Energy and Environment (300 credits)
Job opportunities and the future
Masters of Science in Engineering with a focus on sustainable society and technology – today and in the future!
This programme provides a thorough basis in natural sciences and engineering, breadth within the energy and environmental fields and leading edge competence in the Master’s subject chosen for the final two years of study. With a Master of Science in Engineering degree in Energy and Environment, students will become a competent, well-educated and vital resource for solving the problems of climate change and other sustainability issues facing society. With this qualification students will be able to contribute to innovative solutions within the energy and environmental fields.
The demand for environmentally-profiled engineers is immense! Internationally, increasing numbers of billions are being invested in companies working with environmental and quality engineering, known as cleantech companies. In Sweden, as in other EU countries and USA, renewable energy sources are another major investment area. As Sweden lacks engineers within these fields, students will find themselves very attractive on the labour market after graduation.
The programme
The Master of Science in Engineering in Energy and Environment at KTH was started up in the autumn of 2010 with the ambition of meeting society’s needs for competent, well-educated engineers within the fields of energy, environment and sustainable development. The programme attracted many applicants and places were taken by students from all over the country with an even gender balance.
Years 1 and 2 of this programme provide a common ground for profiles established in later years. These two years integrate basic natural sciences and technical knowledge with a broad knowledge base within energy and environment as well as developing students’ problem-solving abilities.
Year 3 supplies a more social scientific perspective to energy and environmental issues and a deeper study of sustainable development through a Bachelor degree project. For Year 3 students also choose courses that focus on, and provide pre-knowledge for, one of the several tracks that are available as Master’s programmes in Years 4 and 5.
Master’s programme studies in Years 4 and 5 provide leading edge competence within the chosen profile area. Students also carry out a concluding Master’s degree project that prepares them for their professional role in the labour market and/or in doctoral studies.
Year 1
The aim of Year1 is to provide a common, natural sciences and technical base as well as an introduction to environmental and energy issues. The energy, climate and environment course introduces issues within the energy and environmental field. Climate issues naturally take centre stage, however other environmental problem are also covered. During this course, great emphasis is also placed on energy systems and on the sustainable development concept. This course introduces many of the problems students will acquire the tools to solve within their programme of study as a whole. A course in ecology and environmental impact gives natural scientific descriptions of the various environmental problems and knowledge of ecosystems and biogeochemical life cycles etc.
Through courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry and mechanics, knowledge in these natural science subjects is reinforced and extended and the ability to solve problems is developed. Integration with energy and environmental issues is undertaken within the courses, through project work and other methods. For example, the chemistry course deals with the basics in order to train students to critically evaluate and analyse different types of chemical problems within the energy and environmental fields. All courses also train the students to acquire the general knowledge and skills a professional engineer must possess.
Year 2
In Year 2, the ability to analyse and model different types of systems is developed. This is vital for an energy and environment engineer. A course in numerical methods and programming lays the groundwork for mathematical modelling and training in computer simulation, while several courses introduce systems analytical concepts and methods. For example the material and energy balance course introduces system thinking about problems of a chemical character while the energy systems course provides basic knowledge on energy systems, from both the producer and user sides.
A course in environmental systems analysis provides the basic concepts of systems analysis and knowledge on the different relevant tools, including life cycle analyses and broader sustainability assessments. As a foundation for deeper studies within the energy field, courses in applied thermodynamics, which also contains basic flow mechanics, and electrical circuit engineering to supply knowledge on electricity as an energy carrier, are taken.
In Year 2, knowledge of mathematics, which is also applied within the energy and environmental fields, is developed. A course in statistics and risk management illuminates probability theory and statistics, with application to issues within environmental and energy engineering such as environmental risk assessments, principles of risk evaluation within industry and society, risk communication and management systems for safety, health and the environment.
Year 3
In Year 3 the energy and environmental fields are approached from a more social scientific perspective. Energy systems in society uses as its point of departure the fact that energy systems must be considered as socio-technical systems. These consist of, in addition to the technical components, organisations that build, run and maintain them as well as institutional frameworks in the form of formal and informal bodies of regulations on what actors may or may not do.
The industrial environmental economics course provides both basic environmental and business administration knowledge, and develops the ability to describe environmental problems from a socio-economic perspective, and to evaluate the business opportunities in different energy and environmental technical solutions.
In Year 3 courses are chosen that focus on, and provide knowledge about, one or several of the Master’s programmes available for study in Years 4 and 5. During the latter half of Year 3 a Bachelor degree project is undertaken which reflects the holistic approach of the programme and consists of two parts: deeper studies of the sustainable development field through seminars and literature studies and a project that applies sustainable development within the selected Master’s programme field.
Years 4-5
In Years 4 and 5 students follow the Master programme they have selected.
Sustainable Energy Engineering
Energy engineering encompasses the transformation and transfer of energy in various apparatus, facilities and societies. This programme covers, in addition to basic energy engineering, applied areas such as power production and energy utilisation that fulfil societal needs as concerns efficiency and sustainability.
Electric Power Engineering
Electric power engineering is the backbone of modern society and will play a much greater role in future efforts to achieve a sustainable society. In this programme students gain in-depth technical-scientific knowledge within electric power engineering and also learn to use an engineering approach.
Chemical Engineering for Energy and Environment
Here students learn to select, design and optimise chemical and chemical-technical processes taking into consideration their raw materials, quality, economy and impact on the environment. Students select their courses from a rich range of specialisation opportunities within, for example, energy for transport or environmentally-oriented process development.
Sustainable Urban Planning and Design
This is a cross-disciplinary educational programme for students who wish to work with sustainable urban development. Based on knowledge of the interplay between the factors that control social development, students learn to design plans and strategies to meet the needs and requirements of the future.
Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Infrastructure
This programme provides the necessary tools to solve the environmental and water issues of the future. Advanced courses in, for example, environmental assessments and water purification techniques prepare students for a career as an environmentally-oriented engineer at e.g. consultancy companies, construction contractors or international organisations.
Sustainable Technology
This programme provides students with knowledge in the field of industrial ecology and sustainable development. Students gain knowledge and skills concerning the role of technology in sustainable development, covering a number of operational areas such as environmental management, environmental impact, waste management, risk management, environmental technology and environmental systems analysis.
Read more about the KTH Master programmes and the Erasmus Mundus Programme
Master programmes and the Erasmus Mundus
Degree project
Educational programmes are concluded with a degree project. This degree project could be said to act as proof positive of the success of the educational programme. This is an opportunity for students to utilise all the knowledge they have acquired during their studies at KTH. Degree projects are carried out in connection to master’s programmes, usually during Year 5. Degree projects are intended to provide students with experience of, under realistic conditions, independently planning, implementing and documenting a project using good engineering praxis. The degree project may be carried out at KTH, at a company or abroad. Students should choose their degree projects carefully – they can be extremely useful when applying for first professional positions!
Please note! Certain changes may be made to the range of courses.
