MSc — 2025 entry Bridge Engineering

The Finite Element Method (FEM) is the most commonly used tool in practice for structural design and analysis of bridges, buildings and other types of structures. In order to carry out a successful FE analysis, a basic knowledge of the theory behind the FEM is required as well as an understanding of the applications to different types of structural elements & analyses. This module covers both of these two aspects which are essential for learning how to perform a FE analysis. There is an expectations that students on this module have prior knowledge of structural engineering to the level of final year BEng.

Modern structural engineers are expected to design structures that are not only safe and stable, but also sustainable and resilient. This module is concerned with the analysis and design of steel and composite construction, focusing on multi-storey buildings. In this module, students develop the skills to evaluate the structural steel design process from the brief to the construction stage, including essential aspects related to structural integrity, sustainability and whole-life performance, constructability and health and safety. To effectively work with design codes, engineers must understand the underpinning fundamentals of steel and composite ultimate state design to Eurocode 3 and Eurocode 4, including global and member stability, analysis and design methods. Fundamental concepts related to the performance-based design of steel structures in the context of extreme loading conditions are also introduced. Moreover, specific analysis and design procedures for cold-formed sections are covered. Ultimately, particular attention is given to the overall design process by placing key sustainability drivers at the centre of the material selection, design and construction thinking.

Infrastructure systems have become increasingly complex and interconnected which results in strong interdependencies between them. These systems may become fragile and subject to disruptions that can have significant consequences both in the local as well as national and global level. This module forms the foundation required for systems thinking in infrastructure by introducing the background required for modelling the interconnected nature of infrastructure systems and understanding the different types of interdependencies that exist between them. It also provides an overview of the different types of risks that need to be considered for assessing the resilience of infrastructure systems and discusses the different adaptation and mitigation options available for sustaining their continuous operation and preventing cascading failures.

This module is designed to provide insights into aspects of advanced soil mechanics, including soil constitutive models, soil parameter selections and determinations, which are necessary to carry out design of geotechnical structures and foundations. It will also introduce the Finite Element Models and its applications to analyse typical soil-structure interaction problems. It builds upon the fundamental knowledge from module ENG2104 Soil Mechanics, thus a revision to the essential basics is given at the start of the module.

ENGM270 Energy Geotechnics is a postgraduate module focused on the geotechnical design principles essential for contemporary and emerging energy infrastructure projects. The curriculum encompasses shallow geothermal energy systems, renewable energy foundations for both offshore and onshore wind turbines, offshore oil and gas installation foundations, and nuclear power systems. Specialised lectures cover high-level nuclear waste disposal and carbon geo-sequestration. Key topics include heat transport in soils, geothermal energy pile systems, and offshore wind turbine foundation design, supplemented by practical coursework on numerical modelling of geothermal systems. The module is designed for students with a foundational understanding of soil and structural mechanics, equivalent to a final-year Bachelor of Engineering.

This module is aimed at familiarising students with the concept of the economics of infrastructure. It introduces the background behind investment and funding required for the financial planning of infrastructure and discusses the various forms of funding available for infrastructure (public, private and combined), including their merits and limitations. Financing models for different infrastructure sectors are described. Different types of risks associated with infrastructure investments are reviewed and their assessment and prioritisation within changing economic climates is studied. Within the context of whole-life infrastructure engineering, this module covers the initial financial planning phase of infrastructure projects with other infrastructure-themed modules (ENGM265, ENGM266) covering the remaining life-cycle stages and expanding further on whole-life risks (ENGM264).

This is a compulsory module of the MSc in Water and Environmental Engineering. It is an optional module for the MEng programme in Civil Engineering and for the MS in Infrastructure Engineering.  The module teaches theory and practice of numerical tools for the simulation of river hydraulics and urban drainage networks. These tools are essential for the planning and design of sustainable flood alleviation schemes in the civil engineering practice.  

Civil engineers are often called on to design systems that will support large structures at depth or steep / vertical faces in soil. The former case will normally require large foundations, sometimes at depth whereas the latter may require an earth-retaining structure of some kind. Ground modifications techniques are often employed to improve the physical properties of ground before construction begins.  This module applies the basic principles of soil mechanics to the safe and sustainable design of large foundations and earth-retaining structures. It is expected that students taking this module have a background knowledge of soil mechanics and structural mechanics to the level of final year Bachelor of Engineering..

Reinforced concrete design is taught to different levels and to different codes in Universities worldwide and those entering the MSc at the University of Surrey have a variety of backgrounds.  The course is based on the Eurocodes and includes the role of the designer in building construction, health and safety and sustainability issues, and challenges students to develop conceptual ideas on a design rather than just delivering a design from a drawing.  The module includes the design of simple elements such as beams, slabs, flat slab including punching shear, slender and short column design and shear wall design. This module is for students with knowledge of structural analysis at final year BEng level..

Spatial data ­— data tied to a specific geographical location or area — is ubiquitously available and provides rich insight into our natural and built environment, social and economic activities and much more. Geographical Information Science (GIS) provides the concepts, methods and tools to analyse such data, using the spatial component of the data as an integral part of the analysis. Remote Sensing (RS) systems image the entire Earth on daily basis. RS methods allow the derivation of a wide range of spatial information from the imagery, providing a major source of spatial data. GIS and RS are used in a wide range of disciplines including hydrology, natural resource management, climate change and infrastructure planning. This module introduces the theoretical foundations and trains the student in using these techniques to solve problems and support decision making, with an emphasis on Civil and Environmental Engineering practice.

Nature Based Solutions (NBS) are defined by International Union for Conservation of Nature as actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, which address societal challenges (e.g., climate change, water security or natural disasters) effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. NBS are increasingly used as a more sustainable way of managing environments or environmental systems. NBS use nature¿s own resources (clean air, water, plants, and soil) to provide cost-effective environmental, social, and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring more diverse nature and natural features and processes into existing networks and infrastructure systems including cities, landscapes, and coastal areas, through site specific, locally adapted, resource-efficient interventions. Engineers are working to restore natural buffering systems (e.g., wetlands and tree canopies), utilise green infrastructure, and better manage natural areas to restore riparian corridors, create resilient coastal ecosystems, manage flood risk, enhance water quality and waste treatment, improve air quality, mitigate climate change and more. NBS are often seen as an alternative, more sustainable solution to hard engineered infrastructure solution (by fulfilling multiple services and / by having fewer adverse characteristics). However, NBS cannot be unilaterally implemented due to prevailing characteristics of the built and natural environments. The module will provide the knowledge and skills needed to explore, critically assess, and evaluate the ¿why¿, ¿how¿ and utility of NBS to protect, manage and restore ecosystems vulnerable to societal and environmental challenges. An important part of the module will be to critically assess, compare, and determine the feasibility of different solutions drawn from literature and case studies where NBS have been successful implemented. .The module will draw on the desire of communities to live in green spaces and explore options for engineers to design and integrate facilities within ecosystems in a way that benefits ecological and human health. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of NBS, the module will explore different environments (air, water, coastal, rural, and urban) ensuring the interaction between different research disciplines such as coastal management, wastewater treatment, air quality, material and infrastructure, and urban management.

Earthquake engineering module aims to cover the fundamental concepts associated with the way earthquakes are generated, principles behind seismic  hazard analysis, methods to analyse behaviour of structures and foundations under seismic loading, behaviour of ground during earthquakes (ground response analysis and liquefaction). It also covers earthquake resistant design principles.

Geotechnical engineers and structural engineers tend to approach soil-structure interaction problems quite differently.  On the one hand, geotechnical engineers take great care over the representation of the soil, but then often assume the structure to be either perfectly flexible or perfectly rigid.  Structural engineers, on the other hand, may spend a great deal of time ensuring the structure is modelled as realistically as possible, but then often assume that the supporting soil behaves like a bed of linear elastic springs.  For routine design, either approach may be sufficiently accurate – and it may be difficult to justify the cost of more rigorous modelling. When the situation demands, it will be necessary to create models that take into account the real behaviour of both soil and structure, and this module will provide you with some of the tools for doing this.  A range of soil-structure interaction models and solution methods will be covered, ranging from the simple to the complex.  At the conclusion of the module, you will be in a better position to judge what level of model may be appropriate for a given situation, and what information will be required in order to set up the analysis.  In addition, you should be able to evaluate the analysis output with a clearer understanding of the strengths and limitations of the chosen representation.

Modern structural engineers are expected to design structures that are not only safe and stable, but also sustainable and resilient. This module is concerned with the analysis and design of steel and composite construction, focusing on multi-storey buildings. In this module, students develop the skills to evaluate the structural steel design process from the brief to the construction stage, including essential aspects related to structural integrity, sustainability and whole-life performance, constructability and health and safety. To effectively work with design codes, engineers must understand the underpinning fundamentals of steel and composite ultimate state design to Eurocode 3 and Eurocode 4, including global and member stability, analysis and design methods. Fundamental concepts related to the performance-based design of steel structures in the context of extreme loading conditions are also introduced. Moreover, specific analysis and design procedures for cold-formed sections are covered. Ultimately, particular attention is given to the overall design process by placing key sustainability drivers at the centre of the material selection, design and construction thinking.

The Finite Element Method (FEM) is the most commonly used tool in practice for structural design and analysis of bridges, buildings and other types of structures. In order to carry out a successful FE analysis, a basic knowledge of the theory behind the FEM is required as well as an understanding of the applications to different types of structural elements & analyses. This module covers both of these two aspects which are essential for learning how to perform a FE analysis. There is an expectations that students on this module have prior knowledge of structural engineering to the level of final year BEng.

Infrastructure systems have become increasingly complex and interconnected which results in strong interdependencies between them. These systems may become fragile and subject to disruptions that can have significant consequences both in the local as well as national and global level. This module forms the foundation required for systems thinking in infrastructure by introducing the background required for modelling the interconnected nature of infrastructure systems and understanding the different types of interdependencies that exist between them. It also provides an overview of the different types of risks that need to be considered for assessing the resilience of infrastructure systems and discusses the different adaptation and mitigation options available for sustaining their continuous operation and preventing cascading failures.

This module is designed to provide insights into aspects of advanced soil mechanics, including soil constitutive models, soil parameter selections and determinations, which are necessary to carry out design of geotechnical structures and foundations. It will also introduce the Finite Element Models and its applications to analyse typical soil-structure interaction problems. It builds upon the fundamental knowledge from module ENG2104 Soil Mechanics, thus a revision to the essential basics is given at the start of the module.

ENGM270 Energy Geotechnics is a postgraduate module focused on the geotechnical design principles essential for contemporary and emerging energy infrastructure projects. The curriculum encompasses shallow geothermal energy systems, renewable energy foundations for both offshore and onshore wind turbines, offshore oil and gas installation foundations, and nuclear power systems. Specialised lectures cover high-level nuclear waste disposal and carbon geo-sequestration. Key topics include heat transport in soils, geothermal energy pile systems, and offshore wind turbine foundation design, supplemented by practical coursework on numerical modelling of geothermal systems. The module is designed for students with a foundational understanding of soil and structural mechanics, equivalent to a final-year Bachelor of Engineering.

This module is aimed at familiarising students with the concept of the economics of infrastructure. It introduces the background behind investment and funding required for the financial planning of infrastructure and discusses the various forms of funding available for infrastructure (public, private and combined), including their merits and limitations. Financing models for different infrastructure sectors are described. Different types of risks associated with infrastructure investments are reviewed and their assessment and prioritisation within changing economic climates is studied. Within the context of whole-life infrastructure engineering, this module covers the initial financial planning phase of infrastructure projects with other infrastructure-themed modules (ENGM265, ENGM266) covering the remaining life-cycle stages and expanding further on whole-life risks (ENGM264).

Reinforced concrete design is taught to different levels and to different codes in Universities worldwide and those entering the MSc at the University of Surrey have a variety of backgrounds.  The course is based on the Eurocodes and includes the role of the designer in building construction, health and safety and sustainability issues, and challenges students to develop conceptual ideas on a design rather than just delivering a design from a drawing.  The module includes the design of simple elements such as beams, slabs, flat slab including punching shear, slender and short column design and shear wall design. This module is for students with knowledge of structural analysis at final year BEng level..

This is a compulsory module of the MSc in Water and Environmental Engineering. It is an optional module for the MEng programme in Civil Engineering and for the MS in Infrastructure Engineering.  The module teaches theory and practice of numerical tools for the simulation of river hydraulics and urban drainage networks. These tools are essential for the planning and design of sustainable flood alleviation schemes in the civil engineering practice.  

Civil engineers are often called on to design systems that will support large structures at depth or steep / vertical faces in soil. The former case will normally require large foundations, sometimes at depth whereas the latter may require an earth-retaining structure of some kind. Ground modifications techniques are often employed to improve the physical properties of ground before construction begins.  This module applies the basic principles of soil mechanics to the safe and sustainable design of large foundations and earth-retaining structures. It is expected that students taking this module have a background knowledge of soil mechanics and structural mechanics to the level of final year Bachelor of Engineering..

Spatial data ­— data tied to a specific geographical location or area — is ubiquitously available and provides rich insight into our natural and built environment, social and economic activities and much more. Geographical Information Science (GIS) provides the concepts, methods and tools to analyse such data, using the spatial component of the data as an integral part of the analysis. Remote Sensing (RS) systems image the entire Earth on daily basis. RS methods allow the derivation of a wide range of spatial information from the imagery, providing a major source of spatial data. GIS and RS are used in a wide range of disciplines including hydrology, natural resource management, climate change and infrastructure planning. This module introduces the theoretical foundations and trains the student in using these techniques to solve problems and support decision making, with an emphasis on Civil and Environmental Engineering practice.

Nature Based Solutions (NBS) are defined by International Union for Conservation of Nature as actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, which address societal challenges (e.g., climate change, water security or natural disasters) effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. NBS are increasingly used as a more sustainable way of managing environments or environmental systems. NBS use nature¿s own resources (clean air, water, plants, and soil) to provide cost-effective environmental, social, and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring more diverse nature and natural features and processes into existing networks and infrastructure systems including cities, landscapes, and coastal areas, through site specific, locally adapted, resource-efficient interventions. Engineers are working to restore natural buffering systems (e.g., wetlands and tree canopies), utilise green infrastructure, and better manage natural areas to restore riparian corridors, create resilient coastal ecosystems, manage flood risk, enhance water quality and waste treatment, improve air quality, mitigate climate change and more. NBS are often seen as an alternative, more sustainable solution to hard engineered infrastructure solution (by fulfilling multiple services and / by having fewer adverse characteristics). However, NBS cannot be unilaterally implemented due to prevailing characteristics of the built and natural environments. The module will provide the knowledge and skills needed to explore, critically assess, and evaluate the ¿why¿, ¿how¿ and utility of NBS to protect, manage and restore ecosystems vulnerable to societal and environmental challenges. An important part of the module will be to critically assess, compare, and determine the feasibility of different solutions drawn from literature and case studies where NBS have been successful implemented. .The module will draw on the desire of communities to live in green spaces and explore options for engineers to design and integrate facilities within ecosystems in a way that benefits ecological and human health. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of NBS, the module will explore different environments (air, water, coastal, rural, and urban) ensuring the interaction between different research disciplines such as coastal management, wastewater treatment, air quality, material and infrastructure, and urban management.

Earthquake engineering module aims to cover the fundamental concepts associated with the way earthquakes are generated, principles behind seismic  hazard analysis, methods to analyse behaviour of structures and foundations under seismic loading, behaviour of ground during earthquakes (ground response analysis and liquefaction). It also covers earthquake resistant design principles.

Geotechnical engineers and structural engineers tend to approach soil-structure interaction problems quite differently.  On the one hand, geotechnical engineers take great care over the representation of the soil, but then often assume the structure to be either perfectly flexible or perfectly rigid.  Structural engineers, on the other hand, may spend a great deal of time ensuring the structure is modelled as realistically as possible, but then often assume that the supporting soil behaves like a bed of linear elastic springs.  For routine design, either approach may be sufficiently accurate – and it may be difficult to justify the cost of more rigorous modelling. When the situation demands, it will be necessary to create models that take into account the real behaviour of both soil and structure, and this module will provide you with some of the tools for doing this.  A range of soil-structure interaction models and solution methods will be covered, ranging from the simple to the complex.  At the conclusion of the module, you will be in a better position to judge what level of model may be appropriate for a given situation, and what information will be required in order to set up the analysis.  In addition, you should be able to evaluate the analysis output with a clearer understanding of the strengths and limitations of the chosen representation.

Modern structural engineers are expected to design structures that are not only safe and stable, but also sustainable and resilient. This module is concerned with the analysis and design of steel and composite construction, focusing on multi-storey buildings. In this module, students develop the skills to evaluate the structural steel design process from the brief to the construction stage, including essential aspects related to structural integrity, sustainability and whole-life performance, constructability and health and safety. To effectively work with design codes, engineers must understand the underpinning fundamentals of steel and composite ultimate state design to Eurocode 3 and Eurocode 4, including global and member stability, analysis and design methods. Fundamental concepts related to the performance-based design of steel structures in the context of extreme loading conditions are also introduced. Moreover, specific analysis and design procedures for cold-formed sections are covered. Ultimately, particular attention is given to the overall design process by placing key sustainability drivers at the centre of the material selection, design and construction thinking.

The Finite Element Method (FEM) is the most commonly used tool in practice for structural design and analysis of bridges, buildings and other types of structures. In order to carry out a successful FE analysis, a basic knowledge of the theory behind the FEM is required as well as an understanding of the applications to different types of structural elements & analyses. This module covers both of these two aspects which are essential for learning how to perform a FE analysis. There is an expectations that students on this module have prior knowledge of structural engineering to the level of final year BEng.

Infrastructure systems have become increasingly complex and interconnected which results in strong interdependencies between them. These systems may become fragile and subject to disruptions that can have significant consequences both in the local as well as national and global level. This module forms the foundation required for systems thinking in infrastructure by introducing the background required for modelling the interconnected nature of infrastructure systems and understanding the different types of interdependencies that exist between them. It also provides an overview of the different types of risks that need to be considered for assessing the resilience of infrastructure systems and discusses the different adaptation and mitigation options available for sustaining their continuous operation and preventing cascading failures.

This module is designed to provide insights into aspects of advanced soil mechanics, including soil constitutive models, soil parameter selections and determinations, which are necessary to carry out design of geotechnical structures and foundations. It will also introduce the Finite Element Models and its applications to analyse typical soil-structure interaction problems. It builds upon the fundamental knowledge from module ENG2104 Soil Mechanics, thus a revision to the essential basics is given at the start of the module.

ENGM270 Energy Geotechnics is a postgraduate module focused on the geotechnical design principles essential for contemporary and emerging energy infrastructure projects. The curriculum encompasses shallow geothermal energy systems, renewable energy foundations for both offshore and onshore wind turbines, offshore oil and gas installation foundations, and nuclear power systems. Specialised lectures cover high-level nuclear waste disposal and carbon geo-sequestration. Key topics include heat transport in soils, geothermal energy pile systems, and offshore wind turbine foundation design, supplemented by practical coursework on numerical modelling of geothermal systems. The module is designed for students with a foundational understanding of soil and structural mechanics, equivalent to a final-year Bachelor of Engineering.

This module is aimed at familiarising students with the concept of the economics of infrastructure. It introduces the background behind investment and funding required for the financial planning of infrastructure and discusses the various forms of funding available for infrastructure (public, private and combined), including their merits and limitations. Financing models for different infrastructure sectors are described. Different types of risks associated with infrastructure investments are reviewed and their assessment and prioritisation within changing economic climates is studied. Within the context of whole-life infrastructure engineering, this module covers the initial financial planning phase of infrastructure projects with other infrastructure-themed modules (ENGM265, ENGM266) covering the remaining life-cycle stages and expanding further on whole-life risks (ENGM264).

Reinforced concrete design is taught to different levels and to different codes in Universities worldwide and those entering the MSc at the University of Surrey have a variety of backgrounds.  The course is based on the Eurocodes and includes the role of the designer in building construction, health and safety and sustainability issues, and challenges students to develop conceptual ideas on a design rather than just delivering a design from a drawing.  The module includes the design of simple elements such as beams, slabs, flat slab including punching shear, slender and short column design and shear wall design. This module is for students with knowledge of structural analysis at final year BEng level..

This is a compulsory module of the MSc in Water and Environmental Engineering. It is an optional module for the MEng programme in Civil Engineering and for the MS in Infrastructure Engineering.  The module teaches theory and practice of numerical tools for the simulation of river hydraulics and urban drainage networks. These tools are essential for the planning and design of sustainable flood alleviation schemes in the civil engineering practice.  

Civil engineers are often called on to design systems that will support large structures at depth or steep / vertical faces in soil. The former case will normally require large foundations, sometimes at depth whereas the latter may require an earth-retaining structure of some kind. Ground modifications techniques are often employed to improve the physical properties of ground before construction begins.  This module applies the basic principles of soil mechanics to the safe and sustainable design of large foundations and earth-retaining structures. It is expected that students taking this module have a background knowledge of soil mechanics and structural mechanics to the level of final year Bachelor of Engineering..

Spatial data ­— data tied to a specific geographical location or area — is ubiquitously available and provides rich insight into our natural and built environment, social and economic activities and much more. Geographical Information Science (GIS) provides the concepts, methods and tools to analyse such data, using the spatial component of the data as an integral part of the analysis. Remote Sensing (RS) systems image the entire Earth on daily basis. RS methods allow the derivation of a wide range of spatial information from the imagery, providing a major source of spatial data. GIS and RS are used in a wide range of disciplines including hydrology, natural resource management, climate change and infrastructure planning. This module introduces the theoretical foundations and trains the student in using these techniques to solve problems and support decision making, with an emphasis on Civil and Environmental Engineering practice.

Nature Based Solutions (NBS) are defined by International Union for Conservation of Nature as actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, which address societal challenges (e.g., climate change, water security or natural disasters) effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. NBS are increasingly used as a more sustainable way of managing environments or environmental systems. NBS use nature¿s own resources (clean air, water, plants, and soil) to provide cost-effective environmental, social, and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring more diverse nature and natural features and processes into existing networks and infrastructure systems including cities, landscapes, and coastal areas, through site specific, locally adapted, resource-efficient interventions. Engineers are working to restore natural buffering systems (e.g., wetlands and tree canopies), utilise green infrastructure, and better manage natural areas to restore riparian corridors, create resilient coastal ecosystems, manage flood risk, enhance water quality and waste treatment, improve air quality, mitigate climate change and more. NBS are often seen as an alternative, more sustainable solution to hard engineered infrastructure solution (by fulfilling multiple services and / by having fewer adverse characteristics). However, NBS cannot be unilaterally implemented due to prevailing characteristics of the built and natural environments. The module will provide the knowledge and skills needed to explore, critically assess, and evaluate the ¿why¿, ¿how¿ and utility of NBS to protect, manage and restore ecosystems vulnerable to societal and environmental challenges. An important part of the module will be to critically assess, compare, and determine the feasibility of different solutions drawn from literature and case studies where NBS have been successful implemented. .The module will draw on the desire of communities to live in green spaces and explore options for engineers to design and integrate facilities within ecosystems in a way that benefits ecological and human health. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of NBS, the module will explore different environments (air, water, coastal, rural, and urban) ensuring the interaction between different research disciplines such as coastal management, wastewater treatment, air quality, material and infrastructure, and urban management.

Earthquake engineering module aims to cover the fundamental concepts associated with the way earthquakes are generated, principles behind seismic  hazard analysis, methods to analyse behaviour of structures and foundations under seismic loading, behaviour of ground during earthquakes (ground response analysis and liquefaction). It also covers earthquake resistant design principles.

Geotechnical engineers and structural engineers tend to approach soil-structure interaction problems quite differently.  On the one hand, geotechnical engineers take great care over the representation of the soil, but then often assume the structure to be either perfectly flexible or perfectly rigid.  Structural engineers, on the other hand, may spend a great deal of time ensuring the structure is modelled as realistically as possible, but then often assume that the supporting soil behaves like a bed of linear elastic springs.  For routine design, either approach may be sufficiently accurate – and it may be difficult to justify the cost of more rigorous modelling. When the situation demands, it will be necessary to create models that take into account the real behaviour of both soil and structure, and this module will provide you with some of the tools for doing this.  A range of soil-structure interaction models and solution methods will be covered, ranging from the simple to the complex.  At the conclusion of the module, you will be in a better position to judge what level of model may be appropriate for a given situation, and what information will be required in order to set up the analysis.  In addition, you should be able to evaluate the analysis output with a clearer understanding of the strengths and limitations of the chosen representation.