Master of Science in Commercial Management and Quantity Surveying

at Heriot-Watt University - Edinburgh Campus United Kingdom

This masters degree is designed to enhance your employment potential across international banking, accounting and finance functions of multinational organisations.

With a focus on the ever-changing global financial markets, this MSc in Accounting and Finance aims to equip graduates with highly employable expertise and a thorough understanding of current issues in global financial markets – both academically and professionally.

On this MSc you will take six main courses on the subject of international accounting and be offered a choice of one specialist per semester. These courses will give you an international perspective on accounting and help you understand things like national differences, harmonisation and the challenges and problems facing multinational companies.

You will have the opportunity to apply your newly acquired knowledge and expertise gained from courses in international banking, financial markets and accountancy to a subject of interest to you in your dissertation research project which is undertaken during the summer months.

Data science today is becoming increasingly important within the actuarial field, and Heriot-Watt has developed this unique new programme to meet this growing actuarial demand.

Taking our MSc in Actuarial Management with Data Science is a great way to speed your progress to this most prestigious of careers - it's designed to take you almost all of the way to qualification. Our MSc in Actuarial Management is an established and successful programme covering the more advanced actuarial subjects.The MSc in Actuarial Management with Data Science introduces exciting new opportunities for actuaries of the future.

Entry to the actuarial profession is by a demanding series of examinations, but the rewards after qualifying are great. The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK has four levels of examinations to qualify. The first level, the Core Principles (CS, CM and CB) subjects, are taught in our BSc or MSc in Actuarial Science and lead to exemptions from subjects CS1, CS2, CM1, CM2, CB1 and CB2. Students will typically study CP1, CP2, CP3, two SP subjects (two SP subjects are needed to satisfy the profession's requirements) and two courses on data science applied to insurance.

Actuarial data science combines advanced statistical modelling and analysis with modern computational techniques in order to analyse potentially large datasets arising in insurance and finance. These analyses have the ability to improve forecasts and enhance decision making in an uncertain environment where rapid advancements in technology and data availability are transforming fields of actuarial work. Additionally, they are building synergies with new sectors such as medical and healthcare. This is an area of science and technology that is attracting significant interest and that will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, as more and more industries adopt data-driven and data-centric approaches.

Students graduating from the MSc will have excellent employment prospects that are not restricted to any one narrow sector of financial services. By their choice of IFoA subjects, they may target the life, pensions, asset management, investment and risk management sectors. They will be in demand in quantitative risk management roles in both banks and insurance companies, as well as fund management companies, hedge funds, consultancies, software vendors and regulatory authorities. The market for graduates with actuarial qualifications complemented with data science skills is growing fast and we expect that it will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

Energy – based on fossil fuels and, increasingly, renewables – is an essential component of our existence. The cost, availability and efficient utilisation of energy are increasingly strong focal points in the strategies of governments world-wide, as they realise that the 'raw material' for most of the energy used today has a finite life.

Large industries and small households alike depend on a reliable provision of energy. Energy includes not only electricity, but also heat and transportation. The course will make you aware of the relationship between demand and supply of energy, a relationship that consists of much more than its technical component. It includes political, economic and social issues and has to be viewed on a global as well as a local scale with respect to energy provision, consumption and the costs it might incur – both in the monetary as well as environmental terms.

We have seen countries go to war over energy supplies and we can see the effect of our energy consumption on the global climate. The concept of sustainable energy moves into focus as the finite nature of our main element in our current energy chain of supply – fossil fuel – becomes more obvious. The Paris Treaty is just one example of international and national policy actions which have subsequent implications for legislation affecting industries and communities.

We try to reflect the broad range of disciplines covering energy in this multi-disciplinary degree, which offers courses relevant to energy resources, power generation, process engineering, environmental legislation and environmental impact assessment, energy in buildings, as well as business courses in collaboration with the Edinburgh Business School.

It is the aim of the Energy MSc/Diploma to provide a balanced, integrated course which will equip the participant with the tools needed to positively influence his/her organisation in to developing new business strategies relevant to 'energy', or in reacting to the growing portfolio of environmental legislation. The course is also supported by industrial suppliers and users of energy, who are committed to an ethical environmental policy.

An optional project and dissertation in an engineering subject, which might be a company-specified topic or one selected by the participant, is also available.

The MSc in Reservoir Evaluation and Management (REM) teaches students how to be successful subsurface geoscientists and engineers, able to build models that can provide good predictions of hydrocarbon reservoir behaviour. The success of these models requires a good understanding of both the geology and engineering of the reservoir. The REM programme, with its combination of geoscience and engineering, provides students with the ability to identify those aspects of the reservoir which have the greatest impact on hydrocarbon recovery. Our graduates typically go on to careers in petroleum geology, geomodelling or reservoir engineering.

Most development decisions in oil companies are based on the predictions of computer models of the subsurface. We teach our students the most effective ways to combine the geology, geophysics and reservoir engineering disciplines in order to develop and run computer models which provide the most robust predictions. The programme has been designed so that graduates are technically well prepared for, and have a sound knowledge of, the reservoir geoscience and engineering aspects of the upstream petroleum industry. The unique combination of geoscience and engineering in the REM programme means that our team projects contain the complete workflow of a field development, from geology to engineering and economics.

Graduates of the REM MSc will be in a unique position of having a thorough understanding of the both the geosciences and engineering issues relevant to hydrocarbon reservoir behaviour. The programme is deliberately intensive, typically consisting of working a full 5 days per week of lectures and practical work, including labs or tutorial exercises designed to teach practical skills in addition to learning theory. The programme includes two field trips to observe geology in the field, both for those with and without prior geological experience.

The most challenging and fulfilling aspect of our programme is the project work, particularly the team project, where students are tasked to propose a development plan for real field. The project integrates all the learning in reservoir geosciences and engineering disciplines and reinforces learning through team work.

The programme shares 6 taught courses with MSc Petroleum Engineering and MSc Applied Petroleum Geoscience as illustrated in this diagram.

MSc Intercultural Business Communication develops skills that will allow you to communicate and work with people from all around the world. 

This degree develops intercultural business skills which are increasingly required by businesses and organisations with globalised workplaces and international stakeholders. 

Throughout this Masters degree, you will learn about key issues related to culture, society, and communication, and apply your understanding to authentic business contexts with a strong emphasis on practical intercultural business communication skills.

You will be taught and assessed entirely in English, which makes it suitable for those who would like to adapt their English language skills for a professional context and develop understanding of intercultural issues in international business.

Professional communication skills

MSc Intercultural Business Communication will give you the opportunity to study culture and communication in an academic setting and apply your learning directly to intercultural business contexts, relevant to international organisations and teams.

Embedded in Heriot-Watt University's highly respected Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies, this programme develops advanced corporate communications skills alongside a broad range of professional transferable skills, so you will be ready to thrive in dynamic workplaces where the ability to communicate, summarise and present information is extremely important

You will learn alongside students from all over the world and find yourself working in multicultural teams to apply your learning in real time. As a result, you will be uniquely prepared for a career in international business and global leadership by the time you graduate.

If you are looking for a career in the world of finance and love mathematical challenges, then Financial Mathematics is the degree for you. Just as civil engineering deals with the design, construction and maintenance of buildings and roads, financial mathematics is concerned with the design, construction and maintenance of financial products. It is well known that careers in financial mathematics offer some of the best salaries of all professions and graduates working in this area thrive on being offered many interesting challenges on a day-to-day basis.

Our Financial Mathematics programme develops the skills and knowledge required by the modern investment and asset management industry, where structured finance and relative value trading strateges dominate. The emphasis is on developing a range of practical skills relevant to the increasingly mathematical and ever-changing world of contemporary finance.

Financial Mathematics isn't just for aspiring bankers. The UK Government is the single biggest user of structured finance, through the Private Finance Initiative. Graduates are also attractive to the treasury function of international corporations and to the trading arm of commodities companies.

Students on the Financial Mathematics degree follow the same programme as Actuarial Science students for the first two years. The programmes diverge in third year and in the fourth year Financial Mathematics students will be able to study courses alongside Master's students on the Quantitative Finance and Mathematics programme. The aim is for Financial Mathematics graduates to achieve a skill set comparable to those graduating with a Master's degree.

Our MSc International Business Management with HRM programme is aimed at graduates who have little or no business or management background in their first degree and who wish to gain a broad based business qualification to enhance their future career prospects, or at those looking to develop business management knowledge and skills to allow them to change or further their careers.

This is a conversion MSc

MSc International Business Management with Human Resource Management is a conversion degree programme led by academics from Edinburgh Business School. It introduces the study of business to graduates and professionals from other disciplines who wish to enhance their careers.

This degree introduces vital business and management knowledge to those with limited existing academic experience in the subject. It provides an opportunity to develop a set of versatile management skills in just one year of study. The modern management skills gained, coupled with specialist learning in the area of Human Resource Management, will complement existing knowledge and prepare graduates for a career change or a management role.

Our MEng (Hons) Architectural Engineering covers a broad range of engineering-related disciplines including: mechanics, construction, energy, thermal performance, water and wastewater, acoustics, and human behaviour. The degree is designed to give you the knowledge and skills needed by industry to design buildings of the future that not only provide sustainable and low-energy built environments that have a positive influence on the health and wellbeing of the people who use them, but buildings that are also resilient and adaptable to future climate change. The later years of the degree focus on practical inter-disciplinary design and management skills, with an emphasis on your personal development as an Architectural Engineer within the professional environment.

The MEng (Hons) degree provides the opportunity for greater specialism in your preferred subject areas, plus enhanced practical experience of design management and problem solving with a 12-week industrial placement.

Our architectural engineering degrees are supported by the Architectural Engineering Industrial Advisory Board, which includes representatives from major multi-national employers, ensuring our degrees are exactly what industry needs.

This exciting 2-year MSc programme is designed to kick-start your career as an actuary, preparing you to take a leading role in managing risk in financial institutions worldwide.

Entry to the actuarial profession is by a demanding series of examinations, but the rewards after qualifying are great. Students that enrol onto this programme will follow the syllabus of MSc Actuarial Science in their first year and the MSc Actuarial Management programme in their second.

Taking our MSc in Actuarial Science and Management is a great way to speed your progress to this most prestigious of careers - it's designed to take you almost all of the way to qualification.

This course provides graduates with advanced mathematical skills and fluency in their chosen language, offering a valuable combination of technical expertise and linguistic excellence. Mathematical and language skills will be enhanced by studying mathematics for a year at one of the foreign partner universities. Languages on offer are French (G1R1), German (G1R2) and Spanish (G1R4). Graduates in mathematics and languages are consistently near the top of graduate employment tables, and the coupling of disciplines in this degree course ensures a highly marketable qualification.