Key information
- Funding
- Self-funded
- School
- Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society
- Location
- Edinburgh
- Delivery type
- Full-time, Part-time
- Start date
- September
Heriot-Watt University has an active and growing capacity in Applied Geoscience which sits alongside and complements its Petroleum Engineering capabilities and research. At present, the main focuses of activity are the Shell Centre for Exploration Geoscience which was opened in 2013 at our Edinburgh Campus and the NERC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Oil and Gas that Heriot-Watt leads on behalf of a consortium of 17 UK universities, 2 NERC affiliates (The British Geological Survey and the National Oceanography Centre) and 10 industry sponsors.
Research projects
The Shell Centre was set up by joint agreement between the University and Royal Dutch Shell and currently supports 3 PhD and 2 PDRA positions in Applied Geoscience. The Centre’s main research themes are in regional geology, the structural development and evolution of sedimentary basins, subsurface mapping and field geology. In supporting opportunities for postgraduate research in these areas, the Shell Centre provides a key input to both academia, through publication and presentation of results, and industry by enhancing the understanding of prospective basins currently under exploration for oil and gas. Examples of recent projects include studies focusing on the tectonostratigraphic evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean, the formation and development of the Tanzanian passive continental margin and the spatial and temporal evolution of the Peri-Adriatic region.
The NERC CDT in Oil & Gas offers a unique combination of PhD research projects and bespoke industry-relevant training to around 30 PhD students per annual entry cohort across the UK partnership, 3 of whom are based at Heriot-Watt each year. The research themes currently within the CDT’s remit are Unconventional Hydrocarbons, Extending the Life of Mature Basins, Exploration in Challenging Environments and Environmental Impact & Regulation. The CDT aims to equip students not only with the skills needed to explore for and sustainably extract hydrocarbons, but also an understanding of the need for, and techniques to undertake, responsible environmental management of such activities. The CDT is creating a highly skilled workforce with expertise that can be used across the wider energy and environmental sectors, be that in industry, academia and public organisations.
The present Applied Geoscience capacity at Heriot-Watt University will be greatly enhanced by the move of the British Geological Survey (BGS) into the newly built Lyell Centre on our Edinburgh campus, creating exciting new opportunities to collaborate with their staff on a wide range of geoscientific research topics. A number of new appointments are also being made by both organisations under the themes of Earth and Marine Science, which will add to our existing research capability.
Entry requirements
Candidate criteria
Please contact the institute to discuss.
Funding information
| Status | Full Time | Part Time |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | £5,006 | £2,503 |
| England / Wales / N Ireland | £5,006 | £2,503 |
| International | £19,816 | £9,908 |
- Status: Your residency status is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course.
- International: 'International' includes applicants from European Union countries who do not hold Pre-Settled or Settled status in UK. (This does not include students from the Republic of Ireland - see above).
We offer a number of competitive funded scholarships for research degrees. Full or partial support may be available for well-qualified candidates from UK research councils, research pools, charities or industry.
View our full range of scholarships.
Why Heriot-Watt
We're the top university in Scotland for graduate outcomes which means that more of our graduates are employed or in postgraduate education than any other institution in the country and we ranked 5th in the UK.
We're also rated number one in the UK for CEO or MD roles, meaning more of our graduates go on to become CEOs or MDs than any other university in the whole of the UK. On top of that, we have beautiful campuses, across the globe, so you'll get a truly international education. Our Edinburgh Campus is home to Oriam, Scotland's National Sports Performance Centre combined with plenty of wellbeing resources, prioritising fitness and mental health for all students. Our Global Research Institutes look at solving real world issues such as climate change and saving our oceans as well as working on the next medical technological breakthrough and the future of AI and robots.
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