Program Overview

MSc Sustainable Geoenergy

The MSc Sustainable Geoenergy programme equips students with the knowledge and skills to manage geoenergy resources in a holistic, safe, and cost-effective manner. This career-focused master's programme will develop students' technical, scientific, and managerial abilities, relevant for a career in academia, industry, government, and non-governmental organisations.

Key Information

• Level: Postgraduate Taught
• Delivery type: Full Time
• Degree qualification: MSc
• Mode of delivery: On-Campus
• Duration: 1 year
• Location: Edinburgh
• Start date: September

Course Content

The programme covers key concepts in subsurface energy and CO2 storage, geothermal energy, or transitional gas, integrating geoscience, engineering, and political and societal aspects. Students will consider geoenergy resources, the application of technologies to geoenergy management, and ethics relevant to professional engineering practice.

Mandatory Courses

• Transitional Gas
• Fluid Mechanics, Reactive Transport and Heat Flow
• Reservoir Characterisation
• Reservoir Geophysics and Monitoring
• Geomechanics
• Geothermal Energy
• Subsurface Gas Storage
• Environmental Risk, Policy and Economics of Geoenergy Applications
• Individual Project
• Integrated Group Project

Fees and Funding

• Tuition fees for the September 2026 intake:
  • UK: ｣13,000
  • International: ｣29,960
• Scholarships and bursaries are available, with over ｣6 million worth of opportunities in fee and stipend scholarships.

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.
• English language requirements: IELTS 6.0 (or equivalent) with no score lower than 5.5.

Employability

The programme prepares students for careers in:

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

Why Heriot-Watt

Heriot-Watt University is the top university in Scotland for graduate outcomes, with more graduates employed or in postgraduate education than any other institution in the country. The university is also rated number one in the UK for CEO or MD roles.