Master of Science in Advanced Structural Engineering

at Heriot-Watt University - Edinburgh Campus United Kingdom

MSc Brewing and Distilling with Entrepreneurship is designed to provide students with high level education in brewing and distilling and key transferable professional skills which will provide entry to careers in these industries, including private entrepreneurial ventures.

Business practices and demands in brewing and distilling are changing rapidly.  Graduates of this programme will possess the skills to assess and address both technical and entrepreneurial challenges as they arise in the industry.

Our series of ‘Fit for work’ events held on campus include seminars, talks, networking and recruitment exercises and involve a range of industry professionals from graduates with their own companies, to representatives from the major breweries and distilling companies.

Climate change is recognised as having potentially huge impacts on the environment and on human society. This programme is designed to give students an understanding of climate change causes, impacts, mitigation and adaptation measures from a life science perspective. Students will also develop a wide variety of mathematical modelling skills that can be used to investigate the impacts of climate change.

The programme closely follows the structure of our Applied Mathematical Sciences MSc. Two of the mandatory courses will specifically focus on the issues related to climate change and are taught by expert staff from the University's School of Life Sciences.

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.

At Heriot Watt, we are delivering a new MSc programme in Subsurface Energy Systems (SES) that will edcate you about unlocking energy resources with a low carbon footprint. This will be a stepping stone for your career in industry, government, non-government organisations (NGOs) or academia.

The programme addresses key concepts in subsurface energy and CO2 storage, geothermal energy or transitional gas while integrating geoscience, engineering, political and societal aspects. It will appeal to geoscientists, reservoir engineers, governmental stakeholders and all those interested in the management of subsurface reservoirs used to switch from a fossil fuel-driven economy to a decarbonised one, using natural gas as a transitional energy resource. Its production from unconventional reservoirs comes with environmental risks that we have to assess and control. This degree is delivered jointly by The Lyell Centre and the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering.

The recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts serious consequences from further emitting CO2 into the atmosphere, thereby accelerating man-made climate change. This requires a drastic decarbonisation of our economies by switching from fossil fuels to renewable energies like wind, solar, hydro, or geothermal or by implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS) at scale. Renewable energies can readily be used in the form of electrical power. When electricity production exceeds the demand, electricity can be stored in grids or batteries at limited capacity. At larger scale, electricity can be stored in the subsurface after conversion to, for example, hydrogen, thermal energy, or compressed air until needed, allowing for back-production within short and longer time scales of hours to years.

In comparison to temporary energy storage, CCS aims at safe and permanent storage. The UK and especially offshore storage sites in Scotland are attractive targets for CCS and considered to extend the lifetime of oil and gas reservoirs significantly, thereby strengthening the related industrial sectors. The combined technologies of geothermal energy production, subsurface energy storage or CCS refer to the geoengineering aspects of subsurface energy systems (SES). In this context, SES rather refers to the integration of geoenergy applications with energy production at the surface as well as economic, societal and policy aspects.

There is a significant demand globally for research and training in these technologies, given that many small and large integrated oil and gas companies are decarbonising their assets, which at the same time, needs to be monitored and regulated by governmental bodies. Councils across the UK and Europe are increasingly looking at the subsurface for storing or producing energy.

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.

Our MSc Translating programme is designed for those who want to work as professional translators or in the field of translating.

This programme's main focus is on translation and translation technologies. However, you can also choose from a broad range of optional courses in professionally relevant subjects to tailor your programme to your interests and professional needs, such as Subtitling, International Politics, Business Communication, Localisation & Technical Writing, or study a new language.

This popular course meets the high demand for mathematically trained graduates who are aware of the operation of international finance, investment and capital markets, and able to combine expertise in these areas. The course combines courses in mathematics from a foundation level up to the edge of current research with courses in all the key areas of modern finance. Graduates will be able to contribute at the highest level to financial analysis and decision making. As a major financial centre, Edinburgh offers excellent career opportunities.

Our BSc Computer Science (Data Science) degree focuses on constructing robust and useable 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.

In the later years of the course, you’ll have the option to specialise and develop the skills needed to be a data scientist. Specifically, you will have the ability to develop and perform large-scale, repeatable data analyses grounded in statistical modelling. The term data science is often used interchangeably with big data or data analytics. It is becoming increasingly important as huge amounts of complex academic, business and government data are being generated from many largely online sources. This swelling lake of data needs increasing numbers of skilled personnel with the capacity to analyse and make sense of it all. That in turn requires that such personnel be trained in the latest skills and techniques in data science.

This degree covers the main Civil Engineering disciplines of structures, geotechnics, water engineering and transportation engineering, and provides students with the key skills and knowledge required to become chartered civil engineers. The core curriculum includes instruction in all main subject areas, concentrating on analysis and materials behaviour, with a focus on design and management in the specialisation years. Throughout, there is an emphasis on the personal development of students within a professional environment.

Our degrees are supported by the Civil Engineering Industry Advisory Committee, which includes representatives from major multi-national employers offering advice, guidance and work placement opportunities.

Petroleum engineering is central to safe, efficient and sustainable development of oil and gas assets to meet global energy and resource demands.

Since its establishment in 1975, the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering (IGE) at Heriot-Watt University has delivered its internationally renowned petroleum engineering MSc programme, providing thousands of graduates with the knowledge and skills to tackle the oil and gas industry’s most challenging problems across the globe. The programme offers an interdisciplinary approach to exploration and extraction of petroleum resources.

Programme content

The programme encompasses a wide range of applied petroleum engineering fundamentals, leading to development of a technically well-prepared graduate with a sound knowledge of the industry – through eight taught courses and two projects. During the field development project, students work together on real field data, considering the technical, economic and environmental aspects involved. For the individual research project, students select a specialist topic, for example related to geosciences, enhanced oil recovery, production chemistry or advanced drilling and completions, offered both by the Institute and by the industry.