Petroleum Engineering

Entry requirements

Applicants to the MSc programme level will normally:

• have a good undergraduate degree (minimum 2:2 honours or equivalent) in engineering or a relevant science discipline, or
• demonstrate equivalent academic ability based on industrial experience or membership of a professional institution.

Heriot-Watt Online students must first take exams in two courses of the programme, Reservoir Engineering and Drilling Engineering. Based on the results from these entry courses students will continue on the programme at MSc or at PG Diploma level.

Students have access to the short course 'Introduction to Digital Study and Academic skills'. This reflective tool helps students to understand their digital learning style, their Academic English language ability and directs students to resources to help them enhance the academic skills that will be needed for successful postgraduate studies.

Mathematical requirements

Applicants will need good mathematical ability to succeed on their programmes. Students should have experience in university level mathematics of the sort commonly encountered on engineering degrees (e.g. a pass, or passes, in previous university level maths-based courses/modules) and be confident in further development of these skills.

Recognition of Prior Learning

We are committed to providing study opportunities to applicants who have a wide range of prior experiences through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). For more information on RPL, please contact the Online Admissions Team (egis-idl-apps@hw.ac.uk) ahead of application. We can only consider requests for RPL at the time of application to a course of study.

Months of entry

January, May, September

Course content

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

The degree 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 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.

Information for international students

Applicants will need a good English Language ability to succeed in their programme. Those for whom English is not their first language should have,

• Achieved a minimum of IELTS 6.5 or equivalent
• Or have successfully completed courses (of 1 year or more in duration) delivered in English.

Fees and funding

See University website