You will develop scientific and engineering knowledge needed to design and implement projects for sustainable use of river systems and their resources, learning about the design of hydraulic structures, modeling of the river, and flood management.

Starts: Annually in October
Duration: 18 Months
Location: UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands

The need for food, energy, flood risk management and domestic and industrial water supply requires that water will be used and managed more efficiently than in the past. Traditional river engineering has had serious consequences for riverine ecosystems and land use, causing damage to flora and fauna and sometimes exacerbating floods and droughts.

The Hydraulic Engineering and River Basin Development specialisation educates engineers involved in design and implementation of projects for sustainable use of river systems and their resources (fresh water, floodplain space and even sediments). Emphasis is laid on different scales of water projects (catchments, river stretches and floodplains).

Prospective Students

Students may want to follow this specialisation if they wish a career in government services, consultancy, or education and research institutes. Students typically have a BSc degree in civil engineering with a hydraulic engineering background, and have worked for at least three years after graduation in professional practice or in a university or research environment in the field of river engineering and river basin development. Knowledge in mathematics, statistics and physics is a prerequisite. Computer literacy is a valuable asset.

Learning Objectives

After successfully completing the specialisation, graduates will be equipped to:

  • Understand physical processes and natural phenomena in river basin systems, the effect of human interference in river basins, such as river structures and training works, and the management of floods and droughts;
  • Master the major hydraulic methodologies and applications for the design of (large) river structures and river modelling techniques with regard to data collection, processing and analysis;
  • Evaluate and analyse river basin systems and processes at a wide range of scales for the purpose of water resources, including morphological assessments, impact analysis of hydraulic structures and natural hazards assessment and mitigation taking into account relevant aspects of environmental, economical and social planning and management;
  • Design and conduct hydraulic research, experiments and tests for both practical and scientific purposes;
  • Have the skills to apply and integrate relevant concepts and methodologies in the area of hydraulic, hydrological and geotechnical engineering and research as well as applying computational principles within the context of hydraulic engineering.
Application procedure

Please click here for the application procedure for the UNESCO-IHE MSc programmes.

Programme Structure & Contents

This specialisation consists of 14 modules covering a total of 12 months, this is followed by a 6-month research and thesis phase. Graduates of the programme will be awarded 106 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credits.