Introduction

Students have been attending the Institute of Petroleum Engineering at Heriot-Watt University to study for the MSc course in Petroleum Engineering since 1975. In 1997 a project was initiated to make it possible for the course to be studied on a “Distance Learning” (DL) basis and the course is now being delivered to over 700 individuals studying on a self study basis around the world. The advantages of studying on a distance learning self study basis are:

• Remain in employment during study
• Self paced study
• Apply learning directly to job
• Interaction with professionals in subject whilst studying
• Take Examinations when ready (each exam available twice per year)
• Lowest cost study alternative

The structure and content of this course is almost identical to the full-time Masters course in Petroleum Engineering at Heriot-Watt with minor modifications to the content of the full-time course, required to accommodate the distance learning delivery mechanism. The student who studies on a distance learning basis will however graduate with the same degree as the students who undertake the course at Heriot-Watt.

It is possible to attend a five day course on the discipline specific modules if you wish. These courses are organised by our partner, the Network of Excellence in Training – NExT. They are currently run in Abu Dhabi and details of the course dates etc. can be found at http://www.nexttraining.net/

The way in which this course is structured also means that experienced individuals can select and undertake specific modules if they simply want to upgrade their knowledge in a particular subject area (such as well testing or production technology). In other words,it is not necessary to commit to, or complete, the entire degree program if that is not required. Although the decision to be assessed in one of our examinations is optional, many students take the examination as a means of demonstrating their level of knowledge in that subject to their current or future employers i.e. upgrading their CV.

This course is aimed primarily at the oil and gas sector in the UK and overseas. It is vocational in nature and is designed to equip engineers who have between one and five years experience in the Petroleum Industry (in operating companies and the service sector) with the knowledge and skills necessary to operate effectively, and to the standard required by the petroleum industry.

	Introduction to Distance Learning - Movie	(these files require QuickTime 7)
	Introduction to Distance Learning - Audio