Renewable and Sustainable Energy

MSc

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Overview

The MSc Renewable and Sustainable Energy programme aims to train future engineers to lead the global energy transformation, by addressing critical challenges relating to climate change, clean growth, and sustainability.

"The world is set to invest a record $1.8T in clean energy in 2023. This needs to climb to around $4.5T-a-year by the early 2030s to be in line with our net zero pathway" (IEA-2023).

In the World Energy Transition Outlook, the phasing out of fossil fuels will be accelerated. In 2050, renewable energy will dominate the world's electricity generation supply. To achieve global energy transformation and meet the Paris Agreement, significant job growth is projected, with 42 million renewable energy jobs expected in the sector by 2050.

If you're a recent graduate from an engineering-related discipline, this Master's course offers an opportunity to specialise and develop to become a future leader in this fast-growing sector.

The programme will focus on:

providing you with knowledge, advanced methods and tools to address technical challenges in renewable and sustainable energy
developing your professional skills to solve real-world problems relating to renewable and sustainable energy technologies

Overarching themes of the programme include:

innovation
design and manufacturing
operations and maintenance
modelling and optimisation
materials science
energy economics
energy industry big data

The course is delivered in our Faculty of Engineering and Digital Technologies by an interdisciplinary team, including external industry partners. The content is research-engaged, with academic staff providing research expertise in sustainable energy-related areas.

Entry requirements

A second-class Honours degree or equivalent in an engineering discipline, including mechanical, manufacturing, industrial, chemical, electrical, electronics, computer, biomedical, and civil.

Candidates who do not fulfil the normal entry requirements but have extensive industrial experience (minimum two years) in an engineering area/position are considered on an individual basis.

English language requirements: IELTS 6.0 with no sub-tests less than 5.5

Your learning journey

All module information is for 2026 entry, and is subject to change.

MODULES_FOUND_FOR_2026

First Year

Core

Low-carbon Industrial Energy and Materials
MSc Project
Modelling and Optimisation
Advanced Sustainable Energy
Wind and Solar Energy Systems

Optional

Teaching, learning and assessment

The teaching and learning methods have been selected to engage you in developing your knowledge and understanding of fundamentals in the area of Renewable and Sustainable Energy through formal learning opportunities including

lectures and tutorials
experiential learning through practical classes and lab sessions
industrial site visits
informal and social learning through team-working in projects and competitions

In this programme, assessments aim to solve real-life energy and sustainability challenges, the tasks will be interactive and realistic, to allow you to apply your used knowledge to current problems the field faces. You will undertake a variety of assessments to evaluate your knowledge, practical and interpersonal skills development throughout the course.

All the modules will have some formative assessment, and this may be in various forms including discussions or questioning from the supervisor, self-paced tutorials, online quizzes, group activities, etc. These formative activities are crucial if you are to make the best use of your learning experience and they are designed to prepare you for summative assessment. Summative assessment is how we grade the work on a module such as exams, individual and group coursework, and presentations. The details of this assessment will be available from the beginning of the module so that you understand how the grade will be determined.

Fees, finance and scholarships

Tuition fee 2026

Home: £9,940
International: £19,500

Additional costs

There may be additional costs that you may incur as a student. Though these are not essential to your programme of study you need to be aware of them as a student of the University. A list of the sort of costs you might expect can be found on our fees and finance section.

Financial support

See our fees and financial support section.

Postgraduate Master's Loan

If you live in England you may be able to apply for a special Government-funded Master's Loan to help pay your tuition fees and living costs. You don't have to pay the loan back until you're earning a certain amount of money.

Scholarships

Every year we award numerous non-repayable scholarships to UK, EU and international students on the basis of academic excellence, personal circumstances or economic hardship. For full details, visit our scholarships section.

A scholarship of £7,500 is available to international students applying for the 2025/26 academic year.

Career prospects

The IRENA workforce study indicates that the job market in renewable energy will increase fourfold to 42 million jobs worldwide from 2020 to 2050. The MSc Renewable and Sustainable Energy focuses on developing both technical and interpersonal skills of students to ensure their success in the energy sector.

Graduates from the MSc programme in Renewable and Sustainable Energy can work in sustainable energy and related sectors such as engineers, energy system developers, researchers, and O&M management positions.

The University and academic staff have strong links with several companies in the industry including SSE, 1Energy, Ford Motor Company, Switch2, Cummins, etc. The context of the future energy sector is embedded in the programme curriculum and topics covered, e.g. advanced sustainable energy system design, operation and maintenance, future energy mix problems, energy industrial big data, sustainability and innovation.

Career opportunities

The University is committed to helping students develop and enhance employability and this is an integral part of many programmes. Specialist support is available throughout the course from Career and Employability Services including help to find part-time work while studying, placements, vacation work and graduate vacancies. Students are encouraged to access this support at an early stage and to use the extensive resources on the careers section.

Support for your studies

At Bradford, we’re committed to supporting your success, well-being and future ambitions.

We’re here to provide everything you need to make the most of your time with us, ensuring you not only excel in your studies, but also step confidently into the world of graduate employment.

In addition to the support you receive from your academic tutors, our Student Support Services are here for you throughout your journey - before, during, and after your studies.

Research

This programme is research-engaged with all academic staff providing research expertise in sustainable energy-related areas. Throughout the study, you will study cutting-edge research methodologies in sustainable energy technologies from design, operation and maintenance to decommission and recycling.

The programme is at the heart of the Engineered Environment research theme at the University with well-known research areas and centres, including:

Smart Industrial Systems Research Theme
Sustainable Energy Research Group
Centre for Sustainable Environment
Polymer MNT Research Centre

This MSc programme will include a research project with an emphasis on real-world application, experiential learning and high-quality research engagement. This will make a major contribution to your skill set, in the skills and attributes for enhanced employability. We provide opportunities for high-quality MSc projects to be submitted to academic journals and conferences and inspire you to achieve the highest research quality.

Terms and conditions of study

The University has a set of terms and conditions for all students accepting an offer to study on a course here at Bradford. This is called The Student Contract. This document sets out the Terms and Conditions which apply when you accept an offer of a place on a programme of study at the University of Bradford.

View our Student Contract for further details.

Transparency statement

Information about this programme and its modules has been published in advance of the academic year to which it applies. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate at the time of publication, but changes may occur given the interval between publishing and commencement of teaching. Any change which impacts the terms and conditions of an applicant’s offer will be communicated to them.