STUDENTS in Scotland will soon be able to make a career out of moaning, thanks to the world's first postgraduate degree in professional complaint handling.

The Consumer Insight Centre at Queen Margaret University in ­Edinburgh is now offering an MSc in dispute resolution - an accredited ­qualification that looks at conflicts between customers and organisations.

The university claims that complaints in both the public and private sector are "big business", with the UK Government alone spending about £1.5 billion a year on professional dispute resolution.

A significant amount is also spent in the private sector, with the Financial Ombudsman Service receiving a ­whopping 2,357,374 complaints and enquiries in last year alone.

Course leader Chris Gill said: "We feel that now is the right time to speed up efforts to develop professionalism in the complaints sector. Ultimately, good complaint handling provides better public services.

"It's a crucial activity, which affects the everyday lives of consumers."