Air Quality Solutions with Data Science MSc

Course overview

Up to 7 million people are estimated to die every year due to the harmful effects of air pollution. Degradation in air quality is now the leading environmental cause of premature mortality - exceeding deaths due to unsafe drinking water, malaria and HIV combined. Understanding the factors controlling the emission, processing and fate of air pollutants is vital to effectively mitigate these harmful effects and to assess the effectiveness of policy interventions.

Our solutions-driven Masters programme will cover a broad range of air quality-related topics, including emissions, monitoring, modelling, pollution exposure, health impacts and policy and economic appraisal. The programme will also explore the synergies of air quality with climate change. You'll be taught by academics who are experts in each of these topics and have contributed to the UK being a world leader in air policy design, delivery and evaluation.

This Masters gives you the chance to be hands-on, applying and designing interventions using state-of-the-art modelling tools and appraising the expected benefits. You’ll use conventional and research-led pollution-monitoring techniques and novel data analysis tools – all of which will support the substantial independent research project you’ll undertake in the final semester.

The course draws on the globally-renowned research from five Schools: the Institute for Transport Studies, the School of Earth and Environment, the School of Civil Engineering, the School of Chemical and Process Engineering and the School of Chemistry. This ensures you’re learning the latest innovations in the field, preparing you for a career in industry.

The valuable knowledge and skills you’ll acquire throughout your Masters could lead you to pursuing a career in consultancy, the public sector and regulatory bodies, non-governmental bodies, industry and further research.

Applying

Entry requirements

A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) in a relevant numerate subject such as (but not limited to) engineering, computer science, mathematics, physics, chemistry or economics.

Applicants with any of the following will be considered on a case-by-case basis:

• A bachelor degree with a 2:2 (hons), or equivalent where applicants can demonstrate relevant work experience or aptitude in a relevant specialist field.
• Professional qualifications and relevant experience.

International

We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications. For more information, please contact the Admissions Team.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English

International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Science (6 weeks) and Language for Science: General Science (10 weeks).

We also offer online pre-sessionals alongside our on-campus pre-sessionals. Find out more about our six week online pre-sessional and our 10 week online pre-sessional.

You can also study pre-sessionals for longer periods – read about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.

Career opportunities

Our aim is to equip you with the knowledge to provide solutions across a range of air pollution challenges and environments.

The rapid pace at which air pollution issues have moved up the national and international agenda will likely see increased demand for graduates with the specialist skills needed to implement air pollution mitigation strategies, design effective policies and consider air pollution aspects of economic and industrial activities and new developments. The ‘solutions’ focus of this course aligns with consultancy business, local and regional authorities and central governments.

As such, the skills and knowledge you’ll gain on this course will give you the platform to pursue a career in:

• Consultancy
• Public Sector
• Regulatory Bodies
• Industry
• Cities
• Further research

Plus, the University of Leeds is in the top 5 most targeted universities in the UK by graduate recruiters, according to High Fliers’ The Graduate Market in 2024 report.