Postgraduate study

Electronics MSc

Awards: MSc

Study modes: Full-time

Funding opportunities

This programme offers distinct specialisation areas in electronics:

  • analogue VLSI design
  • bioelectronics
  • analogue and digital systems

In analogue VLSI design, our facilities include a unique custom-designed analogue integrated circuit specifically designed to support laboratory-based teaching. Our advanced design and prototyping laboratories, advanced micro and nano fabrication facilities and state-of-the-art digital system laboratories use the latest industry standard software tools.

Alternatively, students may specialise in the emergent discipline of bioelectronics where our research and teaching interests include access to the fabrication facilities at the Scottish Microelectronics Centre.

For students who wish to study a more general electronics course including digital systems, a prescribed course selection is available.

This programme is run over 12 months. You will have two semesters of taught courses, followed by a research project, leading to a masters thesis.

There is a great deal of flexibility in our degree programme with three distinct streams as follows:

  • Analogue
  • Analogue and Digital
  • Bioelectronics

Students from all streams must take the following compulsory courses:

  • Analogue IC Design (10 credits)
  • Engineering Research Methods with Grand Challenge (10 credits)
  • Analogue VLSI Lab (10 credits)
  • MSc Electronics: Project and Thesis (60 credits)

Additionally, our students must take compulsory courses from each stream.

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.

You will gain significant practical experience in analogue and digital laboratories and become familiar with the latest industry standard design software and environments.

Having been exposed to concepts such as design re-use and systems on chip technology, you will be able to cooperate with others in electronic system design.

Recent graduates are now working in engineer roles that include:

  • application
  • design
  • field
  • test
  • validation

They have had opportunities to work for employers such as:

  • BMW
  • Guangzhou Hangxin Avionics
  • Kongsberg Maritime

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 electronics or electrical engineering.

Your transcript and application should demonstrate clear evidence that you have studied both analogue and digital electronics. You should evidence competence in at least one general purpose programming language as well as experience with HDLs (such as Verilog or VHDL) and FPGAs.

We may also consider your application if you have appropriate professional experience; please contact us to check before you apply.

Entry to this programme is competitive. A typical offer will normally require a UK first class honours degree or equivalent.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

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 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 92 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 176 with at least 169 in each component.
  • Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components.
  • PTE Academic: total 62 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:

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).

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:

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)

Any applicants who are required to pay will receive an offer with full details. (If there is no information on your offer about the deposit, then you are not required to pay.)

Find out more about tuition fee deposits:

Living costs

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

Tuition fees

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

  • your programme
  • the duration of your studies
  • your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

Engineering International Masters Scholarships

  • £3,000

The scholarships will be awarded to overseas applicants who have been accepted for admission on a full-time basis for an eligible postgraduate taught Masters programme within the School of Engineering.

The scholarship will be awarded broadly on the basis of academic merit with candidates requiring a first-class honours degree from a UK university or overseas equivalent.

Learn more about this scholarship:

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

  • School of Engineering
  • Sanderson Building
  • The King's Buildings Campus
  • Edinburgh
  • EH9 3FB

Due to high demand, the school operates a number of selection deadlines.

We strongly recommend you apply as early as possible. Applications may close earlier than the published deadlines if there is exceptionally high demand.

We will make a small number of offers to the most outstanding candidates on an ongoing basis, but hold the majority of applications until the next published selection deadline.

We aim to make the majority of decisions within eight weeks of the selection deadline.

If we have not made you an offer by a specific selection deadline this means one of two things:

  • your application has been unsuccessful, in which case we will contact you to let you know, or
  • your application is still being considered, will be carried forward for consideration in the next selection deadline and we’ll be in touch once a decision is made

Selection Deadlines

Round Application Deadline Decisions made or applications rolled to next deadline
1 31 December 31 March
2 31 March 31 May

(Revised 10 November 2022 to clarify when decisions on applications will be made.) (Revised 1 March 2023 to update decision deadline.)

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

Further information

  • School of Engineering
  • Sanderson Building
  • The King's Buildings Campus
  • Edinburgh
  • EH9 3FB