Obtaining a master’s degree in any engineering field is no simple task. It’s the culmination of years of study in an undergraduate programme, followed in some cases by years of practical industry experience. A master’s degree is definitely worth your time and effort though, as it not only allows you to stand out amongst your peers in the job market, it also takes you to a whole new level of engineering development. The list presented below is by no means exhaustive, but aims to give a good balance of master’s topics and locations around Europe that are definitely worth checking out.

Bear in mind that while many universities are still accepting applications, not all are, and the learning experience may be very different during these crazy isolation times!

Check out all our civil engineering Master's programs

1. TU Delft, Netherlands

TU Delft is rated as one of the top civil engineering universities in the world. Their 2-year master’s programme offers eight tracks:

• Hydraulic engineering
• Water management
• Environmental engineering
• Building engineering
• Structural engineering
• Transport and planning
• Geo-engineering
• Geoscience and remote sensing

Each of the above tracks also consist of several different specialisations to choose from, making this master’s programme extremely flexible.  

2. University of Brescia, Italy

The University of Brescia offers a 2-year MSc programme. The focus areas of the programme include the design of civil works, coordination of site works, and execution of experimental activities. The main categories of this programme are as follows:

• Structural engineering
• Building construction
• Civil and environmental engineering

3. University of Edinburgh, Scotland

The University of Edinburgh is one of the top universities in the world. As such, you can expect a top-quality programme. This university offers a 1-year full-time master’s programme in Structural & Fire Safety Engineering, a sought-after field of expertise. Some of the key modules are listed below:

• Steel Structures
• Fire Science and fire dynamics
• Fire safety engineering analysis and design
• Structural dynamics and earthquake engineering

4. Hs Magdeburg, Germany

Hs Magdeburg offers a 3-semester programme that focusses on structural engineering, geotechnical and traffic engineering. The modules of this programme are listed below:

• Construction Dynamics
• Project Studies
• Bridge Construction
• Hydraulic engineering

The programme is offered in both English and German. Each module also includes mandatory electives.

5. University of Glasgow, Scotland

The University of Glasgow offers a 1-year master’s degree in civil engineering. In this programme, you will have the opportunity to select modules and create a customized programme to best line up with your desired career path. The courses required must be selected from two lists which contain the following subcategories:  

• Advanced structural mechanics and dynamics
• Introduction to wind engineering
• Environmental biotechnology

The civil engineering programme is highly ranked in the UK, and obtaining your masters from this institution will be well worth it.

6. University of Sheffield, England

The University of Sheffield offers a 1-year full time or 2-year part-time masters in water engineering. The programme aims to give students a solid education in the field of water engineering by covering the following topics:

• Hydrogeology
• Engineering hydrology
• Surface water quality processes
• Coastal engineering

7. TU Dresden, Germany

TU Dresden offers a master’s programme in Advanced Computational and Civil Engineering Structural Studies. As the name suggests, this programme focuses heavily on the computational analysis of civil engineering. Some of the key modules are as follows:

• Energy methods, FEM
• Design of concrete structures
• Computational building physics
• Application of computational methods in engineering

8. KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

KTH Royal Institute of Technology offers numerous masters programmes in civil engineering. The master’s programme discussed here is environmental engineering. This programme is unique as it is a collaboration between five Nordic countries. You will study at two of the five universities and in this case, it will be KTH and the technical university of Denmark. The study tracks are as follows:

• Risk Assessment
• Urban Water
• Environmental Management
• Residual resource engineering and industrial ecology
• Water resources management

Upon completion of this course, you will obtain a double degree in environmental engineering.

9. ETH Zurich, Switzerland

ETH Zurich is a world-renowned university and their civil engineering master’s programme is well regarded. Unfortunately, their master’s in civil engineering is only presented in German. There are other master’s degrees in the civil engineering field that are presented in English and one such programme is the master’s in integrated building systems. A strong emphasis is placed on the integration of sustainable technologies and systems in buildings. The modules offered include:

• Structural design
• Renewable energy technologies
• Applications of CFD in buildings
• Whole building simulation

10. National Technical University of Athens, Greece

The National Technical University of Athens offers a master’s programme in water resources, science, and technology. This programme is further broken down into 4 different streams, namely:

• Hydrology and Environmental Water Resources Management
• Water Quality and Environmental Technology
• Coastal Zone Management
• Port Management