MSc Renewable Energy: Technology and Sustainability

Core modules

Renewable Energy Systems 

Expand your knowledge of solar, wind, hydro, biomass, and marine technologies by investigating issues associated with their usage, including technical and non-technical barriers that limit their widespread use.

Research Skills 

To prepare you for your dissertation research, you’ll learn how to formulate a research problem, develop, and apply investigative approaches, interpret data, and present your findings.

Research Dissertation 

Formulate a research problem in the field of construction. You’ll select appropriate research methods and apply recognised strategies and techniques to address the problem in a sustained and logical written piece on the topic.

Urban Energy Systems and Energy and the Environment

To understand the environmental impacts of energy, you’ll consider traditional means of energy production, renewable energy, sustainability, environmental issues, political, economic concepts and the changing role of energy distribution.

Carbon Management and Life Cycle Assessment

Address the management of carbon dioxide emissions and the need for mitigation by studying the latest scientific understandings on the issue. This covers key concepts in Life Cycle Assessment to assist you in interpreting and critically reviewing a study.

Optional modules

Building Information Management and Socio-technical Change

Explore approaches that implement socio-technical systems into the built environment, including the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM). You’ll address how the potential for BIM rests on the understanding of how socio-technical systems are supported.

Innovations in Digital Practice 

Sharpen your skills by engaging with the built environment using digital tools and technologies. You'll examine the relationship between people, technologies, and information by incorporating social science methods.

Organising for Innovation and Digital Transformation

Discover how to implement and manage innovation and digital technologies in the built environment. You’ll identify and assess the potential and ramifications for new technologies, assisting with your learning on how to map, define, and analyse design.

Infrastructure Development and Urban Sustainability 

To understand sustainable development in urban settings, you’ll review the challenges of delivery and their impact on achieving goals. This explores the role of infrastructure and theoretical frameworks that underpin the process.

Urban Microclimates and ICT and Energy Management 

Evaluate interactions between the urban atmosphere, urban form, and function, and review how energy monitoring and management offers energy-saving potential. This will advance your knowledge and understanding of urban microclimates and ICT and energy management.

Construction Risk Management

Through discussion and case studies of the global construction market, you’ll identify risk in projects, implement methods and analyse their impact, develop strategies, prepare and uptake risk management plans.

These are the modules that we currently offer for 2024/25 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.