Petroleum Engineering

Entry requirements

Masters (MSc) level entry applicants must have one of the following:

• Minimum of 2:2 honours degree or equivalent academic qualification in a related subject area.
• For postgraduate conversion courses, non-related degrees will be considered.
• Corporate (or chartered) membership of relevant professional institutions will also be considered

Candidates who do not meet the above entry requirements or have no formal academic qualifications will be considered individually based on their CV and possibly interview. Admission via this route will be at the discretion of the Director of Recruitment.

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 Admissions Team (studywithus@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, September

Course content

MSc Petroleum Engineering equips you with knowledge and skills to work internationally in the oil and gas industry to the standard required. It will appeal to science and engineering graduates or those of you from a different numerate academic background who are interested in developing sustainable oil and gas assets to meet global energy and resource demands.

You’ll develop skills in the fundamental concepts, theories, and principles of the main petroleum engineering and geoscience disciplines which are:

• Reservoir engineering

• Petroleum geology

• Drilling engineering

• Formation evaluation

• Reservoir simulation

• Petroleum economics

• Production technology

• Well test analysis

You’ll use leading computer software tools for design and analysis, integrate theory into practice, and understand the ethics and standards involved in professional engineering practice, using your knowledge to problem solve in a variety of contexts.

As a graduate, you will be able to join an oil company asset team as a productive member and be able to apply your learning to real oilfield problems. Your studies will also provide you with multiple transferrable skills that may be of use for carbon storage and subsurface energy exploitation.

You will learn at our Edinburgh campus and benefit from teaching and research activities at the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering. The institute is a leading centre of excellence in geoenergy engineering and applied geoscience and offers postgraduate programmes of study which meet the needs of the wider energy industry.

We work closely with industry to ensure our course content is up-to-date and reflects the current and emerging needs of industry and employers. You’ll gain the right blend of knowledge, practical skills, and soft skills to set you up for life after graduation. 

Information for international students

If English is not the applicant’s first language a minimum of IELTS 6.5 or equivalent is required with all elements passed at 6.0 or above. Please refer to English language requirements for further details.

Some applicants may be asked for alternative evidence in line with UKVI recognised English speaking countries. Applicants who have previously successfully completed courses delivered in the medium of English language may be considered and will be required to provide documentary evidence of this. Examples would be secondary school education or undergraduate degree. A minimum of at least one year of full time study (or equivalent) in the medium of English language will be required.

All evidence of English language needs to be dated within two years of the commencement of study.

We also offer a range of English language courses to help you meet the English language requirement prior to starting your master’s programme:

• 20 weeks English (for IELTS of 5.0 with no skill lower than 4.5)
• 14 weeks English (for IELTS of 5.0 with minimum of 5.0 in writing and no skill lower than 4.5)
• 10 weeks English (for IELTS of 5.5 with no skill lower than 5.0)
• 6 weeks English (for IELTS 5.5 with no skill lower than 5.5)

Fees and funding

See University website