The course will prepare graduates in technical disciplines for a career in the design and implementation of information technology solutions and service management in the Oil and Gas industry and its IT providers. 2013/14 entry free places available for Scottish/EU Students.

This course provides training in software development tools and techniques and IT service management as well as Oil and Gas Engineering and Geoscience.

This course will produce computing practitioners who:

• have a good understanding of the Oil and Gas Industry.
• are able to align IT services with the needs of the Oil and Gas industry and its IT providers.
• are proficient in the use of modern software tools and environments;
• are able to integrate the use of these IT tools and techniques in the framework of an appropriate development methodology to develop high quality software solutions.

Download a PDF of this course

Oil and Gas Information Technology

• Data management
• Oil and gas Engineering 
• IT Infrastructure and Service Management
• Introduction to O-O programming 
• Petroleum Geoscience 
• Collaborative IT Project 
• Data Visualisation and Analysis
• Intranet Systems Development 
• MSc project 

Throughout the course, content is complemented by practical work, allowing you to support your theoretical development by providing real-life simulation. You will be taught through a mixture of lectures, tutorials, labs and external speakers. You will also be supported through our online virtual learning environment where you can access a wide variety of resources and other support materials.

The course will include industry sessions with Oil and Gas companies and IT suppliers.

You will work on a group project designed to simulate the working environment, allowing you to collaborate with colleagues as you would within multi-discipline teams in the Energy sector.

The individual project provides an opportunity for applying specialist knowledge together with analytic, problem-solving, managerial and communication skills to a particular area of interest within the application of IT solutions to problems relevant to the Oil and Gas sector.  Working with the full support and guidance of an allocated project supervisor, you will be given the opportunity to propose, plan, specify, develop, evaluate, and present a substantial IT project.

This course is ideal for students who possess an honours degree in a technical subject.  This requirement may be relaxed for applicants with significant industrial experience.

All international students, for whom English is not their first language, must provide evidence of linguistic ability, by gaining either IELTS 6.0 or its equivalent prior to receiving an unconditional offer of a place on the course.

IELTS 6.0 or equivalent means: 

• IELTS 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each of the 4 individual elements 

• TOEFL 80 overall with a 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing 

• Pearson PTE 59 overall with a minimum of 51 in each of the 4 individual elements

We also accept alternative qualifications which can be found on the page:

English Language Requirements

Fee-Free places

A number of free-fee places for part-time and full-time studies are available for Scottish/EU applicants for 2013/14 entry.
These places will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis to suitable candidates who indicate their wish to be considered for this funding on application. 

Scholarships

Applicants to this course may be eligible for a scholarship. More information can be found on the Computing Scholarships pages.

Postgraduate Tuition Fee Loan

Applicants (Scottish domiciled and EU) to this course may be eligible for a Postgraduate Tuition Fee Loan (PTFL). Full-time students can apply for a PTFL up to £3400. Part-time students can apply for up to £1700. The tuition fee loan is only available to part-time students who are undertaking at least 50% of a full-time course, and therefore, complete their qualification in 2 years.

Students can apply now by downloading an application form from the SAAS web site.

All course fees are reviewed annually and subject to change. Published fees apply to the course's mode of delivery.

All students can apply online by visiting Apply Online at www.rgu.ac.uk/applyonline/

If you have any application queries, please contact our Admissions Office:

• Email pgoffice@rgu.ac.uk

If you have any queries regarding the content or format of the course, please contact the course leader:

• Email CSDM-MSc-enquiry@rgu.ac.uk

The course prepares students for a career in IT in the Oil and Gas Industry, both as software developers and service managers.

Aberdeen is home to many multinational oil and gas companies and associated suppliers such as mainstream software houses, IT providers to major oil-related companies, specialist software consultancies, and venture capital start-ups.

The university is involved in a number of commercial collaborations on a local, national and international scale with organisations such as BP, British Geological Survey, Wood Group PSN, Accenture, WIPRO and many Aberdeen-based software development companies.

The course also prepares students for research careers by providing the skills necessary of an effective researcher. Suitable MSc graduates may continue to PhD programmes within the school. Further information can be found the School of Computing Postgraduate Research pages.

David holds an Honours degree in Physics, an MSc in Financial Mathematics and a PhD in Mathematics. David currently teaches computer systems at undergraduate level, and programming at masters level, and is involved in the supervision of PhD students. David’s current research includes interests in computational and mathematical modelling of financial and energy markets; the application of information geometry to computational problems; and the application of computer algebra to solve applied maths problems

David Lonie's staff profile