Master of Science in Water Resources Engineering
Brussels, Belgium
MSc
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
31 Jul 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
21 Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 9,464 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for EEA nationals | non EEA nationals : 31 March 2026
** for non EEA nationals| EEA nationals: EUR 1157 per year
Key Summary
This program is jointly organized by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. It is one of the International Course Programs supported by the Flemish Interuniversity Council.
The two-year program offers comprehensive training in the different aspects of water resources management and engineering, with a focus on the use of numerical simulation tools in a framework of project-based learning. It is designed for those who want to develop their knowledge of water resources engineering and who are willing to use this knowledge in developing countries or anywhere else in the world.
Dutch-Flemish Accreditation Organisation (NVAO)
Accredited
The first year of this master's program contains only compulsory courses (60SP) on mathematics, statistics, hydraulics, groundwater and surface water hydrology, irrigation agronomy, aquatic ecology, water quality, GIS, and remote sensing, hydrologic data processing, and measurements.
In the second year (60SP), most courses are organized as workshops and linked to an integrated project. Three workshops have to be selected among the following: groundwater modeling, soil water modeling, irrigation design and management, surface water modeling, river modeling, urban hydrology, and advanced aquatic ecology.
In addition, all students follow the courses on a systems approach and social, political, institutional, economic, and environmental aspects of water resources.
The second year also includes a research thesis work (30SP).
Abridged program
If you have already obtained a Master’s degree from an EEA university, you can be exempted from 60 ECTS, provided that you receive a positive evaluation of the Programme Committee. In that case, your Master's thesis amounts to 30 ECTS, while you do not have to take the courses “Setting up a research project” and “Research methods for data collection and processing”. You may then also freely select 30 ECTS from the regular program.
We are a public university and thus subsidized by the government. This results in relatively low tuition fees for the bachelor’s, master's, and PhD programs. We have some scholarships available for our master’s programs.
Our main goal is to offer comprehensive training in water resources engineering to engineers and scientists from both developing and industrialized countries. The program blends various basic and applied courses, hydrology, and engineering sciences associated with water resources development with organizational and managerial skills.
Career possibilities in the water sector are excellent. All over the world, our alumni work in government agencies, drinking water companies, water treatment agencies, consultancy agencies, NGOs, and education and research institutes. Graduates of the Water Resources Engineering Master’s program are primarily employed as academics or scientists at universities and research institutions and as engineers or managers in government agencies, drinking water companies, consulting companies, or NGOs. Water resources engineers play a decisive role in the development and management of aquifers and river basins. They’re the decision-makers and water managers of the future, capable of taking into account increased user demand and environmental needs through managing the limited water resources in a sustainable and responsive way