Master of Physics

at Heriot-Watt University - Edinburgh Campus United Kingdom

Our BSc Computer Science (Data Science) degree focuses on constructing robust and useable systems. As well as looking at cutting edge tools and techniques, it’s designed to help you build the next generation of software tools that other system constructors will use. The course aims to give a well integrated balance of theoretical underpinnings and practical experience, strongly informed by the research expertise of our academic staff.

In the later years of the course, you’ll have the option to specialise and develop the skills needed to be a data scientist. Specifically, you will have the ability to develop and perform large-scale, repeatable data analyses grounded in statistical modelling. The term data science is often used interchangeably with big data or data analytics. It is becoming increasingly important as huge amounts of complex academic, business and government data are being generated from many largely online sources. This swelling lake of data needs increasing numbers of skilled personnel with the capacity to analyse and make sense of it all. That in turn requires that such personnel be trained in the latest skills and techniques in data science.

If you want to start your career with a year's work experience in hand, then you should consider this course. It combines the rigorous studies of the BSc (Hons) Computer Science (Data Science) with a year of work placement in level 4. Good performance means 12 months experience of working in an organisation in the computing sector. The Diploma in Industrial Training is gained through successful completion of the work placement. The work placement helps you to develop specific work-related skills, giving you the opportunity to apply and build upon the theory you’ve learned. This course aims to give a well-integrated balance of theoretical underpinnings and practical experience, strongly informed by the research expertise of our academic staff.

Heriot-Watt University's Masters degree in Business Psychology is the most established of its kind in Europe. In this MSc, core modules from Business Psychology are blended with expertise from the field of Intercultural Communication.

Business Psychology with Intercultural Communication is a specialist Masters degree which offers professionals and graduates with backgrounds in Arts and Humanities, Business Management and Psychology the opportunity to gain a particularly employable skillset suited to working with multinational organisations.

This programme combines Business Psychology's specialist focus on leadership, diversity, change, and organisational culture, with Intercultural Communication’s focus on written and verbal communication in cross-cultural professional contexts. The development of these specialist skills will put graduates in the perfect position to make a positive impact on the performance, communication and culture of global organisations.

At Heriot Watt, we are delivering a new MSc programme in Subsurface Energy Systems (SES) that will edcate you about unlocking energy resources with a low carbon footprint. This will be a stepping stone for your career in industry, government, non-government organisations (NGOs) or academia.

The programme addresses key concepts in subsurface energy and CO2 storage, geothermal energy or transitional gas while integrating geoscience, engineering, political and societal aspects. It will appeal to geoscientists, reservoir engineers, governmental stakeholders and all those interested in the management of subsurface reservoirs used to switch from a fossil fuel-driven economy to a decarbonised one, using natural gas as a transitional energy resource. Its production from unconventional reservoirs comes with environmental risks that we have to assess and control. This degree is delivered jointly by The Lyell Centre and the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering.

The recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts serious consequences from further emitting CO2 into the atmosphere, thereby accelerating man-made climate change. This requires a drastic decarbonisation of our economies by switching from fossil fuels to renewable energies like wind, solar, hydro, or geothermal or by implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS) at scale. Renewable energies can readily be used in the form of electrical power. When electricity production exceeds the demand, electricity can be stored in grids or batteries at limited capacity. At larger scale, electricity can be stored in the subsurface after conversion to, for example, hydrogen, thermal energy, or compressed air until needed, allowing for back-production within short and longer time scales of hours to years.

In comparison to temporary energy storage, CCS aims at safe and permanent storage. The UK and especially offshore storage sites in Scotland are attractive targets for CCS and considered to extend the lifetime of oil and gas reservoirs significantly, thereby strengthening the related industrial sectors. The combined technologies of geothermal energy production, subsurface energy storage or CCS refer to the geoengineering aspects of subsurface energy systems (SES). In this context, SES rather refers to the integration of geoenergy applications with energy production at the surface as well as economic, societal and policy aspects.

There is a significant demand globally for research and training in these technologies, given that many small and large integrated oil and gas companies are decarbonising their assets, which at the same time, needs to be monitored and regulated by governmental bodies. Councils across the UK and Europe are increasingly looking at the subsurface for storing or producing energy.

If you want to start your career with a year's work experience in hand, then you should consider this course. It combines the rigorous studies of the BSc (Hons) Computer Science with a year of work placement in level 4. Good performance means 12 months experience of working in an organisation in the computing sector. The Diploma in Industrial Training is gained through successful completion of the work placement. The work placement helps you to develop specific work-related skills, giving you the opportunity to apply and build upon the theory you’ve learned. This course aims to give a well-integrated balance of theoretical underpinnings and practical experience, strongly informed by the research expertise of our academic staff.

Since the 1990s Heriot-Watt University has had an internationally renowned research group in Mathematical Biology, Ecology and Medicine. This group includes Jonathan Sherratt, Andy White and Kevin Painter; all of whom are leading researchers in mathematical biology with strong international reputations.

Building on the strength of this research group we are excited to be launching a brand new MSc Programme in Mathematical Biology Ecology and Medicine. The programme includes high level and high quality courses that will provide a comprehensive training in mathematical modelling of problems in the life sciences, in mathematical techniques to study these models, and in the use of data to both inform and test the models.

During the summer you will do an extended project on a cutting-edge research topic that is aligned with our research interests. These include work on wound healing, pattern formation in developmental biology, epidemics, cancer, semi-arid ecosystems, and evolution. The programme will open up for you a wide range of career paths and possibilities for future study.

Ranked 2nd in Scotland and 10th in the UK for Town and Country Planning and Landscape in The Times / The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021.

Our MSc Spatial Planning and Real Estate Development course provides the foundation, knowledge and skills needed to work as a development surveyor or planner. On completion, graduates will be able to work either in the public or private sectors, advising on the complexities of property development to occupiers, investors, developers and planning authorities.

The course is designed to build understanding of the complex interactions and uncertainties of the development process. It provides students with the essential knowledge components of economics, valuation, planning, law, and regeneration and sustainability principles. It also develops an appreciation of the skills and tasks inherent in development projects, including community participation, satisfying the statutory planning considerations, undertaking the necessary financial appraisals, and achieving funding to make it happen.

Chemistry is a dynamic and exciting subject which makes many important contributions to the world. It is a major contributor to the Scottish and UK economies and as such is a secure career pathway. Chemistry plays a crucial role in developing new medicines, materials and energy sources using greener methods for a better future.

At Heriot-Watt University, we make sure the theory we teach is linked to these practical applications so that when our students graduate, they are ready to address the biggest of global challenges. Heriot-Watt University is ranked first in Scotland for chemistry in the Guardian University Guide 2020.

The courses within our five-year MChem Chemistry include extensive laboratory work throughout. They provide students with hands-on experience and opportunities to link theoretical knowledge from lectures to the real world. As a result, our students develop practical lab experience as well as much needed teamwork, problem solving and communication skills.

The programme combines core elements of Mathematics, Chemical and Mechanical Engineering, Control Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Safety and Management. Successful completion of this programme will allow the graduate to become a productive graduate instrumentation and control engineer in their company.

Graduates' skillset:
The Instrumentation Measurement and Control Graduate Apprenticeship Programme aims to produce BEng (Hons) graduates who:

• Meet the educational base required by the Institute of Instrumentation, Measurement and Control for registration as an Incorporated Engineer;
• Have a good technical understanding of the essential facts across the discipline, but also an awareness of specialist application of technology;
• Are equipped with a sound basis in theoretical engineering principles and methods and their application;
• Are able to operate in team and multidisciplinary contexts;
• Have an appreciation of the wider societal and commercial influences on, and impact of, the discipline;
• Have problem-solving skills and the ability to apply such skills in developing innovative solutions to society's practical needs;
• Have developed the personal qualities and professional competencies of instrumentation and control engineers;
• Have been able to pursue their personal interests in depth in the context of the sponsoring company;
• Have the practical skills required specifically by instrumentation and control engineers and more widely by any numerate professional position.

The postgraduate course in Urban Strategies and Design is delivered jointly by the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA) of the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University.

This course addresses the current need for interdisciplinary knowledge. It encourages the adoption of a comprehensive approach towards the delivery of socially-sustainable urban transformation, from local-specific to strategic metropolitan and regional interventions. Students study the wide and diverse range of social, economic, and political processes that determine the contemporary urban environment, and acquire the tools and skills to propose urban projects of diverse scales and specificities.

The City of Edinburgh offers an urban laboratory for project- and site visit-based exploration of current urban design issues in the UK. Furthermore, the city’s historic 'Geddesian' planning links, and contemporary international links with urban-focused institutions and bodies provide a strong platform from which to support student-led, location-based research projects.