ɫɫ��

On graduating from the Master's Programme in Urban and Environmental Engineering, the student will:

• Be familiar with the various technical methods for collecting and analysing data and be able to utilise them in planning tasks in the urban and environmental engineering field.

• Understand the distinct technical, economic, ethical and legal features of the urban and environmental engineering work environment.

• Possess the skills needed for coordinating and managing large projects and can apply their skills professionally in urban and environmental engineering, serving e.g. in expert and leadership positions in consultancy work or public administration.

The Master's Programme in Urban and Environmental Engineering is a robustly multidisciplinary programme to educate the next generation of experts for work related to the planning and management of the built environment. The challenges associated with this field include the changing climate, increasing urbanisation, and the ever-growing need for the sustainable use of natural resources. The programme includes studies in land use planning, transportation engineering, geoinformatics, real estate economics, and water and environmental engineering. The programme’s extensive, but mutually complementary range of fields enables the student to acquire a multifaceted skills profile. The search for sustainable solutions to meet societal needs and the protection of the environment relates to resource-efficient treatment of a region’s wastewater, the organisation of smoothly running transportation system, reliable data collection, and property system management.

The extensive teaching offerings tied to themes of urban and environmental engineering, along with the strengthened position of Finland’s national languages, provides students with a knowledge foundation that qualifies students for serving especially in expert and leadership roles in public administration or in consultancy companies serving urban or regional communities. The programme stands out from other master's programmes by the broad scope of its urban and environmental engineering studies and by the opportunities it affords for multilingual studies. The programme curriculum offers the freedom to choose courses of interest from a wide, multidisciplinary range, while also allowing a focus on a specialisation field in urban or environmental engineering.

Code: ENG32
Scope: 60-64 ECTS 
Programme Director: Teemu Kokkonen

Major studies

You can choose the courses freely from the list below taking into consideration the course-specific restrictions

The master’s thesis is written on a topic related to the advanced studies of the programme, agreed upon by the student and the supervisor, who is specialised in the thesis topic. Professors from the programme provide master's thesis topics, which are connected to their current research activities. Alternatively, students can propose their own topics to their chosen supervisor. The recommended time for the thesis project is the second-year spring semester. Students are advised to start searching for a thesis topic well before this period. 

At Aalto School of Engineering, the master’s thesis supervisor may be a Professor (any rank), Adjunct Professor, Professor of Practice, Senior University Lecturer, or Principal University Lecturer. The thesis advisor must hold at least a master’s degree. 

The master's thesis includes a seminar presentation and a maturity test. 

Detailed instructions for the master's thesis at the School of Engineering are available in the Master’s Thesis Guide on the  

For your free elective studies, you can study courses offered by Aalto University or by other universities as it is possible by Aalto internal and inter institutional agreements and procedures and course specific prerequisites.

Elective studies must be university level studies that fulfill the degree requirements and, in general, studies that are offered as degree studies at the university in question. Universities also offer courses that are targeted for a larger audience. The suitability of these studies is evaluated taking into consideration the learning outcomes of the degree that the courses are planned to be included in.

Alternatively, you can deepen your expertise by taking more of our advanced courses as elective studies or broaden your expertise by choosing courses from Aalto’s other programmes or from different universities.
Completing a minor is not compulsory in your programme. If you want to include a minor (20-25 ECTS) into your degree, please note that it needs to be an advanced level minor or one of the following minors: [to be updated: List of the new minors offered by language center, for example, “S2 – Finnish as a second language”.] Please see the list of all advanced level minors offered by Aalto University under Minors.

You can also include max 5 ECTS of practical training (ENG-E1010 Practical training) in your elective studies.You can find more information on practical training from MyCourses. 

The choice for elective studies is yours: the most important thing is that your elective studies complement your major studies and provide you with expertise that you personally feel important and inspiring for your career. 

According to , student shall demonstrate proficiency in Finnish and Swedish language that is required of central government staff in bilingual public organisations under subsection 1 of section 6 of the Act on the Knowledge of Languages Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (424/2003) andt hat is necessary for their own field; and proficiency in at least one foreign language that enablesstudents to monitor progress in their own field and operate in an international setting.

Student's bachelor's degree completed in Finland
Compulsory language studies are included as part of the Finnish Bachelor’s degree.

Student's bachelor's degree not completed in Finland
Students are required to complete 3 ECTS in one foreign language, including both oral and written proficiency. Relevant courses (marked with ‘o’ and ‘w’) are offered by the Aalto University Language Center.

Students who already have excellent command of English (for example, English as their first language) may choose 3 ECTS of Finnish or Swedish (basic level) courses instead, hence not covering the requirement of oral/written proficiency but meeting the language requirement of the degree.

In cases where student have received their pre-university education in a language of Finnish or Swedish, the language requirements are following: the student must take 2 ECTS in the second national language and 3 ECTS in one foreign language, including both oral and written proficiency. In these cases contact Learning Services.

Language studies are included in students’ elective studies and are agreed in the personal study plan.

Please find more information about language courses and information about learning languages from the Language Centre of Aalto University.