The Master Water Technology is a two year programme with a joint degree and encompasses 120 credits. The programme is taught entirely in English and leads to the title ‘Master of Science’.
The MSc is offered jointly by Wageningen University, University of Twente and University of Groningen with education being provided at the Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for sustainable water technology, in Leeuwarden. It starts annually in September.
There are no official specializations within the programme Water Technology. Students specialize themselves by doing a thesis within one of the research fields.
Some examples are:
- Priority compounds
- Virus Control
- Applied water physics
- Desalination
- Concentrates
- Biofouling
- Advanced water treatment
- Algae
- Source Separated Sanitation
- Resource recovery
- Membrane processes and operation for wastewater treatment and reuse
- Sensoring
- Protein from water
- Phosphate recovery
- Ground water technology
- Blue energy
- CO2 energy
During the two year programme students have to complete 40 credits of compulsory courses, an internship of 15 credits, an individual part (with a minimum of 25 credits) and thesis (38-40 credits). In the first year students attend several courses and a Business Case Design project. The second year is spent on an internship and a thesis.
Compulsory Course
Below you find a list with all compulsory course of the programme. These must be successfully completed by all students taking part in the Water Technology programme.
Global Water Cycle (5 credits)
This course offers a firm basis for understanding the domain of water technology in an international context and its principles and values. Furthermore, the course offers a solid insight in the scientific research in this area.
Chemical Reactor Design (5 credits)
Students acquire a critical understanding of the characteristics of chemical reactors and conversion processes and the ability to set up a reactor design and mathematical reactor models in this course.
Colloid Chemistry (5 credits)
This course provides relevant knowledge and understanding of basic scientific and technological aspects of (mainly) physico-chemical interactions between (bio)colloids and their effects on water treatment processes.
Multi-component mass transfer in membrane processes (5 credits)
This course provides a theoretical framework to describe multi-component mass transport and several applications to molecular separations problems, based on adsorption, absorption and membrane separations by means of computer simulation.
Bioreactor Design (5 credits)
This course provides students with knowledge of the characteristics of applied bioreactors in (waste) water engineering and with a design approach for bioreactors by means of making and using mathematical models.
Biological Water Treatment and recovery technology (5 credits)
This course deals with the most important pollutants and resources in municipal and industrial wastewaters, microbiological technologies to remove and/or recover these pollutants and resources from the wastewater or convert them into energy, illustrated by design cases.
Business Case Design project (10 credits)
In this project academic research and design skills are developed and trained to a high level. Students apply knowledge and learned design principles and concepts while making a design. During the project supporting skills will be trained. Students have to defend their final design before a jury of peers and professionals from the field.
Optional course
The individual part (with a minimum of 25EC) within the programme exists of optional courses, partly restricted. The programme offers students the opportunity to choose their own profile within the different research themes of relevant chair groups and/or provides in-depth disciplinary and multidisciplinary insights into the fields of chemical engineering and biotechnology, based on mathematics, chemistry, physics and microbiology.
Internship
The MSc internship consists of 15 credits of practical work outside the education and research environment. Students apply knowledge and skills acquired during their study, and also acquire relevant new knowledge, insights and skills through work experience. Students learn to work independently and develop a feeling for the context of the organization. The work has to be carried out at an academic level. Reflection on the practices of the organization and on the student’s own functioning is an important component. Internships also offer students the opportunity to reflect on their career after completion of the studies and to get a sense of the areas of expertise and competences they further need to develop.
Students can do their internship in the Netherlands and/or abroad. There is a huge and diverse group of participating companies in water technology business and quite a number of this group is international-oriented (www.wetsus.nl/entrepreneurship).
Thesis
The master thesis (38-40 credits) is the culmination of the joint degree aimed at preparing students to do research independently and to combine all acquired skills. It gives them the opportunity to become experts in the field of a topic that fits their personal interests and preferred future career in the area of water technology. Crucial to the thesis is that students show that they are able to critically analyze, discuss and summarize the topic concerned.
For the thesis, students can participate in on-going research project at Wetsus or at the involved universities. A successful completed thesis is seen as a proof of the fact that the student achieved the learning outcomes of the joint degree. The thesis is an individual research project and is a mix of a learning activity and a test of competence of the student. Considering the character of the research projects in water technology, it is possible to do a thesis that involves more chair groups.