Marine Systems and Policies MSc

This MSc programme comprises:

• compulsory and option courses
• dissertation

Guest experts from government, industries, and non-government organisations (NGOs) from around the world will often be giving lectures. In addition, we offer several opportunities to network with these experts in person and live online.

Throughout your studies, we will work with you to prepare you for the dissertation project. This will be your opportunity to explore a topic of your choice in relation to the programme and prepare a dissertation that you can use to demonstrate your work to potential employers.

Part-time study

As we are committed to helping people into education while continuing to work or managing family and personal commitments, you may study this programme part-time.

How will I learn?

You will experience a range of learning styles while studying, depending on the subject matter and courses you are taking.

You can view each relevant course for teaching and assessment methods through the ‘Programme Structure’ link under compulsory and option courses below.

Although we endeavour to provide a wide range of optional courses to choose from, these can be subject to change or cancellation at short notice. Places on optional courses can be limited due to course capacity and timetabling constraints. It may not be possible to guarantee every offer holder their top choice of optional courses.

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

The MSc Marine Systems and Policies can provide you with rewarding work experience opportunities.

You can choose to undertake a research project as an intern for more work-based experiences. These opportunities are advertised in November each year.

Experiences include working with governments, advisors and non-government organisations (NGOs). They are a great way to network with industry and decision-makers for future employment.

Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC)

For even more work-based experience, two scholarships are available each year for students who conduct their research project dissertation with the aquaculture industry.

The scholarships cover full tuition fees and are offered specifically for students within our MSc Marine Systems and Policies programme.

Potential topics can vary widely. For example, previous projects have included:

• developing novel impact assessment frameworks for salmon farms
• critiquing the governance framework of finfish farms
• dispersal modelling of sea lice treatments
• sustainable finance for the Scottish shellfish aquaculture sector

You can find details about the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre funding on the School of GeoSciences scholarships page.

• Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre Scholarship

You will develop a strong understanding of the major drivers of change in the ocean and critical international laws and policy frameworks to govern these ecosystems.

Throughout the year, you will also get the chance to explore basics and advance in practical skills, including field skills (such as snorkelling, transects, species identification) and computer skills (such as Geographical Information Systems, coding using R, habitat mapping, semi-structured interview techniques and software such as NVivo).

Employers tell us that this blend of expertise in marine planning and policies combined with practical and computer skills is highly desirable and transferable to other lines of employment as well.

By studying the MSc Marine Systems and Policies, you will:

• Become familiar with field and laboratory methods to assess marine ecosystems and cumulative impacts of climate change and human activities, including the social dimensions
• Be equipped with field and laboratory skills in experimental design, underwater transects, image analysis, marine species identification, habitat mapping, and semi-structured interviews
• Be able to recognise gold standards in ocean planning.
• Develop critical thinking about what constitutes sustainable development and strong ocean governance and how climate change can be integrated into systems thinking.
• Become familiar with ocean governance systems for a variety of marine ecosystems and charismatic species such as sharks, marine mammals, sea turtles and seabirds
• Understand the structure, functioning and governance of characteristic marine ecosystems, including atolls and islands, temperate and tropical coasts, estuaries, the continental shelves, seamounts, the deep sea, and polar oceans
• Explore different platforms for data collection from small vessels to large research expeditions, robotics including autonomous systems, and how remote sensing such as multibeam echosounders, drones, and hydrophones enhance observational capacity
• Gain knowledge of adaptive co-management frameworks. For example, marine protected areas, small-scale fisheries and key ocean planning processes related to industrial development of the ocean and infrastructure such as marine spatial planning, strategic environmental assessment, and environmental impact assessment, including the critical analysis of case studies.

• Interact with policies related to climate change, maritime boundaries, biodiversity and conservation, including:

  • the Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS),
  • the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),
  • the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
  • the UN Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) and the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries,
  • the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL),
  • the Barcelona and OSPAR Conventions

Employers tell us that they seek candidates with real-world skills and an integrated understanding of marine ecosystems, development and planning, as well as regional and international policies.

Our unique MSc programme provides you with this foundation so that you can work in a wide range of settings, from grassroots community groups to universities and governments.

You can also seek a career with the marine industry, non-government organisations (NGOs) or international agencies.

Our graduates are now working around the world at local, national and international levels.

They have gained employment in a variety of roles such as:

• consultants
• marine science officers
• marine policy analysts and officers
• sustainability consultants
• project leaders
• program officers
• marine mammal observers
• marine education executives

For example, they can be found:

• gathering evidence for the government to support marine protected areas
• conducting academic research and fieldwork
• advising the fishing and tourism industry
• working with international conservation agencies to help implement marine policies at the highest level

Networks

We have excellent relationships with various organisations, from local communities to government, industry, and academia.

Our networks can give you access to potential employers and decision-makers who may provide employment opportunities or research projects.

Our graduates

Examples of the organisations our graduates have gained employment include:

• World Wildlife Federation (WWF)
• United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre
• Coral Cay Conservation Philippines
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps USA
• Royal Society for the Protection of Nature Scotland
• International Union for the Conservation of Nature
• Pew Foundation

Careers Service

Our award-winning Careers Service plays an essential part in your wider student experience at the University, providing:

• tailored advice
• individual guidance and personal assistance
• internships and networking opportunities (with employers from local organisations to top multinationals)
• access to the experience of our worldwide alumni network

We invest in your future beyond the end of your degree. Studying at the University of Edinburgh will lay the foundations for your future success, whatever shape that takes.

• Careers Service

Our MSc Marine Systems and Policies programme gives you exceptional opportunities to develop your experience and skills through fieldwork.

Our field course takes you beyond the classroom, where you can experience first-hand the intersection of environment, development and social issues within a marine setting. Our academics and experts will guide and support you as you learn how to design and execute a field research project.

We typically run an overseas field course for you in the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, which is planned for April 2023. However, we will constantly review this location for various reasons.

If we cannot run the course in the Maldives, we will look to relocate the course to a Scotland-based marine field course. This may occur at a nearby marine reserve, and we may also blend some remote field experiences with our Maldivian partners overseas.

Local day trips

Throughout the programme, we also offer voluntary field trips in Scotland to experience a variety of marine settings at no extra cost to you.

These include trips to the Berwickshire Marine Reserve – the UK’s oldest voluntary marine reserve, where we have a new collaborative partnership with St. Abbs Marine Station.

Situated in an active fishing and recreational scuba diving harbour, St Abbs offers a complete socio-ecological microcosm from land to shore to the shallow sea. The area is also home to nationally important seabird colonies and biodiverse offshore rocky reef habitats.

In addition, our partnership with St Abbs provides you with opportunities to undertake your dissertation research project.

• Visit the St Abbs Marine Station website

In the past, we have also had residential field trips to the Firth of Lorn Marine Protected Area, day trips to the Scottish Seabird Centre and even the Dynamic Earth Science Centre right here in Edinburgh to learn about science and public communication.

There are no additional charges for compulsory field trips.

These entry requirements are for the 2023/24 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2024/25 academic year will be published on 2 October 2023.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in natural sciences or social sciences, but with clear evidence of experience and interest in marine topics.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

You must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.0 in each component.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 70 with at least 59 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than three and a half years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

Deposit

If you receive an offer of admission you will need to pay a deposit to secure your place.

• £1,500 (this contributes towards your tuition fees)

Find out more about tuition fee deposits:

• Tuition fee deposits

Field trips and field courses

We do not charge extra fees for compulsory field trips or field courses. The programme fees will cover costs of travel, accommodation and subsistence on compulsory field trips. However, you must pay for incidental or personal expenses.

Living costs

You will be responsible for covering living costs for the duration of your studies.

Tuition fees

Featured scholarships

The Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) is offering two fully funded scholarships for MSc Marine Systems and Policies students.

• Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre Scholarship

ScottishPower are providing scholarships for the 2023-2024 academic year to financially support postgraduate students who are interested in pursuing an advanced degree in industry relevant fields such as sustainability, climate change, environmental sciences, energy, big data, information technology and more.

• ScottishPower Masters Scholarships

School of GeoSciences scholarships

• See potential funding for GeoSciences students

Scholarships and student funding

You can find funding opportunities, tuition fees and costs of living for prospective UK and international postgraduate students on the University website.

• Postgraduate scholarships and student funding

You are also encouraged to undertake your own research into the range of potential scholarships and other funding outside the University for which you may be eligible.

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding