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Master's Programme in Geoengineering
Curriculum 2024–2026
About the programme
Most of construction materials, everyday household items, energy sources and groundwater originate from the earth. Megatrends like urbanization, climate change and increasing use of natural resources and energy greatly affect our lives. These scenarios generate challenges but also opportunities for specialist with knowledge in applied geosciences and construction. Geoengineers have such skills and many opportunities to work in different evolving expert assignments. Graduates are mainly employed by the industry, but also by government organizations and research institutions. They hold key positions ranging from research, teaching and consultancy, to management, design and engineering. The title in the start of the career can be a project manager, designer, site supervisor or researcher.
Geoengineering relies on a wide range of knowledge including geosciences, material sciences, mechanics and construction. Structures of interest are, for example, foundations, roads and tunnels. Geoengineering covers the whole life cycle from research and design to construction, maintenance and recycling. Field investigations, laboratory experiments and numerical modelling are the tools geoengineers are dealing with.
Knowledge
- Knowledge and understanding of engineering properties and behaviour of soil and rock
- Knowledge and understanding of investigation methods for soils and rock
- Knowledge and understanding of design, construction and life-time performance of geoengineering structures
- Knowledge of wide range of design principles, including the needs of optimisation of design for a more sustainable future
Skills
- Critical and scientific thinking and problem solving
- Design using modern and traditional methods.
- Optimising design for set requirements. Those could be related, for example, to the used materials, total costs and sustainability
- Project and group working and communication skills
Other
- Identity as an expert and developer of the field
- Understand the problems of the field from the point of view of users and technical and social systems, as well as from that of the environment and regulators
- Skills needed to apply scientific knowledge and scientific methods and for continuous and flexible learning
The Master's programme in Geoengineering offers study tracks allowing specialization in geotechnical engineering, rock engineering or highway engineering. Good geotechnical knowledge is the foundation of all construction activities. In geotechnical engineering the mechanical, hydraulic and thermal properties of the soil and their impact on foundations, soil-structure interaction and soil improvement are the main fields of interest.
Rock engineering provides education to utilize bedrock as an underground space and as a mineral and energy resource. The education gives proficiency in designing optimal structures in the rock and expertise to carry out these plans in a safe, economic and most environmentally friendly way. The core fields are rock mechanics, excavation techniques and a selection of applied geosciences.
Roads and trafficked areas are an important part of societal infrastructure and have profound impact on everyday life and the entire function of the society. The focus areas of in highway engineering are the structural design of roads and their structure including bituminous materials.
Our courses are typically designed in cooperation with the industrial partners, including design and consulting companies and authorities. In addition to conventional lectures, they may contain excursions and visits of the industrial partners. Assignments and case studies are often based on real data and may involve team work, developing skills needed for working on large civil engineering projects.
Total
120
ECTS
Major studies
60
ECTS
Master's thesis
30
ECTS
Elective studies *
30
ECTS
- can include an elective minor 20-25 ECTS
Sisu-instructions, 2024-2026
Major Studies 60 ECTS
Code: ENG23
Credits: 60 ECTS
Programme director: Wojciech Solowski
Compulsory courses, 20 ECTS
| Code | Course name | ECTS | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| GEO-E1010 | Engineering Geology | 5 | IV, first year |
| GEO-E1020 | Geotechnics | 5 | I, first year |
| GEO-E1030 | Structural Design of Roads | 5 | II, first year |
| GEO-E1040 | Rock Excavation | 5 | III, first year |
Optional studies (select 40 ECTS)
| Code | Course name | ECTS | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Select 40 ECTS All combinations are allowed if the course specific prerequisites are followed (the prerequisites are listed in the course descriptions). |
|||
| GEO-E2010 | Advanced Soil Mechanics D | 5 | IV, first year |
| GEO-E2020 | Numerical Methods in Geotechnics D | 5 | V, first year |
| GEO-E2030 | Rock Mechanics D | 5 | I, second year |
| GEO-E2040 | Rock Construction D | 5 | V, first year |
| GEO-E2050 | Bituminous Materials and Mixtures D ** | 5 | IV, first or second year ** |
| GEO-E2070 | Special Assignment in Geoengineering V, D | 5 | I, II, III, IV, V (any). second year |
| GEO-E2071 | Special Assignment in Geoengineering V, D | 1-10 | I, II, III, IV, V (any), second year |
| GEO-E2080 | Foundation Engineering and Ground Improvement | 5 | II, first year |
| GEO-E2090 | Project Course in Geoengineering | 5 | IV-V, next time 2025-2026 |
| GEO-E3010 | Economic Geology and Mineral Economics D | 5 | II |
| GEO-E3030 | Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation D * | 5 | IV, first or second year* |
| GEO-E3040 | Geometric Design of Roads | 5 | III, first year |
| CIV-E1030 | Fundamentals of Structural Design | 5 | I, first or second year |
| CIV-E1060 | Engineering Computation and Simulation | 5 | II, first year? |
| CIV-E2080 | Design process management D | 5 | II, second year |
| CIV-E4040 | Reinforced concrete structures | 5 | III, first year |
| CIV-E6010 | Sustainability and Circular Economy in Civil Engineering | 5 | III, second year |
* Lectured every second year, spring 2025
** Lectured every second year, spring 2026
Master’s thesis 30 ECTS
The master’s thesis is written on a topic related to the advanced studies of the programme, agreed upon between the student and the supervising professor. The professors of the programme provide master’s thesis topics that are related to their current research activities. The student can also suggest his/her own topic to a supervisor.
The master’s thesis supervisor shall be one of the professors of Aalto University and the thesis advisor shall hold at least a master’s degree.
The master's thesis includes a presentation and maturity test.
Please see further instructions on the master’s thesis and the related process from completing the master’s thesis
| Code | Course name | ECTS | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| CE.thes | Master´s thesis | 30 | second year |
| ENG.matr | Maturity test | 0 | second year |
Elective studies 30 ECTS
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.
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.
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.
You can complete a minor subject and include it in elective studies. Please note that if you want to have a minor it needs to be advanced level minor. Please see the list of all 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 information on practical training on this page (MyCourses).
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.
Compulsory language studies are included in students’ elective studies and are agreed in the personal study plan.
Please note that the total number of credits for a master's degree (major studies, elective studies and master's thesis) may not exceed 125 ECTS.
Here are courses offered by other programmes at the School of Engineering that give additional knowledge for geoengineers:
| Code | Course name | ECTS | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIV-E1020 | Mechanics of Beam and Frame Structures | 5 | II |
| CIV-E2050 | Operations management in construction | 5 | IV |
| SPT-E1022 | Foundations of Plangineering D | 5 | I |
| LC-1322 | Thesis Writing for Engineers (MSc) (w) | 3 | Autumn - Summer |
| LC-7105 | Thesis Incubator | 2 | I - II |
CIV = Building Technology
LC= Language Centre
According to Government Decree on University Degrees (794/2004), 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.
Students with Finnish Bachelor's degree
Compulsory language studies are included as part of the Finnish Bachelor’s degree for students who have studied in Finland and whose language of education is Finnish or Swedish. If the language studies have not been completed in the student’s Bachelor’s degree, the student must take 2 ECTS in the second national language and 3 ECTS in one foreign language, including both oral and written proficiency.
All other students
Students who have received their pre-university education in a language other than Finnish or Swedish, or received their education abroad, are required to complete only 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. There students who have received their education abroad and who already have excellent command of English (e.g. English as their first language) may choose 3 credits of Finnish or Swedish courses instead, hence not covering the requirement of oral/written proficiency but meeting the language requirement of the degree. If this applies to you, please contact your school’s Learning Services for further advice, as different schools have different procedures for validating this exemption.
Language studies are included in students’ elective studies and are agreed in the personal study plan (HOPS).
Please find more information about language courses and information about learning languages from the Language Centre of Aalto University.
Course substitutions
If you can't find course substitutions in Sisu, do contact your programmes staff (coordinator/planning officer).
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