Taught course

Energy and Economics

Institution
Heriot-Watt University · School of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Qualifications
MSc

Entry requirements

A good Honours degree (first or second class) in Mechanical Engineering, another Engineering degree, Economics, Mathematics, or a degree in another quantitative discipline.

English language requirements
If your first language is not English, or your first degree was not taught in English, we'll need to see evidence of your English language ability.
The minimum English language requirement for entry to this programme is IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) with no component lower than 6.0.
If you do not have IELTS 6.5, we offer a range of English language courses to help you meet the English language requirement for this programme prior to commencing your studies:
  • 14 weeks English (for IELTS of 5.5 with minimum of 5.0 in all skills)
  • 10 weeks English (for IELTS of 5.5 with minimum of 5.5 in reading & writing and minimum of 5.0 in speaking & listening)
  • 6 weeks English (for IELTS of 5.5 with minimum 5.5 in all skills)

Months of entry

September

Course content

Overview

The MSc Energy and Economics provides you with a detailed overview of current energy issues, enabling you to apply core tools of economic analysis to the conversion and use of energy resources. You’ll learn from a cutting-edge and globally recognised syllabus, informed by the economic research carried out by Heriot-Watt University on behalf of the energy sector. You’ll develop a practical and theoretical grounding in technologies and wider knowledge and skills relevant to the energy, economics, and business sectors. The industry-relevant programme will set you up for a wide range of careers, including practising engineers, economic analysts, decision-making managers, and policy makers.

During the master’s programme, you’ll gain a broad yet details overview of energy resources conversion, the socio-economic and environmental impacts of energy-related activities and use the core tools of economic analysis, with applications to the energy sector. You’ll be introduced to current energy issues and specialist engineering and economics knowledge and skills to enable you to analyse, appraise, and design energy policy, systems, and equipment. You’ll develop a critical awareness of current issues in research and knowledge creation within specialist areas of the two disciplines, making you highly employable within the energy industry upon graduating.

The career-focused master’s programme will develop your professional and advanced communication skills. You’ll gain relevant knowledge and skills which will prepare you for a dynamic career as an energy consultant, or for a graduate job in energy economics across business, government regulation and environmental NGOs. You’ll have the opportunity to choose from optional courses to customise your learning and gain additional expertise in applied economics and finance. You’ll use your learned knowledge and skills to carry out an original research project at the forefront of knowledge on your chosen topic through your energy and economics dissertation.

You’ll benefit from the Economics department’s close links to industry-leading organisations, such as the World Bank and British Petroleum (BP), as well as wider links to the London Stock Exchange and Bloomberg. You’ll have access to several key industry figures, including Spender Dale, Chief Economist at BP, who delivers guest economics lectures.

Our Expertise

Your learning will be informed by the expertise of our research-active economists and academics in the fields of energy, the environment and developing countries. You’ll benefit from their extensive real-world experience with business and global policymakers.

Our MSc Energy and Economics is directly informed by the research carried out by Heriot-Watt’s Centre for Energy Economics Research and Policy (CEERP). This ensures your studies remain cutting-edge and industry-focused.

You’ll benefit from our innovative approach when it comes to the promotion and communication of energy research activities. Our Energy Academy, a virtual learning centre used to connect all energy-related research across the university, gives you direct access to the latest research carried out across the university. Heriot-Watt has three dedicated energy research centres which study:

  • Energy Generation, Conversion and Storage
  • Intermittency of Supply, Storage and Control
  • and Energy Policy and Strategy

Your learning environment

The MSc Energy and Economics programme is taught through a combination of lectures and tutorials, allowing you to get to know and build relationships with the teaching staff and academics. You will be assessed by coursework, exams, and your dissertation, and will receive support and feedback throughout the programme.

During your studies, you’ll benefit from and have access to our state-of-the-art facilities, including our professional-standard Bloomberg Trading Room with 12 Bloomberg Terminals to enhance your employability with data skills. These Terminals are equipped with industry-standard software that provides live financial data and trading tools to the world’s leading banks and corporations.

Outside of the classroom, you can join Heriot-Watt’s Business Society which holds regular social events and provides networking opportunities and insights into career prospects in Economics, Business, Finance, and other relevant industries.

Customise your learning

You’ll have the opportunity to focus on the areas of energy and economics that interest you the most. You can customise your degree to match your specific interests or career pathway by studying two mandatory courses and choosing six further options from a suite of over 20 specialist energy and economics courses.

In semester three, you’ll explore your chosen area of energy and economics through your dissertation. You will be required to demonstrate your mastery of the subject area by developing new insight from the analysis of valuable primary research.

You can choose whether to study the programme full-time, part-time, or by course. This flexibility allows you to fit your postgraduate studies around your lifestyle. You can begin the programme either in January or September, based on your availability, and the full-time course will last 12 months full-time or 24 months part-time. If you decide to study part-time, you register for two courses per semester and progress to the dissertation at the end of your second year.

You may have the opportunity to Go Global on our Inter-Campus Transfer. Opportunities for postgraduate study abroad are assessed on a case-by-case basis and if you are interested in studying at our Dubai campus or Malaysia campus for a semester or longer, you should contact the Go Global Team.

Industry

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

Each year our researchers and academics work closely with BP preparing data for their annual BP Statistical Review of World Energy. This is a highly regarded document used by energy experts, industry leaders, academics, and journalists all around the world.

Beyond our relationship with BP, Heriot-Watt University is also named Bloomberg Experiential Learning Partner (ELP), a programme designed by Bloomberg to recognise universities that are leaders in experiential learning. 

Our partnership with Bloomberg, and the achievement of ELP status, is a mark of our innovative approach to connecting our teaching experience with real-life practical applications. Being a Bloomberg experiential learning partner allows Heriot-Watt and Edinburgh Business School to better integrate industry-leading data, research, news and analytics into our curricula.

The Bloomberg Trading Room at HeriotHeriot-Wattrsity is unique in Scotland and enables students from different disciplines of business to better understand different aspects of markets, business behaviours and economic trends. It enables:

  • Performance comparison between different companies or industries using financial reports, company valuations, company news, company portfolios, and key changes/trends. 
  • Supply chain analysis through the company's supply chain relationships that include suppliers, customers and competitors. This enables managers to refine their supply chain configuration and strategy.
  • Market share analysis by providing key industry data, interactive charting and commentary by Bloomberg industry experts.  It also provides industry fundamental statistics, market share and other key industry-specific metrics (e.g., retailers, airlines, and global auto manufacturing)
  • Strategic portfolio analysis through creating portfolios against markets and market positions, allocation of assets and performance attribution analysis
  • Accounting and financial analysis by providing the financial history of companies and indices including current and historical income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, ratio analysis and more

Fees and funding

UK students
£9,152 (full-time) £4,576 (part-time)
International students
£20,376 (full-time) £10,188 (part-time)

See University website

Qualification, course duration and attendance options

  • MSc
    part time
    24 months
    • Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
    full time
    12 months
    • Campus-based learningis available for this qualification

Course contact details

Name
Admissions Office
Email
studywithus@hw.ac.uk