Join a sustainability engineering course you can study 100% online.
Develop your understanding of sustainability issues in the manufacturing industry, and the engineering principles we can use to tackle them.
In this Masters-level online short course, you’ll learn about the main technologies, challenges, and methods associated with sustainability in engineering processes.
Who can join this sustainability engineering course?
This distance-learning course is designed for:
- chemical manufacturing businesses that want to provide employees with awareness and advanced concepts in how their processes can become more sustainable
- public stakeholders looking to provide their employees with advanced knowledge of sustainability in the manufacturing industry
- academics around the world who are interested in developing programmes in sustainability for engineering applications
- graduates, workers, and postgraduate students in engineering and scientific disciplines who want to enter the engineering-for-sustainability market.

Build credits towards a Masters degree
This online course is part of:
- MSc Energy Transition Systems and Technologies
- MSc Process Safety
- MSc Safety and Reliability Engineering
- MSc Subsurface Energy Engineering
- MSc Sustainable Product, Process and Energy Engineering
You can use the credits you earn on this short course towards any of these MSc qualifications.
What you’ll study
In this course, you’ll learn about the application of engineering principles to contemporary challenges in sustainability and sustainable development.
You’ll cover topics including:
- Introduction to sustainability and global challenges
- Application of engineering to sustainability problems
- Emissions, climate change, waste management and net-zero emission technologies
- Life cycle, techno-economic, and matrices-based methods for sustainability assessment of different products and processes
- Case studies covering sustainability problems using technical, behavioural and emerging solutions to reduce costs, energy demand, resource utilisation and waste.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to...
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Understand global sustainability challenges and the role of engineering solutions.
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Develop approaches for efficient, minimal resource use.
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Apply waste-minimisation and recycling techniques.
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Apply pollution control and monitoring to reduce environmental impact.
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Use process engineering and management to design sustainable, efficient systems.
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Evaluate environmental impacts using life cycle assessment (LCA).
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Understand techno-economic analysis to assess the feasibility of sustainability technologies.
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Analyse case studies to explore real-world sustainable solutions and best practices.
Choose the University of Aberdeen for sustainable engineering courses

Fits around full-time work
This online course fits around work, with flexible hours and 24/7 study access.

You’re in expert hands
We’ve been training world-class engineers for over 100 years and delivering online learning for decades.

20% alumni discount
University of Aberdeen alumni get 20% off this online course.
How you’ll study
Online learning
This distance-learning sustainable engineering course is delivered flexibly, 100% online.
You can learn with us anywhere, no student visa required, and manage your study hours to suit you.
Your teaching
This course is taught at Masters level.
Teaching is delivered through MyAberdeen, our online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It holds all the materials, tools and support you’ll need in your studies. Take a look around MyAberdeen.
You can access your learning materials on computer, smartphone and laptop, 24 hours a day. You’ll find a range of resources available, including:
- video lectures
- recorded tutorials
- reading materials
- discussion boards with your tutor and peers
- the online resources of our award-winning Sir Duncan Rice Library.
Research-led learning
The content of your course is based on the latest sustainability research carried out by the School of Engineering.
Your tutors
This course is delivered by our School of Engineering.
You’ll learn from academics who are experts and active researchers in chemical engineering and sustainability.
Industry input
This course is part of several Masters degrees that are overseen by an Industry Advisory Board. This board ensures that course content is current and addresses industry needs.
Your course coordinator

Dr Waheed Afzal
Waheed is a Chartered Chemical Engineer, Chartered Scientist, and Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.
Waheed’s research focuses on developing sustainable solutions to environmental challenges, including carbon capture and utilisation.
He also heads our Masters degrees in Advanced Chemical Engineering and Process Safety.
View Waheed’s profileWhere this will take you
Towards a Masters
You’ll earn 15 credits at Masters level (SCQF Level 11) with this course. You can use these credits towards our online:

Masters in Energy Transition Systems and Technologies
Join an online MSc that’s training the next generation of systems engineers. Help our planet transition from oil and gas to net-zero, with a degree you can study online, part-time.
View MSc Energy Transition Systems and Technologies
Accredited Masters in Process Safety
Become a qualified process safety engineer, ready to work in any chemical processing sector. Join an IChemE-accredited online degree you can fit around full-time work.
View MSc Process Safety
Accredited Masters in Safety and Reliability Engineering
Become a world-class safety engineer, wherever you’re based, with this accredited online MSc. Train online with internationally experienced safety engineers and learn direct from industry.
View MSc Safety and Reliability Engineering
Masters in Subsurface Energy Engineering
Develop the advanced skills in energy engineering, geo-energy resources and storage that you need to work with subsurface energy systems.
View MSc Subsurface Energy Engineering
Masters in Sustainable Product, Process and Energy Engineering
Develop advanced skills in sustainability engineering. Study flexibly online and learn to make manufacturing processes more sustainable.
View MSc Sustainable Product, Process and Energy EngineeringCareers
By completing this course, you’ll gain enhanced knowledge and skills in engineering processes for sustainable manufacturing.
These skills will be valuable across a variety of roles and career levels, from engineering calculations to decision making, in areas including:
- management
- technical
- consultancy
- research
- administration
- finance
- social
- education.
Further studies
This course can also help you work towards PhD studies and an academic career.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Your employer or professional institute may recognise this course for CPD hours. Talk to your employer or institute to find out more.

Dr Afzal’s module delivered a rigorous, well-structured survey of energy-transition pathways grounded in real-world practice. The breadth of material was balanced by clear guidance and included immediately actionable insights for industry decision-making.
David Pollitt, Chief Operating Officer at Houston-based C&C Reservoirs – online Sustainable Engineering Challenges student

Free career support
Access our free careers service while you study.
- 1:1 appointments
- CV checks
- Interview prep
- Job opportunities
Entry requirements
This course has no formal entry requirements. You decide if it’s suitable for you.
The course is delivered at Masters level. At this level, you’d usually have at least:
- a 2:2 UK undergraduate degree (or equivalent), or
- relevant experience that supports this level of study.
Prior knowledge
While you do not need a formal qualification in engineering to join this course, to succeed in the course, you will need a strong interest in either engineering, applied mathematics, physics, and / or applied industrial chemistry.
You should also be comfortable with quantitative problem-solving and be prepared to analyse technical and economic aspects of sustainability using engineering methodologies taught in this course.