Program Overview

MSc Petroleum Engineering

The Petroleum Engineering MSc combines lectures, tutorials, field trips, industry software, and expert seminars to prepare graduates with advanced technical knowledge and practical skills for tackling global oil and gas challenges.

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, January
• Next intake: January 2026

Course Content

The programme incorporates energy transition and sustainability, equipping students to apply subsurface analysis, reservoir management, and fluid flow expertise to emerging geo-energy solutions like geothermal energy, carbon capture, and hydrogen storage. Core petroleum engineering disciplines include:

• Reservoir engineering
• Geoscience with integrated data science
• Drilling engineering
• Formation evaluation
• Reservoir simulation
• Energy project economics
• Production technology

Student Experience

Learning will be informed by experts in geoenergy engineering and applied geoscience from the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering at the Edinburgh campus, part of Heriot-Watt's School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society.

Course Structure

September Intake - Edinburgh

Year 1:

Mandatory September

• Drilling Engineering
• Formation Evaluation
• Geoscience with Integrated Data Science
• Reservoir Engineering

Mandatory January

• Energy Project Economics
• Production Technology
• Reservoir Simulation
• Well Test Analysis

Mandatory May

• Field Development Project
• Individual Project

January Intake - Edinburgh

Year 1:

Mandatory January

• Well Test Analysis
• Reservoir Engineering
• Production Technology
• Energy Project Economics

Mandatory September

• Drilling Engineering
• Formation Evaluation
• Geoscience with Integrated Data Science
• Reservoir Simulation

Mandatory Second January

• Field Development Project
• Individual Project

Fees and Funding

January 2026 intake tuition fees:

• UK: £13,000
• International: £29,960 September 2026/January 2027 intake tuition fees:
• UK: £13,000
• International: £29,960

Entry Requirements

• A minimum of a 2:2 honours degree, or its non-UK equivalent in an engineering subject or a physical or earth science discipline, including evidence of a good understanding of mathematics.
• Degrees in chemistry, maths, physics, geology or computing may also be considered with demonstrable maths ability.
• Work or project experience in a related company role will be taken into consideration.
• English language requirements: IELTS 6.0 (or equivalent) with no score lower than 5.5.