Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Data Sciences

at Heriot-Watt University - Edinburgh Campus United Kingdom

Our Actuarial Science degree is ideal if you’re interested in maths and looking for a course that offers a rewarding career – both intellectually and financially. As 30% of teaching staff are qualified actuaries, this degree also offers current teaching that’s always applicable to the real workplace and current economy. There are also opportunities for industry placements and an exchange year in Canada or Australia.

Results from the latest Destinations of Leavers of Higher Education (DLHE) survey show that 85% of our Mathematics and Statistics (including Actuarial Science) graduates are employed with a graduate position, or continuing further studies.

This MSc in Logistics with Green and Sustainable Supply Chain Management from the Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University provides in-depth understanding of current practices, trends and issues in logistics and supply chain with a key focus on sustainability and green logistics.

It examines the impact of logistics on the environment along with ways of mitigating environmental damage, and considers the differences between the strategic, tactical and operational aspects of green logistics management.

The MA in Finance is focused on graduate employability in the financial sector in its broadest sense. The course is a specialist degree responding to the rapid growth in global financial services. It is particularly suited to those seeking entry into the banking or investment management sectors, both nationally and internationally, covering a range of relevant specialist topics in finance.

Whilst studying this degree you will have the opportunity to enhance your employability skills through the use of Heriot-Watt's state-of-the-art Bloomberg Trading Lab which opened on Edinburgh campus in 2018. Students can use 16 industry-standard Bloomberg Trading Terminals to access up to the minute financial data and learn financial analytics as well as so much more.

The MSc in International Marketing provides detailed knowledge of contemporary marketing concepts coupled with the scope for specialisation.

There are eight taught courses, divided equally over two semesters, followed by an international marketing dissertation in semester 3.  Part-time students register for two courses per semester and progress to the dissertation at the end of their second year. Assessment is specifically designed to develop professional career readiness and includes several collaborative projects with industry partners.

Mandatory courses deliver core international marketing concepts (International Strategic Marketing, Contemporary Consumer Behaviour, Branding and Communications, Research Philosophy and Practice) as well as specialist marketing knowledge (Marketing Metrics, Sustainable Marketing).

 Students can select two course options as business related specialisms - one for each semester.  These include digital technology (Strategic Innovation Management, Contemporary Business Technology, Social Media Marketing), business performance (Project Management, Measuring and Managing Performance) and the contextualisation of marketing (Issues and Trends in Tourism, Entrepreneurship Creativity, Legal Context of Marketing). For those who wish an more detailed introduction to marketing practice, there is also an option in Marketing.  

 In Semester 3 the International Marketing dissertation is the capstone course where students “deep-dive” into their chosen area of research.  Students will demonstrate their mastery of the subject area by developing new insight from analysis of valuable primary research.

The International Marketing MSc reflects the fact that Heriot Watt is a truly global university with campuses in Dubai and Malaysia.  Our aim is to enable you to become a highly employable citizen of the world.

Our MSc Information Technology (Business) offers analytical, practical and theoretical courses that combine study of business management and software engineering. They cover the design and development of IT systems, the management of data and IT, business organisation and strategy, project leadership and e-commerce.

The programme does not emphasise computer programming but instead seeks to develop graduates with well developed analytical and project management skills that help them become effective communicators / managers working between software developers and business strategists.

In some cases, the MSc project can be carried out in collaboration with an outside industrial or academic organisation.

Graduates from the programme would be suitable for employment with IT companies, company R&D divisions, financial services organisations, defence contractors or government IT agencies or could register for a PhD.

If you are looking for a career in the world of finance and love mathematical challenges, then Financial Mathematics is the degree for you. Just as civil engineering deals with the design, construction and maintenance of buildings and roads, financial mathematics is concerned with the design, construction and maintenance of financial products. It is well known that careers in financial mathematics offer some of the best salaries of all professions and graduates working in this area thrive on being offered many interesting challenges on a day-to-day basis.

Our Financial Mathematics programme develops the skills and knowledge required by the modern investment and asset management industry, where structured finance and relative value trading strateges dominate. The emphasis is on developing a range of practical skills relevant to the increasingly mathematical and ever-changing world of contemporary finance.

Financial Mathematics isn't just for aspiring bankers. The UK Government is the single biggest user of structured finance, through the Private Finance Initiative. Graduates are also attractive to the treasury function of international corporations and to the trading arm of commodities companies.

Students on the Financial Mathematics degree follow the same programme as Actuarial Science students for the first two years. The programmes diverge in third year and in the fourth year Financial Mathematics students will be able to study courses alongside Master's students on the Quantitative Finance and Mathematics programme. The aim is for Financial Mathematics graduates to achieve a skill set comparable to those graduating with a Master's degree.

Our BSc Computer Science degree focuses on constructing robust and usable systems. As well as looking at cutting edge tools and techniques, it’s designed to help you build the next generation of software tools that other system constructors will use. The course aims to give a well integrated balance of theoretical underpinnings and practical experience, strongly informed by the research expertise of our academic staff.

All Year 3 students take part in a year-long group project, where they co-operate in tackling a large, realistic problem. Year 4 students conduct a major, year-long, individual dissertation project.

You can take advantage of our international campuses by taking part in an Inter-Campus Transfer. This gives you the opportunity to study Computer Science at our Dubai campus for a semester or a year.

Our internationally recognised MSc Real Estate is designed to align your skills to the educational requirements of the industry’s professional bodies. Global relevance and employability are at the core of our curriculum design. The programme will enable you to understand the operation of real estate markets and develop a deep understanding of the techniques applied in them. You will gain the key skills necessary to embark on a wide range of careers in the global real estate industry.

This Masters programme is especially suitable if you have a non-real estate related degree and desire to develop skills and knowledge in the real estate sector. The MSc will lead to exciting employment opportunities across the industry.

Industry links:
This programme benefits from the expertise of research-active and industry-minded staff. Along with teaching staff, several honorary professors from industry guest lecture and advise on student research projects.

The MSc in Computing is a two year postgraduate degree. The first year imparts the knowledge and skills needed to study the subject at masters level in the second.

This new degree is open to graduates coming from any discipline. They will start by learning the art of software engineering, study some key computing topics and develop relevant research and technical English skills that prepare them for advanced study of computer science in the following year.

At the end of Year 1 students may progress to Year 2 or graduate instead with a Graduate Diploma in Computer Science.

Software engineers create and maintain software applications using best practice from computer science, project management, engineering, application domains and other fields. This programme is designed to teach students how to apply state-of-the-art techniques and methodologies to develop high quality software to professional standards at an advanced level.

Students will be able to specialise in particular areas, such as the development of dependable systems, parallel or big data applications, advanced interactive systems like games, or novel applications using biologically inspired models of computing.

In some cases the project can be carried out in collaboration with an outside industrial or academic organisation.

Graduates from the programme can expect to find employment with software houses, IT companies, R+D divisions of companies, financial services organisations, defence contractors or government IT agencies and as researchers or research students within universities.