Master of Science in Actuarial Science

at Heriot-Watt University - Edinburgh Campus United Kingdom

Cell and Molecular Biology (Biochemistry) is the basic science underpinning our understanding of all life processes. In this course, we cover cell and molecular biological aspects of animals and plants, and provide the broad understanding necessary for a career in the biomedical/pharmaceutical, food and biotechnological industries as well as providing a sound foundation for further research.

If you want to start your career with a year's work experience in hand, then you should consider this course. It combines the rigorous studies of the BSc (Hons) Computer Science with a year of work placement in level 4. Good performance means 12 months experience of working in an organisation in the computing sector. The Diploma in Industrial Training is gained through successful completion of the work placement. The work placement helps you to develop specific work-related skills, giving you the opportunity to apply and build upon the theory you’ve learned. This course aims to give a well-integrated balance of theoretical underpinnings and practical experience, strongly informed by the research expertise of our academic staff.

Our BEng (Hons) Architectural Engineering covers a broad range of engineering-related disciplines including mechanics, construction, energy, thermal performance, water and wastewater, acoustics, and human behaviour.

The degree is designed to give you the knowledge and skills needed by industry to design buildings of the future that not only provide sustainable and low-energy built environments that have a positive influence on the health and wellbeing of the people who use them, but buildings that are also resilient and adaptable to future climate change. The later years of the degree focus on practical inter-disciplinary design and management skills, with an emphasis on your personal development as an architectural engineer within the professional environment.

Our architectural engineering degrees are supported by the Architectural Engineering Industrial Advisory Board, which includes representatives from major multi-national employers, ensuring our degrees are exactly what industry needs.

This course provides graduates with advanced mathematical skills and fluency in their chosen language, offering a valuable combination of technical expertise and linguistic excellence. Mathematical and language skills will be enhanced by studying mathematics for a year at one of the foreign partner universities. Languages on offer are French (G1R1), German (G1R2) and Spanish (G1R4). Graduates in mathematics and languages are consistently near the top of graduate employment tables, and the coupling of disciplines in this degree course ensures a highly marketable qualification.

This is an advanced, specialist course in the rapidly expanding area of renewable energy engineering with a clear Mechanical Engineering focus. The course is aimed at students wishing to develop critical understanding of the significant changes afoot in the energy system due to the development and integration of wind, marine, biomass and solar technologies. The course will enable graduates to develop and implement creative solutions to the problems encountered in renewable energy capture, conversion, storage and management.

Students will gain the knowledge and skills to assess renewable energy resources, design appropriate renewable energy systems, evaluate the performance of these systems and assess the wider impacts of renewable energy development. The course provides introductory courses to fundamental energy science and current energy issues, while the project-led courses focus on the design of renewable energy systems. The course concludes with a research-led dissertation in the summer.

Renewable energy research focuses on six main areas:

• Photovoltaics and Solar Energy
• Wind and Marine Energy
• Renewable Energy Systems
• Minimising CO2 Emissions
• Biofuels
• Wind and Marine Energy

MSc Artificial Intelligence (2 years) is a newly designed two-year conversion programme. It has been created to provide the perfect stepping stone for students aiming for a career in artificial intelligence, who may not be coming directly from a computing background.

This two year programme offers an opportunity for students looking to transition to a new career path in artificial intelligence (AI), who may be coming from a background outside computing. Whether your experience lies in psychology, linguistics, science, technology or the arts, this pathway programme is a rare opportunity to become well-versed in the advanced, challenging field of AI.

The programme aims to provide intensive and high-quality preparatory graduate and postgraduate education in artificial intelligence, all within just two years. The collective programme will be taught by a variety of traditional and innovative means, making use of applied topical material relevant to research and industry. This will create a supply of robustly prepared postgraduates with skills relevant to research and industrial applications of AI, in the UK and internationally.

Data science today is becoming increasingly important within the actuarial field, and Heriot-Watt has developed this unique new programme to meet this growing actuarial demand.

Taking our MSc in Actuarial Management with Data Science is a great way to speed your progress to this most prestigious of careers - it's designed to take you almost all of the way to qualification. Our MSc in Actuarial Management is an established and successful programme covering the more advanced actuarial subjects.The MSc in Actuarial Management with Data Science introduces exciting new opportunities for actuaries of the future.

Entry to the actuarial profession is by a demanding series of examinations, but the rewards after qualifying are great. The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK has four levels of examinations to qualify. The first level, the Core Principles (CS, CM and CB) subjects, are taught in our BSc or MSc in Actuarial Science and lead to exemptions from subjects CS1, CS2, CM1, CM2, CB1 and CB2. Students will typically study CP1, CP2, CP3, two SP subjects (two SP subjects are needed to satisfy the profession's requirements) and two courses on data science applied to insurance.

Actuarial data science combines advanced statistical modelling and analysis with modern computational techniques in order to analyse potentially large datasets arising in insurance and finance. These analyses have the ability to improve forecasts and enhance decision making in an uncertain environment where rapid advancements in technology and data availability are transforming fields of actuarial work. Additionally, they are building synergies with new sectors such as medical and healthcare. This is an area of science and technology that is attracting significant interest and that will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, as more and more industries adopt data-driven and data-centric approaches.

Students graduating from the MSc will have excellent employment prospects that are not restricted to any one narrow sector of financial services. By their choice of IFoA subjects, they may target the life, pensions, asset management, investment and risk management sectors. They will be in demand in quantitative risk management roles in both banks and insurance companies, as well as fund management companies, hedge funds, consultancies, software vendors and regulatory authorities. The market for graduates with actuarial qualifications complemented with data science skills is growing fast and we expect that it will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

Ranked 2nd in Scotland and 10th in the UK for Town and Country Planning and Landscape in The Times / The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021.

Our MSc Spatial Planning and Real Estate Development course provides the foundation, knowledge and skills needed to work as a development surveyor or planner. On completion, graduates will be able to work either in the public or private sectors, advising on the complexities of property development to occupiers, investors, developers and planning authorities.

The course is designed to build understanding of the complex interactions and uncertainties of the development process. It provides students with the essential knowledge components of economics, valuation, planning, law, and regeneration and sustainability principles. It also develops an appreciation of the skills and tasks inherent in development projects, including community participation, satisfying the statutory planning considerations, undertaking the necessary financial appraisals, and achieving funding to make it happen.

In the Business Management GA programme our objective is to develop the general management and business knowledge and skills of participants in the context of contemporary private and public sector organisations, large and small.

Employees examine organisations, understand workings and relate theories to actual business practices. Throughout the programme we develop the management and business skills necessary for a professional organisation.

Commercial Management and Quantity Surveying at Heriot-Watt is designed to meet the needs of the financial management and quantity surveying sectors. The degree offers a solid theoretical base, combined with a strong focus on industrial relevance.

To enhance your career prospects and international experience, we are now offering our established and standard one year Commercial Management and Quantity Surveying Masters over two years through offering a ‘with Industry Placement’ alternative.

This Commercial Management and Quantity Surveying with Industry Placement option offers a practical experiential element over the traditional one-year degree structure, allowing students to reflect on theory in practice.