MSc in Petroleum Geoscience

This course covers a wide range of earth science subjects and their application to the full spectrum of hydrocarbon exploration and production.

This course is a one-year, full-time multidisciplinary programme covering a wide range of earth science subjects and their application to the full spectrum of hydrocarbon exploration and production.

It is designed for students with some industrial experience, as well as for recent graduates seeking careers in the petroleum and allied service industries.

The course presents the methods and practices of the modern petroleum industry, with considerable emphasis on developing transferable skills.

Scholarships

We have a number of Industry scholarships for Home or EU students on the Petroleum Geoscience MSc course, and also offer a range of scholarships for all postgraduate students to support you through your studies.

Professional accreditation

This course is professionally accredited by The Geological Society.

Achieving a professionally accredited degree demonstrates to employers that you have achieved an industry-recognised standard of competency. It also brings international recognition of your qualification, which is particularly useful for students preparing for a career abroad.

Our accreditation agreement with The Geological Society is renewed every 6 years, and the current agreement runs between 2017 and 2022.

Structure

Modules shown are for the current academic year and are subject to change depending on your year of entry.

Please note that the curriculum of this course is currently being reviewed as part of a College-wide process to introduce a standardised modular structure. As a result, the content and assessment structures of this course may change for your year of entry. We, therefore, recommend that you check this course page before finalising your application and after submitting it as we will aim to update this page as soon as any changes are ratified by the College.

Find out more about the limited circumstances in which we may need to make changes to or in relation to our courses, the type of changes we may make and how we will tell you about changes we have made.

Core modules

You take all of the core modules below:

• Applied Sedimentology
• Exploration Geoscience
• Exploration Geoscience Group Project (Barrel Award)
• Independent Project
• Petroleum Basin Analysis
• Petrophysics and Structural Geology
• Production Geoscience
• Reservoir Characterisation Fieldtrip and Group Project
• Synthesis Fieldwork

Fieldwork

• Wessex Basin, UK (6 days): characterisation of outcrop analogues for subsurface reservoirs; integrated analysis of petroleum systems
• North Somerset, UK (2 days): geometry and evolution of faults and fractures
• Derbyshire, UK (2 days): deep-water reservoirs; resource plays
• Synthesis fieldwork (15 days): stratigraphic analysis of depositional systems from reservoir scale to basin scale, linked to tectonic basin development and analysis of structural styles

Independent project

Takes place between June and September. Many of these include a placement in oil company offices, which provides an opportunity to gain an insight into current industry practices.

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Teaching and assessment

Teaching

• Fieldwork
• Group projects
• Lectures
• Practical classes
• Workshops

Assessment

• Fieldwork exercises
• Oral and poster presentations
• Reports
• Written Examination

Entry requirements

We welcome students from all over the world and consider all applicants on an individual basis.

Minimum academic requirement

Our minimum requirement is a 2.1 degree in an earth sciences degree.

Applicants with closely related earth/environmental science degrees (such as physical geography or oceanography), as well as industrial experience, will also be considered.

International qualifications

We also accept a wide variety of international qualifications.

The academic requirement above is for applicants who hold or who are working towards a UK qualification.

For guidance see our Country Index though please note that the standards listed here are the minimum for entry to the College, and not specifically this Department.

If you have any questions about admissions and the standard required for the qualification you hold or are currently studying then please contact the relevant admissions team.

English language requirement (all applicants)

All candidates must demonstrate a minimum level of English language proficiency for admission to the College.

For admission to this course, you must achieve the standard College requirement in the appropriate English language qualification. For details of the minimum grades required to achieve this requirement, please see the English language requirements for postgraduate applicants.

Tuition fees and funding

The level of tuition fees you pay is based on your fee status, which we assess based on UK government legislation.

Tuition fees (Home and EU students)

2020 entry

£17,750 per year

Fees are charged by year of entry to the College and not the year of study.

Except where otherwise indicated, the fees for students on courses lasting more than one year will increase annually by an amount linked to inflation, including for part-time students on modular programmes. The measure of inflation used will be the Retail Price Index (RPI) value in the April of the calendar year in which the academic session starts e.g. the RPI value in April 2020 will apply to fees for the academic year 2020–2021.

Tuition fees (Overseas and Islands students)

2020 entry

£37,250 per year

Fees are charged by year of entry to the College and not the year of study.

Except where otherwise indicated, the fees for students on courses lasting more than one year will increase annually by an amount linked to inflation, including for part-time students on modular programmes. The measure of inflation used will be the Retail Price Index (RPI) value in the April of the calendar year in which the academic session starts e.g. the RPI value in April 2020 will apply to fees for the academic year 2020–2021.

Careers

The majority of graduates from this course are employed as petroleum geologists and geophysicists by oil companies.

Other first destinations include geophysical contractors involved in the acquisition, processing and interpretation of seismic data; geological consultancies serving the oil industry; petroleum service divisions of financial institutions; organisations providing IT services to the oil industry and financial institutions; and further higher education.