Gain skills in risk analysis in this flexible risk and reliability engineering course.

  • Study the key concepts in risk and reliability modelling, including uncertainty quantification and probability theory.
  • Explore risk assessment principles and train in a range of risk assessment techniques.
  • Learn online, part-time and develop focused skills as a graduate engineer or industry professional.

This distance-learning short course fits around full-time work and is a core part of many of our Engineering Masters degrees.

Build credits towards a Masters degree

This online course is part of:

You can use the credits you earn on this short course towards any of these MSc qualifications.

What you’ll study

You’ll study three main topic areas.

An introduction to general risk assessment principles

  • Here you’ll focus on a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques.
  • You’ll train in the application of probabilistic modelling schemes.

Reliability computations

  • You’ll focus on reliability computations based on the ‘physics of failure’ approach.
  • You’ll explore problem formulation and the use of structural reliability methods, including first-order reliability method (FORM) and Monte Carlo simulations.

An introduction to safety management

  • This final part of the course looks at safety management systems and human reliability.

Across the course, you’ll also cover:

  • revision of elementary risk and reliability concepts
  • engineering quantities as random variables
  • risk assessment techniques
  • structural reliability – background and applications.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to...

  • Explain the significance of technical safety principles.
  • Describe a range of risk assessment schemes.
  • Analyse problems in which many of the parameters are non-deterministic in nature.
  • Formulate a range of reliability problems.
  • Explain the types of uncertainty that affect the reliability of engineering systems and components, and the model these using appropriate probability distributions.
  • Compute reliability using a variety of methods, including FORM and Monte Carlo simulation.

Why study risk and reliability engineering online with the University of Aberdeen?

Flexible

Flexible hours and 24/7 access, so you can study when it suits you.

Led by industry

Your course content is developed and reviewed by an Industry Advisory Board, so your training is always cutting edge and industry-relevant.

20% alumni discount

University of Aberdeen alumni get 20% off this online course.

How you’ll study

Online learning

This distance-learning risk analysis course is delivered flexibly online.

You can study with us anywhere in the world and manage your study hours to suit you.

Your teaching

This course is taught at Masters level.

Your teaching is delivered through MyAberdeen, our online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It holds all the materials, tools and support you’ll need in your studies. Take a look around MyAberdeen.

You can access your learning materials on computer, smartphone and laptop, 24 hours a day. You’ll find a range of resources at your fingertips, including:

  • videos
  • video lectures to stream
  • projects
  • quizzes
  • reading materials
  • discussion boards with colleagues and tutors
  • the online resources of our award-winning Sir Duncan Rice Library.

Your tutors

This course is delivered by our School of Engineering.

You’ll learn from a team of internationally experienced engineers and academics from this School.

Industry input

Your course content is developed and reviewed by an Industry Advisory Board. This group of experienced professionals ensures your learning is always in line with the latest industry trends, technology and career opportunities.

You’ll be assessed online. Assessment will take place throughout the teaching term.

Types of assessment for this course may include:

  • coursework
  • online quizzes
  • timed online open-book assessments.

Assessment deadlines

Your assessments will have submission deadlines, either during or at the end of the course. Your course coordinator will let you know when your assessment deadlines are, so you can plan your study time accordingly.

The course totals approximately 150 hours of study and assessment time. That’s around 10 – 15 hours per week.

This is an indicative guide to the time required for a typical student at this level to achieve the learning outcomes.

You can largely set your own study hours each week to cover the materials. MyAberdeen is available 24/7, so you can log in and study when it suits you.

Activities with deadlines

There will be some activities scheduled for fixed times, such as assessments with deadlines or meetings with your tutor. But otherwise, you can access and work through the course at your convenience.

Our first-class support structure will ensure that you aren’t alone in your studies. You’ll have contact with your tutors via MyAberdeen and email. You can use social media and discussion boards to chat with your fellow students too.

We provide a wide range of services to support you in your studies and beyond:

Wherever you are in the world, you’ll feel part of our very special Aberdeen learning community.

Your course coordinator

Dr. Dimitri Danulussi Alves Costa

Dimitri is a Research Fellow in our School of Engineering. He holds an MSc and PhD in Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Dimitri has worked with the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory where he participated in the development of beamlines for the 4th generation particle accelerator Sirius.

View Dimitri’s profile

Where this will take you

Towards a Masters

You’ll earn 15 credits at Masters level (SCQF Level 11) with this course. You can use these credits towards our:

Accredited Masters in Decommissioning

Join the world’s first and only accredited online Masters degree in decommissioning oil rigs, platforms and offshore structures.

View MSc Decommissioning

Accredited Masters in Offshore Engineering

Join our accredited online MSc and gain the skills you need to work in a wide variety of roles in the offshore engineering sector, including marine renewables.

View MSc Offshore Engineering

Accredited Masters in Subsea Engineering

Become a subsea engineer with our accredited online MSc. Train in the fundamental skills and technical knowledge demanded by the subsea sector today.

View MSc Subsea Engineering

Build your learning

We offer a range of specialist online Engineering and technology courses you can use to build your skills.

Many carry credits you can build up into postgraduate qualifications, including Masters degrees:

Careers

Completing this course will give you an advantage in technical safety-related careers.

Your employer or professional institute may recognise this course for Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Talk to your employer or institute to find out more.

Free career support

Access our free careers service while you study.

  • 1:1 appointments
  • CV checks
  • Interview prep
  • Job opportunities

See how our careers service can help you.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

We welcome students from all over the world.

This course has no formal entry requirements. You do not need to provide proof of your qualifications.

But you do need to check the entry guidance above to understand the level of teaching delivered, to decide if this course is right for you.

If you do not have qualifications from the UK, check the equivalent teaching level for your country.

Visa requirements

You do not need a student visa to study online with us.

English language requirements

Teaching is delivered in English.

You do not have to provide proof of your English language skills to join this course. But we want to make sure that you can use English well enough to study successfully.

Recommended level of English

For this course, we recommend the following level of English language proficiency.

These are our Postgraduate Standard requirements, and these are minimum scores.

IELTS Academic, IELTS UKVI Academic, and IELTS Online (not IELTS Indicator or IELTS General Training)

  • 6.5 overall
  • 5.5 for listening, reading and speaking
  • 6.0 for writing

TOEFL iBT and TOEFL iBT Home Edition

  • 90 overall
  • 17 for listening
  • 18 for reading
  • 20 for speaking
  • 21 for writing
  • TOEFL DI code is 0818

Cambridge English: B2 First, C1 Advanced, or C2 Proficiency

  • 176 overall
  • 162 for listening, reading and speaking
  • 169 for writing

LanguageCert Academic/LanguageCert Academic SELT

  • 70 overall
  • 60 for listening, reading and speaking
  • 65 for writing

LanguageCert International ESOL B2 Communicator (Written and Spoken) – Online / In-centre

  • Overall High Pass
  • 33 for listening, reading and speaking
  • 38 for writing

Oxford ELLT Digital – English Language Level Test Online

  • 7.0 overall
  • 5.0 for listening, reading and speaking
  • 6.0 for writing

PTE Academic (online test not accepted)

  • 62 overall
  • 59 for listening, reading, speaking and writing

For full information about language requirements, see our English Language Requirements page.

When you study with us, you can expect a first-class support structure so that you’re never alone in your studies.

But learning online does mean you have to motivate yourself and manage your own time.

Your most important commitment will be time – the time to work through, reflect on and understand your teaching materials.

Before you start a course that involves a high degree of independent study, we recommend looking at the time you will be able to devote to your studies each week:

  • Be realistic
  • Create a weekly schedule as a guide

If you have any questions about studying online, get in touch with our friendly team. We’re here to help.

Fee payment

Your course fee needs to be paid in full before you start your course.

We accept payment via Visa Debit, Visa Credit and Mastercard.

Ways to save

You may be able to get help funding this course via:

  • discounts – if any discounts are available for this course, they’ll appear in the section below
  • employer sponsorship – we accept full and partial fee payments from sponsors.

Find out more about funding options.

Student card

All our students are entitled to a University of Aberdeen student card. This gives you access to a range of student discounts around the city and online.

Learning resources

Access to all the essential books and resources you need are included in your tuition fee. They’ll be made available to you online and you do not have to buy your own copies.

We also provide optional recommended reading lists. Many of these resources are available electronically through our library, although purchases may be required if you wish to read the full list.

Printing

You may want to set aside a small budget for printing, depending on how you like to work.

This course includes many of the same learning outcomes as our online short course in Safety and Risk Management. We recommend that you do not study this course alongside Safety and Risk Management.

This course has no formal entry requirements. You decide if it’s suitable for you.

The course is delivered at postgraduate Masters level. At this level of teaching, you’d usually have at least:

  • a 2:1 UK honours degree (or equivalent) in Engineering, Applied Mathematics or Physics, or
  • relevant professional experience that supports this level of study.

Mathematical skills

This course includes significant mathematical content. Please review our mathematical skills document, which we’ve prepared to give you an indication of the level of mathematics you’ll require.

Apply for this course

Start date
27 January 2025
Cost
£1,290
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