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Degree type

MSc

Course length

1 year full-time

Location

Durham City

Programme code

H1KG09

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Course details

Our innovative MSc teaches you key business skills and technical knowledge to play a key role in global efforts to tackle climate change and support the move to Net-Zero.

This MSc, which is delivered by specialist academics from both the Department of Engineering and the Business School, has been designed for graduates from an engineering or related background who are looking to develop practical and management skills in preparation for a career in the energy and environment sector.

The core modules combine elements of business and engineering, covering areas such as business and engineering systems, renewable energy and the technical and practical requirements of vehicles of the future, as well as exploring entrepreneurship and professional skills development. You will also carry out substantial research in the Strategic Business and Engineering project.

The programme is the product of a collaboration between the Business School and the Department of Engineering, in conjunction with the Durham Energy Institute. It boasts strong links to industry including renowned guest speakers, real-world case studies and the practical content of the modules.

The Business School itself is one of the longest established in the UK with a reputation for academic excellence and state-of-the-art learning facilities. It is also one of an elite group of institutions in the UK to be accredited by all three major business education accreditation bodies: the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS).The Department of Engineering is recognised as one of the leading centres of research in Engineering in the world, producing research that covers a wide range of topics. Ranked 4th in The Complete University Guide 2025, the Department of Engineering has a long history and tradition of Engineering education, with engineering being taught at Durham since 1838, making it the first course of its kind in England.

Course structure

Core modules:

You will study the following core modules:

Business and Engineering Systems develops your understanding of system design and gives you the opportunity to work in groups on a complex engineering and business system relating to the course. You will apply the theory and knowledge gained in lectures and become familiar with team-working in the context of modern, interdisciplinary business and design teams.

Decarbonisation of Heating and Cooling provides an overview and describes the characteristics of heating and cooling systems that are not based on carbon technologies including concepts, design and operation.

Future Vehicles describes the characteristics of future transport devices and explains the technical, as well as economical, constraints and solutions for future vehicles. At the same time, it will introduce you to analytical methods and simulation tools for system design and analysis.

Career and Professional Skills Development  develops the skills and competencies required for working in energy engineering management positions. It covers elements such as the foundations of management development including strategy, culture, systems, structures and learning, managerial effectiveness and organisational learning, and professional standards and qualifications.

Environmental and Climate Economics will provide you with an advanced knowledge and critical understanding of the economic aspects of environmental problems, with a particular focus on climate change, and of specialist economic tools to analyse and solve those problems.

New Venture Creation develops your understanding of entrepreneurship, such as recognising opportunity, forming new business ventures and small business management. It teaches how best to manage customer and supplier relationships, finances, and operational issues in an ethical and responsible manner.

Elective modules:

You will then choose an additional two modules, up to the the value of 30 credits, from a list that has typically* included:

  • Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning  
  • Context and Challenges in Energy and Society  
  • Decision Science and Analytics in Energy Business Management 
  • Environmental Engineering 
  • Renewable Energy Technologies 
  • Society, Energy, Environment and Resilience.

*Note that current modules are indicative and may change due to, for example, developments in the relevant academic field, or in light of student feedback and demand.

The Strategic Business and Engineering Project

You will then move onto the final part of the programme, the Strategic Business and Engineering Project, an in-depth investigation into an issue of your choice relating to the business and management of an energy systems process. The project is the culmination of your studies and will enable you to incorporate your skills and learning from earlier modules into your investigation. This project provides an open-ended challenge, in collaboration with a supervisor from each of the Departments of Engineering and the Business School. This will develop skills in independent research and project management, the analysis and presentation of data, and the ability to argue a coherent case.

Detailed module information

For the latest detailed information on all of the modules currently offered on this programme please visit our Postgraduate Module Handbook pages.

Learning

Core engineering modules typically involve 20 hours of lectures delivered by subject specialists, while the majority of business modules are delivered through seminars and workshops, providing an opportunity for smaller group discussion and in-depth debate. These may include both video and face-to-face presentations to allow you to hear from special and international guest speakers.

You will also gain experience of teamwork, presentation skills and project management through the Business and Engineering Systems module.

The Strategic Business and Engineering Project develops your skills in independent research and project management, the analysis and presentation of data, and the ability to argue a coherent case.

You will have access to a wealth of support from academic and professional support staff throughout the course.

Assessment

Assessment is thorough and ongoing on this exciting and evolving course. A number of modules are assessed through written exams and others use a combination of reports, critical reviews, coursework portfolios, learning logs and presentations, that are both individual and group based.

A major project, the The Strategic Business and Engineering Project, makes up one-third of your marks and is assessed through a digital portfolio and a formal journal report.

Entry requirements

The MSc In Energy Engineering Management programme is designed for graduates from an engineering or relevant background. You will need a UK first or upper second-class honours degree or international equivalent in engineering or a relevant related subject. Check the full list of equivalent international qualifications here.

We aim to have a diverse student body and recognise that we can only offer places to a finite number of applicants. To help achieve our aim, we look to ensure we offer places to applicants from all nationalities and close applications when we receive the allocated numbers. The University is under no obligation to make any offer of a place on the programme to any applicant, nor is the University obligated to fill all spaces available on the programme. Consideration of any application received by the University after expiry of the deadlines specified herein, shall be made at the sole discretion of the University.

English language requirements

Candidates whose first language is not English will normally be required to demonstrate proficiency in the English language by possessing a recent English language test score of 7.0 or above in IELTS (with no element below 6.0), or an equivalent qualification. If you are an international student who does not meet the English language requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take a pre-sessional English language course at Durham University International Study Centre.

NB Chinese Applicants: Applications will be accepted from students who have graduated from a prestigious university in China. Entry requirements may vary depending upon the reputation of the university you have graduated from and the academic programme you have applied for. As a guide, applicants are expected to have achieved an overall average of 85%.

How do I apply?

You will need to complete the Online application form

To support your online application form, you will need to provide the following documents.

  • Official transcript of marks
  • Copy of degree certificate (if available)
  • Copy of English test results (if available).

You can either upload your supporting documents with your online application or email or fax them to the Postgraduate Admissions Office using the contact details below.

Note:Only files of type .doc, .docx, .gif, .jpg, .pdf, .png, .rtf are permitted to be uploaded.The maximum file size is 5MB.

College membership

All students of Durham University will become a member of one of our Colleges. Here is more information about what college membership means to our students. Once you have accepted your postgraduate offer, the Accommodation and Allocations Office will contact you with further information regarding how to express college preferences. You can also apply for college accommodation if you wish to.

Admissions process

Here are the steps in the admissions process:

  1. We will let you know when we’ve received your application.
  2. Once we’ve received all of your supporting documents, we will email you to let you know our decision.
  3. If the decision is to make you an offer of a place on the programme we will let you know by email. Please note we do not issue hard copy offer letters as these are not required to obtain a student visa.
  4. You should confirm acceptance of your offer as soon as possible. In order to secure your place, you are required to pay a deposit within six weeks of the date of your original offer (check your offer documents for details of payment methods).
  5. International students requiring a student visa will receive a CAS (Certificate of Acceptance of Studies) via email once all offer conditions are met, acceptance and deposit have been received and you are within five months of the start date of your programme.

Please note: You must let us know your own personal email address when applying. Please do not use a university-linked email which may stop working once you complete your bachelor degree.

English language requirements

Fees and funding

Full Time Fees

Tuition fees
Home students £14,500 per year
EU students £33,000 per year
Island students £14,500 per year
International students £33,000 per year

The tuition fees shown are for one complete academic year of study and are set according to the academic year of entry. Fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase and are expected to rise throughout the programme of study. The fee listed above is for the first year of the course only. More information is available here: Tuition fees - how much are they - Durham University

Please also check costs for colleges and accommodation.

Scholarships

We are committed to supporting the best students irrespective of financial circumstances and are delighted to offer a range of funding opportunities. 

Find Out More

Career opportunities

Department of Engineering

We take great pride in our reputation for producing engineers who make a successful and significant contribution in a wide range of professional career roles around the world.

We have strong links with industrial partners and our postgraduates have achieved rewarding and stimulating positions in civil, mechanical, electronic, electrical, manufacturing, design, aeronautics and systems engineering. They work as consultants, technology analysts, and software developers and as entrepreneurs, and also gain prestigious positions in banking and finance.

The Department has a dedicated careers contact who is available to offer advice and carry out mock interviews.

Our Industrial Partnership Committee of around 20 local, national and international companies will ensure you have access to the best employment opportunities.

Management and Marketing

Our postgraduate programmes with a focus on employability fully equip you with the skills and industry insight to embark on a successful and rewarding business career.

The knowledge and understanding you develop reflect the Department’s values of sustainability, wellbeing and equality of opportunity across the globe.

You gain a combination of analytical and practical skills that employers value, such as independent thinking and problem-solving, and are able to enhance your people skills that are essential in business and much sought after by employers.

Department information

Department of Engineering

The Department of Engineering is a general engineering department that works on the principle that engineering is an integrated subject rather than a series of unconnected topics. The world-leading teaching and the research opportunities that we offer underline this academic positioning.

We guide postgraduate researchers so that they are able to make a significant contribution in the Department’s key areas of engineering focus. These topics range from the development of energy systems of the future, through next generation materials and microsystems to creating sustainable infrastructures. All reflect the challenges now facing the modern world.

Taught courses include MSc qualifications in Advanced Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering and Renewable and Sustainable Energy. We also offer the Doctor of Philosophy and the Master of Science by Research, which involve individualised training and require an extensive research project or thesis to be completed.

Teaching and supervision are provided by the Department’s subject specialists, who have an outstanding reputation for their expertise. An extensive range of facilities is available to support research work and we have strong and productive links with industry partners, ensuring that the research is relevant and applicable at this challenging yet exciting time to be in engineering.

Facilities

The Department of Engineering features a number of modern dedicated teaching laboratories including the newly refurbished electrical laboratory. Other facilities include a wind tunnel, state-of-the-art clean rooms for experiments in very controlled environments and a geotechnical engineering laboratory.

An investment of more than £4 million has boosted the computing resources available, providing large memory and high-end processor machines for projects requiring major computer capacity.

Our students benefit from the Engineering Open Access area, which was built to facilitate both group work and individual projects.

The Department is located on the main campus at Lower Mountjoy, close to the centre of Durham and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Management and Marketing

Our Business, Management and Marketing programmes are delivered by the Department of Management and Marketing, one of four departments at Durham University Business School (alongside the Department of Accounting, Department of Economics and Department of Finance).

The School is one of the UK’s longest established business schools and one of an elite group of institutions in the UK to be accredited by all three major bodies – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS).

We consistently rank highly in independent league tables for both the quality and reputation of our Department, with teaching delivered by a world-class academic community that includes experienced business professionals and researchers who work across a wide variety of business disciplines.

We recruit students from around the world onto our postgraduate programmes. Our students take part in live business projects, internships and placements as part of their studies, enabling them to apply their knowledge to practical challenges in the most forward thinking companies. We have an active alumni network of more than 36,000 graduates in over 140 countries.

Facilities

You’ll be taught across the university campus by world leading academics from the Business School. You’ll have access to the Business Schools modern, spacious meeting rooms and study areas.

The university campus is within walking distance of the historic centre of Durham, a city with UNESCO World Heritage Status. Resources include up-to-date financial information and online databases. In addition, you’ll have access to Durham University’s prestigious libraries and archives.

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  • Time: 09:00 - 17:00
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