC is dedicated to research or professional core work, where students apply advanced knowledge to real-world water engineering challenges. Overall, the program prepares graduates for advanced careers in water resources engineering, environmental consulting, coastal engineering, and infrastructure planning.