Sustainable land and groundwater management and urban land problems and engineering are important global and current environmental issues. Sustainable Land Management refers to practices and technologies that aim at integrating the management of land, water and other environmental resources to meet human needs while ensuring the long-term sustainability of ecosystem services and livelihoods. Worldwide, population pressures and severe degradation, pollution and desertification problems are threatening this – for several countries relatively scarce – natural resource, and cause competition between agricultural or industrial purposes, urban planning and nature conservation. To guarantee a proper use and management of this basic commodity for a nation, well trained specialists with a thorough knowledge of the properties and characteristics of this natural resource, and a solid insight in factors and measures that may alter its actual state and value are warranted and call for a high standard scientific and practical education.

The Master of Science in Sustainable Land Management is a two-year, full-time programme. Students can choose between two main subjects: Land and Groundwater Management, and Urban Land Engineering.

The Land and Groundwater Management main subject aims at training researchers, academics, government staff and expert consultants in the inventory and detailed characterisation of land capacity, and of groundwater in particular. Graduates should be able to understand the development and evolution of groundwater under natural conditions or following human interference using field, map, laboratory and remote sensing data. They should have the scientific knowledge to use and manage land and water in a sustainable way, and to optimise land and groundwater use under different natural and environmental conditions.

The Urban Land Engineering main subject aims at training researchers, academics, government staff and expert consultants in the inventory and detailed characterization of land capacity, and of urban land in particular. Graduates should be able to understand urban hydrology and hydraulics, and the problem of sustainable mobility and logistics, using field, map, laboratory and remote sensing data. They should have the scientific knowledge to use and manage urban land and water in a sustainable way, and to optimise urban land use under different natural and environmental conditions.

The first-year curriculum, and that of the Land and Groundwater Management main subject in the second year are organised at Ghent University, whereas all the course units of the Urban Land Engineering main subject in the second year are lectured at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. There is one common course unit in the second year: “Integrated Project”, assuring coherence between both majors.

An important part of the second-year curriculum is allocated to the Master’s dissertation. Students have to integrate the knowledge they acquired by means of (guided) self-study, which involves experimental work, data analysis and interpretation, writing and communication. The Master’s dissertation is an important benchmark for the final competencies the students have obtained.

Experts in physical land resources are in high demand to address the many challenges ahead of us, particularly resulting from the lack of similar programmes worldwide. The implementation of various directives on environmental and climate change, and addressing the sustainable development goals, calls for well-trained personnel in physical land resources, both in the Global North and South. The great majority of alumni are very satisfied with the programme and with the opportunities it created for their current jobs. Most alumni are employed in theory-oriented and applied research at universities or research institutes; policy making at (inter)governmental and non-governmental organisations; education, training, extension or rural innovation; design, management and interventions at small to medium-sized enterprises or corporate businesses; or take up a consultancy or advisory position.