SOIL MECHANICS AND GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING – Faculty of Sciences and Technology of Coimbra University

MAIN OBJECTIVES

The proposed course aims to create an advanced training provision in Geotechnical specialization for Civil Engineers, Geological Engineers and Mining Engineers, thereby addressing a training gap in the Portuguese market, where there are no advanced Masters courses in this area, and the major needs felt in Portuguese-speaking countries where there is great demand for geotechnical specialists.
Emerging as a project of excellence at the Bologna 2nd cycle level, the proposed course is aimed at imparting advanced knowledge in the specific domains of Geotechnics, so that students acquire sound basic training and various skills in this area, together with a significant competitive edge, for those not yet working, in the domestic and the foreign labor markets, and for those already active, improved knowledge and enhanced competitiveness in their specific field of work.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND INTENDED SKILLS

On completion of the course, students should have acquired core theoretical knowledge enabling them to strengthen their ability to understand and analyze various types of geotechnical works, and to have developed skills for:
– Recognising, identifying, and characterising natural rock masses concerned by the works;
– Defining intervention strategies and techniques enabling rock masses to be reinforced or improved, as needed;
– Designing, sizing, and building various types of geotechnical works;
– Measuring, observing, and interpreting the behavior of rock masses and geotechnical structures;
– Evaluating and proposing solutions for environmental geotechnical problems, interacting with professionals from related areas;
– Evaluating the effectiveness of geotechnical solutions in the light of sustainability, lifecycle analysis, and circular economy concepts;
– Developing the ability to investigate and research in the field of Geotechnics.

STUDY PLAN 2022/2023 – no occurrence in 2023/2024

PROFESSIONAL GOALS

In this Master Course it is expected that most students are already in the labor market, so their perspective is not that of a beginning a new professional area, but, mainly, seeking advanced knowledge to improve their competitiveness in the specific area of expertise. In the remaining cases, it is important to note that after finishing the proposed MSc course successfully, students gain valences that will allow them an easier integration into the labor market in
areas related to Geotechnical Engineering.