Science courses

About Soil Mechanics in Imperial College London

Our Soil Mechanics courses explore the properties of soils and soft rocks in relation to civil engineering, the theory of geomechanics and practical geotechnical engineering. They provide students with a solid technical basis in the key areas of geotechnics through a coherent, coordinated and balanced degree programme, integrating core engineering science and recent research with practical applications.

These courses feature strong links with industry, with an emphasis on fieldwork, laboratory testing using state-of-the-art facilities and numerical analysis using bespoke and commercial software. They are taught by leading experts in the field of geotechnics.

Graduates from these courses gain employment in a wide range of organisations, including international consultancies, contractors, governmental bodies and academic institutions. Our MSc graduates have an excellent employment record due to our strong engagement with industry.

The course is supported by an Industrial Bursary scheme, currently supported by 13 international companies, which provides scholarship awards to the best applicants to our MSc course every year.

The four course streams share approximately 80% of the curriculum, while the remaining 20% allows specialisation in the areas of advanced Soil Mechanics, Engineering Seismology, Environmental Geotechnics and Engineering Geology.

Academic qualification equivalents

•  To be considered for admission to a Master's e.g. MSc, MRes, MBA etc, applicants should normally have completed a three to four year Bachelor's degree from a mainstream university (state/federal or ‘deemed' institution) passed with a required grades.

  Applicants for research should hold a three to four year Bachelor's degree and Master's degree, both passed with required grades. Integrated Master's degrees with required grades will also qualify an applicant for entry to Research.

  Applicants from elite institutions will be required to obtain a minimum overall average of 7 / 10 or 60%. These are the College minimum scores and particular departments may seek grades at a higher level.

  Applicants from other approved institutions will be required to obtain a minimum overall average ranging from 7.5-8 / 10 or 65-70%. These are the College minimum range of required scores and particular departments may seek grades at a higher level.

English language requirements 

• IELTS : 6.5 overall (minimum 6.0 in all elements)
• TOEFL IBT: 92 overall (minimum 20 in all elements)
• PTE : 62 overall (minimum 56 in all elements)

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