Overview
- Start dateCourse withdrawn for 2020
- DurationOne year full-time, two-three years part-time
- DeliveryMSc taught modules (six core and two electives) and 40%, group project 20%, individual thesis 40%
- QualificationMSc, PgDip, PgCert
- Study typeFull-time / Part-time
- CampusCranfield campus
Who is it for?
The Land Reclamation and Restoration MSc is suitable for ecology, science, geography and engineering graduates, or professionals from either a science or technical background.
The course will provide you with the skills to assess, plan and implement strategies needed to restore, reclaim and remediate degraded land in order to support ecosystems' functions and services.
It is designed to respond to industry demands for highly-trained engineers and science professionals able to implement appropriate, innovative and sustainable soil and land management strategies. There is an emphasis on analysis of real problems with practical field work to reinforce learning. This provides the tools required for the group and individual projects.
Your career
Hear from our three alumni who went on to work for Tarmac
On completion of this course, you will have career opportunities in consultancy, research, education, public and private sector industry.
Successful graduates have been able to pursue or enhance careers in a variety of key areas such as: Consultant Engineers, Conservationist, Environmental and Design Planners/Consultants, Land and Sustainability Managers and Advisors and Academic Researchers.
Employers include statutory agencies and ministries, conservation trusts, environmental companies, international development organisations, land and natural resource management businesses, large agrifood companies, local authorities, non-government organisations (NGOs) and research organisations.
Previous students have gone on to jobs within prestigious institutions including:
- Soil Scientist, Wardell Armstrong, UK
- Soil and Water Engineer, ADAS, UK
- Project Manager / Reclamation Specialist, SNC-Lavalin Inc, Canada
- Assistant Restoration Managers, Tarmac, UK
- PhD Research, Cranfield University, UK
- PhD Lancaster University, UK
- Research Assistant, Cranfield University, UK
- Planning Officer, Maryland Department of Planning, Maryland, USA
- Monitoring Officer, Listers Geotech, UK
Cranfield Careers Service
Our Careers Service can help you find the job you want after leaving Cranfield. We will work with you to identify suitable opportunities and support you in the job application process for up to three years after graduation. We have been providing master's-level training for over 20 years. Our strong reputation and links with potential employers provide you with outstanding opportunities to secure interesting jobs and develop successful careers. The increasing interest in sustainability and corporate and social responsibility has also enhanced the career prospects of our graduates.
Hear from an alumnus:
- Alex Cooke - Alex studied her master's at Cranfield in 2012 and worked in industry before returning to us to study for her PhD.
Cranfield supports international students to work in the UK after graduation
I've had the best learning experience here with a beautiful and serene environment, excellent IT training sessions for different skills, career prospects awareness and lots of PC labs too. I hope to enjoy my year in Cranfield to the maximum while acquiring relevant skills along the way.
Thank you Cranfield!
The MSc programme is one of only a handful of reclamation-specific programmes around the world, and stood out for me because of Cranfield’s expertise in soil. With my industry background, I was also impressed by the practical approach of Cranfield’s course and the University’s strong industry links.
Cranfield actually is the only University in Europe offering a master’s degree in Land Reclamation and Restoration. Cranfield’s well known for their close collaboration with industry, and I was really attracted to the idea of solving real-world problems rather than writing more academic papers.
Why this course?
- Learn how to integrate new scientific understanding of environmental processes with relevant engineering and management skills in order to develop new, integrated land management solutions at relevant scales including field, city, catchment, national and global.
- Benefit from the hands-on activities and visits to relevant land reclamation and ecological restoration sites, which provide a significant component of the course.
- Gain an in-depth understanding of principles that influence soil reclamation and restoration in an ecosystem context.
- Access market leading geospatial technologies and state of the art soil and plant research laboratories associated with the Agri-Tech Innovation Centres.
Informed by industry
The Land Reclamation and Restoration MSc is closely aligned with industry to ensure that you are fully prepared for your new career, with our graduates highly sought after by government agencies, businesses, consultancies, and non-government organisations (NGOs).
- The teaching team are heavily involved in research and development, enabling you to benefit from real-world case studies throughout the course.
- Participate in application focused, industrially relevant individual, and group projects focused on your personal interests and career aspirations.
- Accreditation by the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) and Landscape Institute ensures that the course meets current professional standards.
Our regular consultations with leading organisations on questions of course and curriculum design to ensure that the programme continues to reflect the changing needs employers. These organisations include:
|
|
Course details
The modules include lectures and tutorials, and are assessed through written examinations and assignments. These provide the tools required for the group and individual projects.
Course delivery
MSc taught modules (six core and two electives) and 40%, group project 20%, individual thesis 40%
Group project
This project provides you with the opportunity to take responsibility for a commercially-orientated, consultancy-type project with a UK-based industrial partner, while working in teams under academic supervision. It involves survey design, data collection and analysis, and synthesis and presentation of results to the client. This provides experience equivalent to a real-life working environment aiming to provide a solution to a problem faced by industry in an integrated approach drawing upon mixed expertise across various disciplines.
The topic for the group project changes on an annual basis as appropriate. Previous groups projects have included:
- 2017/18 - Improving Quarry Restoration Efficacy: Site Prioritisation, Connectivity Analysis and Erosion Control
- 2015/16 - Integrated Assessment of Quarry Restoration for Broom and Finningley, funded by Tarmac
- 2014/15 - Valuing and Enhancing Carbon Sequestration 2014 Coal Authority Integrated Group Project, funded by the Coal Authority
- 2014/15 - Integrated Assessment of Quarry Restoration for Dene and Darlton, Derbyshire, funded by Lafarge-Tarmac
- 2012/13 - Towards a Framework for Evaluation of the Ecosystem Services provided by Coal Authority Passive Treatment Schemes, funded by the Coal Authority
- 2012/13 - An Integrated Assessment of the Mancetter Quarry Restoration, funded by Lafarge-Tarmac
- 2011/12 - Integrated Management Plan for Houghton Regis Chalk Pit for Wildlife Trust of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire
- 2010/11 - Increasing the Value of Recycled Products and Ecological Services of Naunton Quarry for Huntsmans Quarries Limited
Individual project
This project provides an opportunity to concentrate on a particular aspect of land reclamation and restoration. It also allows you to demonstrate your ability to research independently, to think and work in an original way, to contribute to knowledge, and to overcome genuine problems in this specialist area of land management. Many of the projects are supported by external organisations.
Modules
Keeping our courses up-to-date and current requires constant innovation and change. The modules we offer reflect the needs of business and industry and the research interests of our staff and, as a result, may change or be withdrawn due to research developments, legislation changes or for a variety of other reasons. Changes may also be designed to improve the student learning experience or to respond to feedback from students, external examiners, accreditation bodies and industrial advisory panels.
To give you a taster, we have listed the compulsory and elective (where applicable) modules which are currently affiliated with this course. All modules are indicative only, and may be subject to change for your year of entry.
Course modules
Compulsory modules
All the modules in the following list need to be taken as part of this course.
GIS Fundamentals
Module Leader |
|
---|---|
Aim |
GIS is an important technology for handling geographic data and has wide application for studies of the environment. GIS is used widely by students in the courses listed above in other modules and their group and personal projects and therefore this module provides the opportunity to develop GIS skills that will be of use within a student’s course and in later employment. |
Syllabus |
|
Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module you should be able to:
|
Soil Systems
Module Leader |
|
---|---|
Aim |
|
Syllabus |
|
Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module you should be able to:
|
Soil Engineering, Contaminant and Nutrient Management
Aim |
Land restoration and reclamation practices in relation to improving soil structural conditions for optimal crop growth and prevention of soil resource losses must be grounded on an understanding of principles from soil science, bio-science and engineering. In addition, effective land restoration and reclamation must also consider the theoretical and practical principles underlying the successful management of soil organic carbon and the application of nutrients and organic manures to land. |
---|---|
Syllabus |
|
Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module you should be able to:
|
Landscape Ecology
Module Leader |
|
---|---|
Aim |
“Landscape ecology emphasizes the interactions between spatial patterns and ecological processes, that is, the causes and consequences of spatial heterogeneity in a range of scales” (Turner et al. 2001). Landscape ecology provides a foundational framework for problem solving, decision making and planning in land restoration, ecological conservation and natural resources management. It covers topics related to structure, function and change, and it provides the necessary tools to select the appropriate methods to test spatial hypothesis and solve problems at multiple scales. This module is designed to introduce you to a variety of tools that measure and quantify landscape components at different scales, and to understand them in the context of their field of expertise priorities and regulations.
|
Syllabus |
|
Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module you should be able to:
|
Ecological Restoration
Module Leader |
|
---|---|
Aim |
|
Syllabus |
|
Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module you should be able to:
|
Soil Erosion Control: Principles and Practices
Module Leader |
|
---|---|
Aim |
The control of water pollution and sedimentation needs to be based on the correct identification of source areas of sediment, a knowledge of the processes by which water and sediment are moved over the land surface, and an understanding of how these processes are affected by the physical environment and socio-economic factors. Soil conservation can be achieved through within-field and catchment management by targeting erosion control measures at critical locations in the landscape, producing appropriate designs and gaining the support of interested groups and organisations for their implementation. |
Syllabus |
|
Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module you should be able to:
|
Teaching team
The Admissions Tutor is Dr Daniel Sandars and the Course Director is Dr Ruben Sakrabani. You will be taught by our internationally-renowned academic staff and leading industry specialists, who will provide science, technical and management expertise in the remediation of degraded land, through reclamation to ecosystem restoration.
Accreditation
The MSc of this course is accredited by Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) and Landscape Institute.