MSc Petroleum Engineering

1 Year On Campus Masters Program

Heriot Watt University Edinburgh

Program Overview

The MSc Petroleum Engineering at Heriot-Watt is designed to give you a strong, industry-ready understanding of how reservoirs are found, evaluated, and efficiently produced. It’s ideal if you have a background in engineering, physics, geoscience or maths and want a fast, focused path into the energy sector.

Curriculum Structure

Taught Courses (Year-long, full time)

Across the year, you move from core technical foundations into advanced engineering and project-based learning. Early on, you explore key areas like Drilling Engineering, Formation Evaluation, Geoscience with Integrated Data Science, and Reservoir Engineering, building a solid understanding of how subsurface systems behave.

As the year progresses, you move into more applied modules such as Energy Project Economics, Production Technology, Reservoir Simulation, and Well Test Analysis — all designed to show you how real fields are planned, operated, and optimised.

You finish with a Field Development Project and an Individual Research Project, where you pull everything together and work on problems that mirror what engineers handle in industry.

Focus Areas

Reservoir engineering, drilling and well engineering, formation evaluation, production technology, simulation and field development planning.

Learning Outcomes

You’ll be ready to analyse reservoirs, design drilling and production strategies, run simulations, interpret well data, assess project economics, and approach engineering decisions with a modern energy-transition perspective.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation)

The programme is delivered by Heriot-Watt’s Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering, a long-established leader in petroleum and subsurface energy training, ensuring your learning is closely aligned with current industry expectations.

Reputation (Employability)

Heriot-Watt is globally recognised for Petroleum Engineering, consistently ranking among the top universities in this field and known for strong graduate employability in energy and subsurface roles.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

At Heriot-Watt, the MSc Petroleum Engineering is built around practical, hands-on learning. You won’t just study theory — you’ll work with real field data, industry-standard tools, and research facilities that energy companies actually use. Because the programme is delivered by the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering, you learn in an environment shaped by decades of industry collaboration and active research. You also get involved in group work and independent research that mirror the workflows of real petroleum engineering teams.

Here’s how your experiential learning comes to life:

Industry-standard software for reservoir simulation, well-test analysis, and production modelling, giving you the same digital skillset engineers use in the field.
Group Field Development Project, where you and your peers design a realistic field plan using real subsurface and production data.
Individual Research Project, allowing you to explore a specialised topic such as reservoir modelling, production optimisation, or geoscience-driven analysis.
Access to specialist laboratories and computer simulation suites within the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering, including research-grade datasets and tools.
Research-informed teaching and seminars, where you learn directly from active researchers and industry guests.
Support from Heriot-Watt’s extensive library and academic resources, designed to help you work with complex data, technical literature and energy-sector research.

Progression & Future Opportunities

Graduates from the MSc Petroleum Engineering at Heriot-Watt step into strong technical roles across the global energy sector. Many move into careers as Reservoir Engineers, Drilling Engineers, Production Engineers, or Subsurface Consultants, and the reputation of this programme often helps them progress quickly within their organisations.

Here’s how the university supports your career development and long-term success:

Specialist career services: You’ll receive tailored guidance from Heriot-Watt’s careers team, including CV coaching, interview preparation, employer networking and sector-specific support for the energy industry.
High industry demand: The programme has been running since 1975, and its graduates are widely recognised as highly employable by major oil and gas operators, energy service companies and technical consultancies.
Strong industry and research partnerships: Through the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering, students benefit from long-standing collaborations with companies and research centres working in subsurface engineering, geoscience, and energy transition challenges.
Long-term degree value: Heriot-Watt’s reputation in petroleum engineering means the qualification remains credible throughout your career, even as the energy sector evolves.
Excellent graduate outcomes: Across the university, a high proportion of graduates move into skilled employment shortly after finishing their studies, reflecting the strong industry links and career preparation built into the institution.

Further Academic Progression:
You can continue your studies by advancing into a PhD in areas such as reservoir engineering, carbon storage, geothermal energy, or subsurface geoscience. Many students choose this path to build specialised research careers or move into high-level technical and academic roles.