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Safety, Risk & Reliability Engineering (Online only) - MSc

Heriot-Watt University School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society

September, January MSc, PGDip See Programme Description

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About the course

Risk has become a key concept in modern society. Growing concern about the environment and a number of disasters have served to focus attention on the hazards and risks involved in a wide range of activities from offshore oil production to rail and air transport; from the design of football stadiums to the operation of chemical plants and environmental protection.

Today there is a wide range of techniques available to assess risk and reliability, both in relation to safety and in the wider sense. These techniques now underpin new legislation on safety and have relevance over a broad spectrum of activities, including environmental and other systems, where risk and reliability are key concerns.

Entry Requirements

Applicants to the MSc programme will normally:

have a good undergraduate degree (minimum 2:2 honours or equivalent) in engineering or a relevant science discipline, or
demonstrate equivalent academic ability based on industrial experience or membership of a professional institution.

Heriot-Watt Online students must first take exams in two courses of the programme, Human Factors Methods and Learning from Disasters. Based on the results for these entry courses students will continue on the programme at MSc or at PG Diploma level.

Fees

Please see the university website for further information on fees for this course.

Where will I study?

Heriot-Watt University

Heriot-Watt University is a world-leading institution with strong links to international industry driven by our research and innovation in STEM, business and design. With a rich heritage stretching back to 1821, we are a truly global university bringing together scholars and subject matter experts to offer a wide range of Masters courses across full time, part time and online study models. We’re in the top 13% of universities in Europe (QS Europe Rankings 2026), and students at Heriot-Watt have access to pioneering research and teaching, with almost 90% of the university’s research output ranked as world-leading and internationally excellent (Research Excellence Framework 2021). Heriot-Watt is 1st in Scotland and 2nd in the UK for positive graduate outcomes in the 2024 Graduate Outcomes survey. Plus, Heriot-Watt produces the highest percentage of CEOs and Managing Directors in Scotland (Novuna 2025). This is thanks to career-focused degrees and lifetime support from our award-winning careers team.