Sustainable Geoenergy

Entry requirements

A minimum of a 2:2 honours degree or non-UK equivalent in engineering or a physical or earth science discipline. Accepted science degrees include Chemistry, Geology, Maths, Physics, Computing, Environmental, Geophysics, Hydrology. Applicants should ideally have good basic mathematical capability.

Equivalent academic ability based on industrial experience or membership of a professional institution will also be considered.

We welcome applications from international students and accept qualifications from around the world. Please refer to the entry requirements for your country for more details.

English language requirements

If your first language is not English, we'll need to see evidence of your English language ability.

The minimum English language requirement for entry to this programme is IELTS 6.0 (or equivalent) with no score lower than 5.5.

If you do not have IELTS 6.0, we offer a range of English language courses to help you meet the English language requirement for this programme prior to commencing your studies.

Please see our detailed English language requirements.

Months of entry

September

Course content

MSc Sustainable Geoenergy equips you with the knowledge and skills to manage geoenergy resources in a holistic, safe, and cost-effective manner. It will appeal to science and engineering graduates or those of you from a different numerate academic background who are interested in the management of subsurface reservoirs used to switch from a fossil fuel-driven economy to a decarbonised one.

You’ll address key concepts in subsurface energy and CO2 storage, geothermal energy or transitional gas while integrating geoscience, engineering, and political and societal aspects into your learning. You’ll consider geoenergy resources, the application of technologies to geoenergy management, and ethics relevant to professional engineering practice. You’ll integrate theory and practice, and learn relevant statistical, scientific, and economical skills.  

This career-focused master’s programme will develop your technical, scientific, and managerial abilities, relevant for a career in academia, industry, government and non-governmental organisations.

Your student experience

Our expertise

Your learning will be informed by experts in geoenergy engineering and applied geoscience from our Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering at the Edinburgh campus, part of Heriot-Watt’s School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society. The School is one of the United Kingdom’s leading institutions for multidisciplinary research and teaching in areas critical to economic development and societal equity.

You’ll also benefit from teaching and research at the Lyell Centre, a leading centre in earth, marine and ecosystem sciences, and a collaboration between the British Geological Survey and Heriot-Watt University.

Finally, you will experience guest lecturers from industry who share best-practices and real-world case studies.

The research relevance of this postgraduate programme ensures your studies remain innovative and industry focused. 

Your learning environment

The Subsurface Energy Systems programme is taught though a combination of lectures, tutorials, and project work allowing you to get to know and build relationships with your teaching staff, academics, and peers. You will be assessed by coursework, exams, written reports and oral presentation, including group presentations. You’ll be supported and receive feedback throughout the programme.

During your studies, you’ll benefit from and have access to our specialist equipment, state-of-the-art computer technology and industry standard software. You will have the opportunity to work on real-world problems individually and collaboratively to deliver practical solutions with global impact.

Outside of the classroom, you can get involved with the Heriot-Watt Student Union, based at the Edinburgh campus, and there are lots of ways to do so including participating in student groups, becoming an Academic Rep, and joining societies. Societies provide a great opportunity to meet likeminded people, get involved in regular social and networking events, and gain insights into career prospects.  You may be particularly interested in joining some academically related societies including:

• Eco Society
• Geography Society
• Net Zero Society

Customsie your learning

You’ll take eight mandatory courses encompassing a wide range of subsurface geoscience and engineering fundamentals, relevant to the current petroleum, subsurface storage or geothermal industry.

In semester three, you’ll strengthen your collaborative and communication skills through the group project where you will assess real data from a field such as carbon dioxide, energy storage or geothermal energy, or natural gas production. The data will be like that which would be available to an operator prior to making a development decision. Your collective analysis of the data will lead to the design of an appropriate production or storage strategy. Through this exercise, you’ll gain valuable insight into the use of imperfect and incomplete data, integrate knowledge from prior learning from the taught courses, and increase your collaborative problem-solving skills. The project also provides the basis for in-depth discussion of the regulatory, economic, and societal challenges related to these technologies.

You can customise your learning in semester three to match your specific interests or desired career pathway by choosing the topic of subsurface geoscience or engineering in which you’ll complete your detailed individual project. Projects are offered by the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering and by industry, and normally include a wide choice of experimental research, computer modelling, and real-world problems.

You programme is studied full time for 12 months at our Edinburgh campus commencing in September.

Employability

Our MSc will prepare you for a wide range of career opportunities in many different sectors.

Potential career paths

• Traditional oil and gas sector
• Emerging geothermal industry
• Wider energy sector
• Government agencies and regulating bodies
• Non-government organisations (NGOs)
• Academia

Information for international students

Fees and funding

Scholarships and bursaries