MSc Advanced Electrical Power & Energy Systems

Self-funded, international (non-EU) fee paying students starting this course full-time in September 2025 are eligible for a £5,000 scholarship, which will be automatically deducted from their tuition fees.

Key facts

  • Start date: September
  • Accreditation: Institution of Engineering & Technology
  • Study mode and duration: 21 months full-time
  •  Industry Engagement: Competitive internships available

Study with us

This MSc is the UK’s first two-year advanced programme in this field, designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to lead the transformation of the energy sector. You'll:

  • build deep expertise in electricity system design, planning, operations, and regulation, preparing you for roles in utilities, consultancies, and regulatory bodies
  • advance your understanding of low-carbon energy technologies and their critical role in mitigating climate change and enabling the transition to a sustainable, resilient energy future
  • gain practical insights from industry experts, working on real-world energy challenges and developing solutions that have direct impact
Back to course

Why this course?

This MSc programme is designed to meet the growing global demand for highly skilled professionals capable of shaping the future of the energy sector. Delivered by the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, the course provides a comprehensive education that blends advanced technical knowledge with strategic and professional development.

You’ll gain a deep understanding of power system analysis and design, including load flow, fault analysis, and grid stability. The curriculum covers the operation and control of electrical machines and drives, as well as the role of power electronics in modern energy systems, such as high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission and electric vehicle infrastructure.

A strong emphasis is placed on smart grids and intelligent energy systems, exploring how real-time monitoring, artificial intelligence, and internet of things technologies are transforming energy distribution and consumption.

The course also delves into renewable energy technologies, examining the integration of solar, wind and hydro into the grid, alongside the challenges of energy storage and hybrid systems.

Complementing the technical content, you'll explore the economic and regulatory dimensions of the energy sector. This includes electricity market structures, pricing mechanisms, and the economic principles guiding power system operation and investment.

Through modules on energy policy and regulation, you’ll gain insight into the frameworks that govern national and international energy systems. The course also develops essential professional skills in project management, leadership, and innovation strategy, preparing graduates to lead complex energy projects and drive technological advancement.

Industry engagement is a cornerstone of the course, offering you opportunities to engage with experts from utility companies, regulators, and technology firms. Through guest lectures, case studies, and collaborative projects, you’ll investigate real-world engineering challenges and explore the business strategies shaping the future of energy.

"The electric power and energy sector is undergoing significant transformation, driven by technological advancements, increasing energy demand, and the global push for sustainability. We aim to equip students with advanced expertise in the generation, transmission, distribution, and utilisation of electrical power and energy, positioning them for well-paid careers in the utilities, power companies and technology-driven industries."

Professor Pawel Niewczas
Course Director

THE Awards 2019: UK University of the Year Winner

What you'll study

This MSc course is structured to provide both depth and flexibility. You'll study a selection of taught compulsory and optional taught modules focused on the technologies, applications, regulatory policies and operations associated with power and energy systems. These modules are designed to develop advanced technical expertise and knowledge alongside the leadership and professional engineering skills needed for a successful career in the dynamic, high-growth power and energy sectors.

Year 1

  • Autumn semester - September to December: 60 credits of compulsory modules
  • Spring semester - January to May: 60 credits of compulsory modules

Year 2

  • Autumn semester - September to December: 40 credits of optional modules
  • Autumn & Spring semesters - September to May: 80 credits for MSc project

MSc Project

Students who pass all compulsory modules in Year 1 will progress to Year 2 to complete the optional modules and MSc Project.

The project involves an in-depth investigation into a core area within the electrical power and energy domains. Projects may be:

  • research-based, aligned with current departmental research themes, or
  • industry-based, conducted as an unpaid internship with one of the department’s partner companies

While all projects are designed to address real-world engineering challenges, competitive internships offer additional benefits, including:

  • site visits
  • access to relevant technical data and facilities
  • mentorship from an industry professional

This course structure ensures that you graduate not only with academic knowledge, but also practical experience and industry insight.

Check key dates for your MSc and the University academic session.

Go back

Course content

Compulsory modules

Advanced Power & Energy Systems (20 credits)

This class will allow you to understand, critically analyse and assess technical requirements for power system operation, management and planning. It will enable you to carry out advanced types of power system analysis as well as understand and use results from these analyses in power system operation and planning. You'll also develop an advanced knowledge of the main concepts related to the function, design and operation of protection schemes for distribution, transmission and generation applications.

High Voltage Technology & Electromagnetic Compatibility (20 credits)

This class will introduce you to the fundamentals of high voltage electrical insulating systems and the principles, mechanisms and characteristics of high voltage discharges in vacuum and condensed media. It will also provide you with a basic understanding of the behaviour of dielectric materials stressed with electric fields and their use in high voltage systems. You'll also gain an understanding of the principles of high voltage generation and impulse testing of the high voltage systems.

Power Electronics for Energy & Drive Control (20 credits)

Modern energy conversion systems rely on the integration of range of technologies including power electronics, electromechanical actuators and energy storage elements. This class will build knowledge of the building block technologies and show their application to modern energy conversion systems.

Power System Economics, Markets & Asset Management (20 credits)

This class will present and give an understanding of the economics, trading and pricing of electricity supply and how it is shaped by technical, commercial and regulatory considerations.

It will give you an understanding of power system economics under an environment of multiple suppliers and users, and present the challenges, technologies and value of asset management within an electricity supply industry context. You'll gain a deep appreciation of factors affecting security of supply and how it might be quantified.

Wind Energy & Distributed Energy Resources (20 credits)

This class will provide an understanding of the principles of wind turbine power generation with attention to the wind resource, rotor aerodynamics, structural design, power conversion and control.

It will also examine the socio-economic issues relating to wind power and provide an underpinning in distributed energy resources including small scale generation, energy storage and demand management and their integration and management within power networks.

Assignment & Professional Studies (20 credits)

The aim of this class is to provide you with support for your general academic and professional development.

You'll undertake an advanced investigation of an electronic or electrical engineering topic of your choice, to enhance your learning, and develop presentation and communication skills.

Optional modules

You’ll study no more than 40 credits of optional modules. Please note that the below is an indicative list of modules, reflecting the curriculum in the current year. These modules are subject to change, but are likely to include:

Digital Signal Processing Principles (20 credits)

This class covers the fundamentals of discrete time convolution, correlation, transform methods, time frequency signal representation, downsampling/upsampling and digital filters that are core to state of the art machine learning and deep learning architectures. The class has an integral Matlab based laboratory set of tasks that students are required to undertake.

Information Transmission & Security (20 credits)

The aim of this class is to develop an understanding of the principles by which information can transmitted with varying levels of security and the techniques by which communication systems can be analysed and designed.

Control Principles (20 credits)

This module aims to introduce the basic concepts, mathematical tools and design methods of classical control theory. It also introduces students to advanced control methods and provides a basic understanding of a time-domain approach to control analysis and the design of industrial processes.

The module covers: First and second order systems, delay process, simple saturation models; Simulation tools such as GUI, SIMULINK, MATLAB; Control system performance, transient and steady-state figures of merit, time domain step response, reference tracking and disturbance rejection in time domain; Simple control principles; State space representation of linear systems; Continuous time and discrete-time system fundamentals: eigen-values & eigen-vectors, stability, controllability & observability, canonical forms for systems; State-space control methods: pole placement state feedback control with/without observer design and linear quadratic optimal control.

At the end of this module students will be able to:

  • model simple systems with transfer function and state space representation, create simulations using MATLAB and Simulink
  • analyse linear open loop and closed loop systems both in frequency and time domain
  • understand the theoretical and practical implications of feedback control systems, design control systems using simple PID tuning methods
  • assess control performance, make analytical calculations and critical evaluation of control performance-related metrics
  • apply and understand the advanced control methods, principles and applications in an industrial context

Assessment and feedback is in the form of a coursework and class test in Semester 1 (15%), a project report (15%) and exam (70%) in Semester 2.

Software Engineering (20 credits)

This class will introduce you to the software engineering process through the development and application of C++ programming skills. You'll become competent in specifying, designing and developing software and in writing and testing programs of moderate complexity.

Wind Turbine Technology (20 credits)

The objectives of this class is to provide a basic understanding of the wind resource and the principal of wind turbine power conversion including:

  • an introduction to rotor dynamic suitable for non-specialist engineers and scientists
  • an explanation of  the evolution of contemporary wind turbine technology

You'll gain sufficient understanding to outline the design and operation of multi-megawatt machines.

5G Communications Networks (20 credits)

The objective of this class is to provide an understanding of the principles and key transport technologies which underpin 5G communications networks and architectures while giving an insight to the technical and strategic challenges associated with the provision of a Quality of Service (QoS)-based integrated future-network platform.

Hardware IoT Communication System Design (20 credits)

This module will provide you with the essential skills to design, build and test a sensor network for your smart grid application. The course makes use of radio frequency (RF) Internet of Things (IoT) development boards and a range of sensors and radio modules. You'll program the boards to communicate with the sensor nodes and wirelessly transmit data to gateway and onwards to a PC receiver or mobile wi-fi device. You'll analyse the measurement data and produce a graphical user interface to display it in a user accessible manner.

 

Data Analytics & AI for Energy Systems (10 credits)

A strong part of the business case for smart grids is using intelligence and automation to gain more capacity from existing assets to avoid large expenditure on further assets. Also, autonomy and intelligence is key to the flexible operation of smart girds, integration of low carbon generation and effective interaction with consumers.

This module teaches the key AI and data science methods that are applicable to smart grids, and provides case studies of their application. We are moving to a future where much more can and will be monitored and new techniques, leveraging data analytics, are needed to fully exploit the data. Areas covered will be machine learning, knowledge based methods, distributed intelligence methods and architectures, applications in asset management, applications in network management and control.

MSc Project

Students who successfully pass all required taught modules in Year 1 will progress to the MSc Project.

MSc Project (80 credits)

The aim of the research project is to provide you with an opportunity to bring your knowledge and skills together and deploy them in a significant practical investigation, using relevant engineering literature, and where relevant, initial experiments or simulations.

Learning & teaching

The MSc is delivered through a blended learning approach, combining both in-person and online methods to provide a flexible and engaging educational experience. Teaching methods include:

  • lectures (in-person & online)
  • problem-solving tutorials
  • hands-on, project-based laboratory sessions

This approach is designed to equip you with advanced technical expertise, while also developing essential leadership, project management, and professional engineering skills.

Each module typically includes:

  • five hours of direct contact time per week
  • at least five additional hours of independent study, supported by the University’s virtual learning environment, digital research resources, & library facilities

This structure encourages you to take an active role in your learning and to deepen your understanding through self-directed exploration and research.

Assessment

Each module employs a variety of assessment methods designed to maximise your learning and help you realise your full potential. These methods may include: 

  • coursework – involving research, design & analysis tasks
  • examinations – testing core theoretical knowledge & problem-solving
  • lab reports – documenting technical investigations
  • presentations – developing the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly & professionally
  • group projects – fostering collaboration & innovation skills
  • final MSc Project – a substantive piece of independent work demonstrating mastery of a specialist area

Weighting of assessments

Taught modules account for two-thirds (160 credits) of the total assessment, while the MSc Project contributes the remaining one-third (80 credits).

The project is assessed based on the technical quality and contribution of an interim and final report, a poster presentation and demonstrated initiative, independent thinking and project management skills.

This diverse assessment structure ensures that you are not only tested on your academic knowledge but also on your ability to apply it in real-world and professional contexts.

Professional development & employability

We're committed to helping you build a strong professional network and enhance your employability. In today’s competitive job market, having the right skills, training, and mindset is essential for career success.

To support your development, the MSc offers: 

  • access to cutting-edge facilities & state-of-the-art laboratories
  • guidance from academic experts who are leaders in their fields
  • opportunities for industry engagement through internships, guest seminars, careers events & networking sessions

These experiences are designed to help you develop not only technical expertise, but also the professional confidence and connections needed to thrive in the global energy sector.

Facilities

The Department offers extensive teaching spaces alongside a dedicated Masters Project and Study Environment designed to support both self-study and group working.  You’ll benefit from access to these facilities, as well as internationally leading research centres and state-of-the-art laboratories dedicated to topics covered within the MSc. These include high-voltage (HV) laboratories equipped with cutting-edge partial discharge systems, gas, liquid, and solid dielectric insulation measurement equipment, and associated HV instrumentation; and our distribution network and protection laboratory, featuring a 100 kVA microgrid, induction machines, and programmable load banks.

You’ll also have access to the Power Network Demonstration Centre (PNDC) - Europe’s first centre dedicated to the development, demonstration, and deployment of new smart-grid technologies and whole energy systems.

These facilities will support your project work, enabling you to explore exciting areas such as smart grid innovation and whole energy systems, high-voltage insulation diagnostics and asset health monitoring, renewable energy testing and grid integration.

Back to course

Entry requirements

Go back
Academic requirements/experience

Normally a first-class or second-class honours degree (or international equivalent) in electronic, electrical, power or energy engineering.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, please visit our English language requirements page for full details of the requirements in place before making your application.

Pre-Masters preparation course

The Pre-Masters Programme is a preparation course held at the University of Strathclyde International Study Centre, for international students (non-UK/Ireland) who do not meet the academic entry requirements for a Masters degree at University of Strathclyde.

Upon successful completion, you'll be able to progress to this degree course at the University of Strathclyde.

Glasgow is Scotland's biggest & most cosmopolitan city

Our campus is based right in the very heart of Glasgow. We're in the city centre, next to the Merchant City, both of which are great locations for sightseeing, shopping and socialising alongside your studies.

Life in Glasgow
Back to course

Fees & funding

All fees quoted are for full-time courses and per academic year unless stated otherwise.

Fees may be subject to updates to maintain accuracy. Tuition fees will be notified in your offer letter.

All fees are in £ sterling, unless otherwise stated, and may be subject to revision.

Annual revision of fees

Students on programmes of study of more than one year (or studying standalone modules) should be aware that the majority of fees will increase annually. The University will take a range of factors into account, including, but not limited to, UK inflation, changes in delivery costs and changes in Scottish and/or UK Government funding. Changes in fees will be published on the University website in October each year for the following year of study and any annual increase will be capped at a maximum of 10% per year.

Go back
Scotland

£11,900

England, Wales & Northern Ireland

£11,900

Republic of Ireland

If you are an Irish citizen and have been ordinary resident in the Republic of Ireland for the three years prior to the relevant date, and will be coming to Scotland for Educational purposes only, you will meet the criteria of England, Wales & Northern Ireland fee status. For more information and advice on tuition fee status, you can visit the UKCISA - International student advice and guidance - Scotland: fee status webpage. Find out more about the University of Strathclyde's fee assessments process.

International

£31,100

Additional costs

Course materials & costs

All students should expect to pay around £100 for additional course materials and other associated costs. 

You are not required to buy any specific software licences as all software used in classes will be available locally or remotely on campus machines. Some hardware (microcontrollers, design boards) may be available for loan purposes subject to a refundable deposit. If you choose to purchase these for project work, they cost approximately £10 to £30.

Access to department computer labs out of normal working hours is via key card. This costs £20, but is refundable upon return of the card.

You are provided with a printing quota for department lecture and tutorial notes, available for use in work conducted in department computer labs. You can buy top-ups if required through University IT Services.

Some printing and report binding will be required as part of your course. This is provided by the department’s dedicated Resource Centre. Costs are likely to be about £10 to £20 per year, but will depend on the exact programme and classes taken.

International students

International students may have associated visa and immigration costs. Please see student visa guidance for more information.

Please note: the fees shown are annual and may be subject to an increase each year. Find out more about fees.

How can I fund my course?

Go back

Scottish postgraduate students

Scottish postgraduate students may be able to apply for support from the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS). The support is in the form of a tuition fee loan and for eligible students, a living cost loan. Find out more about the support and how to apply.

Don’t forget to check our scholarship search for more help with fees and funding.

Go back

Students coming from England

Students ordinarily resident in England may be to apply for postgraduate support from Student Finance England. The support is a loan of up to £10,280 which can be used for both tuition fees and living costs. Find out more about the support and how to apply.

Don’t forget to check our scholarship search for more help with fees and funding.

Go back

Students coming from Wales

Students ordinarily resident in Wales may be to apply for postgraduate support from Student Finance Wales. The support is a loan of up to £10,280 which can be used for both tuition fees and living costs. Find out more about the support and how to apply.

Don’t forget to check our scholarship search for more help with fees and funding.

Go back

Students coming from Northern Ireland

Postgraduate students who are ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland may be able to apply for support from Student Finance Northern Ireland. The support is a tuition fee loan of up to £5,500. Find out more about the support and how to apply.

Don’t forget to check our scholarship search for more help with fees and funding.

Go back

International students

We've a large range of scholarships available to help you fund your studies. Check our scholarship search for more help with fees and funding.

Scholarships & funding support

Each year, we offer an extensive range of scholarships for new Home, UK, EU, and international students to help with tuition and living costs. These are offered at university and faculty level, as well as by our industry partners.

Explore our scholarships
Back to course

Careers

This MSc provides the advanced knowledge and technical expertise required for exciting, well-paid, and impactful careers in the fast-paced and dynamic power and energy sectors. Graduates are equipped to take on challenging roles across the global energy landscape, including:

  • power generation, supply, and distribution
  • network operation and grid management
  • renewables, low-carbon, and clean energy technologies

Recent graduates have secured professional and technical positions as electrical engineers, power systems specialists, and distribution and asset managers in leading national and multinational energy utilities such as Iberdrola, EDF Energy, ScottishPower Energy Networks, and China State Grid.

Beyond the energy sector, the technical and professional skills developed through this MSc open doors to a wide range of other industries, including:

  • manufacturing and industrial production
  • construction and building services
  • engineering consultancy
  • telecommunications, defence, and transportation

Employers of our graduates include globally recognised companies such as Arup, Atkins Global, BAE Systems, Thales, Mott MacDonald, and Rolls-Royce.

This strong track record reflects the programme’s emphasis on industry relevance, practical experience, and professional development, ensuring graduates are highly competitive in the global job market.

What could I earn?*

Role Potential earnings
Electrical Engineer  Entry-level salaries in the UK start at £37,000 per year, raising to £52,000 for the most senior positions
Power Distribution Engineer You can expect to earn on average £45,000 per year
Power Systems Consultant Typical salaries tend to start at £27,000, with average earning at £37,500, rising to £76,000 for the most experienced workers
Wind Turbine Inspection As a graduate starting out in your career, you can expect a salary of around £33,000, but this can rise to as much as £62,000 for senior inspection roles  
Risk Resilience Manager Typically you can expect to earn an average salary of £42,500, increasing to between £58,000 to £87,00 depending on the organisation worked for

Information is intended as a guide only. Salary details acquired from Talent.com, June 2025

Here from our graduate, Benjamin

Benjamin explains the reasons for choosing to study at Strathclyde and gives insight into the benefits of the course. 

Strathclyde has this ethos of being a Place of Useful Learning... but what is actually behind that? For me it was that it showed me the applications of what we learn in our lectures - not just teaching the theory.

Back to course

Apply

To apply, click on the relevant apply button

As part of the admissions process, you must upload the following supporting documentation.  We will be unable to process your application if these are not provided:

  • official semester mark sheets/academic transcript showing subjects taken and grades achieved for all qualifications. If you're still studying, please provide your individual semester mark sheets to date
  • certified degree certificate for all qualifications. If you're still studying, please provide this after completing your qualification
  • evidence of suitable English language proficiency if English is not your first language, or you're not from a “UKVI recognised "Majority English Speaking" country”; check the University’s language requirements
  • if you have been out of full-time education for over two years, provide a CV, detailing employment history, organisations worked for, and a brief description of roles and responsibilities demonstrating expertise, skills and suitability for the programme
  • a copy of your passport containing your photo and passport number
  • a copy of your sponsor letter/scholarship award (if appropriate) 
  • names, job titles and email addresses of two nominated referees

Start date: Sep 2025

Advanced Electrical Power and Energy Systems

MSc
full-time
Start date: Sep 2025

Back to course

Contact us

Faculty of Engineering

Telephone: +44 (0)141 574 5484

Email: eng-admissions@strath.ac.uk