TEACHING
QUALITY
Heriot-Watt University
41
st
NATIONAL
RANK
RANK
70.5%
FIRSTS
2:1s
2:1s
82.4%
COMPLETION
RATE
RATE
Key Stats
n/a
48th=
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
41st
RESEARCH
QUALITY
QUALITY
38th
GRADUATE
PROSPECTS
PROSPECTS
Contact details
ADDRESS
Edinburgh, EH14 4AS View on map >
Telephone
Email
Website
Open days
September 26 and November 1 (Edinburgh); October 10 and 11 (Scottish Borders)
University Profile
Heriot-Watt has a striking new campus in Malaysia to add to those in Dubai, Orkney, Galashiels and its original base on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The university’s name is on almost half of all Scottish degrees awarded to students studying overseas, making it the country’s most international university.
The university delivers degree programmes to more than 18,500 students in 150 countries. As well as offering opportunities to independent learners to study in their own country, Heriot-Watt has 50 partner universities and colleges in over 35 countries.
And international students also fill around a third of the places on the Edinburgh campus – one of the biggest proportions in the UK. Heriot-Watt won an award from the Scottish Council of Development and Industry, partly for its support for international students.
In the UK, however, it is known above all for a consistently good graduate employment record, which places it in the top 40 in our league table this year. Our Scottish University of the Year for 2011 and 2012 also scores highly for student satisfaction.
The university’s strengths lie in the
More than half of the UK-based students are from Scotland and just under 20% from other parts of Britain. Almost nine out of ten are from state schools and colleges, while a quarter come from working-class homes. The demand for places has been rising: applications were up by 11% in 2013, enabling the university to increase the size of the undergraduate intake and compensate for a drop in the previous year.
The main campus, in an attractive parkland setting in the Edinburgh suburb of Riccarton, still has a modern feel more than 40 years after it opened, and a £34m project has seen the opening of new residences at both Heriot-Watt’s Edinburgh and Scottish Borders campuses.
The main campus is to be the location for the purpose-built National Performance Centre for Sport (NPCS), a joint venture with the City of Edinburgh Council. The £30m facility will feature a Hampden replica pitch, outdoor synthetic and grass pitches for football and rugby, a nine-court sports hall, a 3G indoor pitch and a fitness suite, as well as world-class facilities for sports science and medicine.
The Scottish Borders Campus in Galashiels, 35 miles south of Edinburgh, specialises in textiles, fashion and design. Heriot-Watt and Borders College have signed a partnership agreement for a long-term collaboration to deliver higher and further education in the historically under-provided region, both institutions now sharing new campus facilities costing £12m.
The campus at Stromness, in Orkney, is for postgraduates and specialises in renewable energy.
Students in Dubai take business, engineering, science, technology or textiles and design courses. Numbers in the Gulf state have risen to almost 3,700 and continue to grow towards 6,000, as the university invests £35m in the campus.
The new Malaysian campus is now accepting students and has space for up to 4,000 students to take a range of degree programmes in science, engineering, business, mathematics and design. It is possible for Scotland-based students to study for part of their degrees at these foreign outposts, giving them valuable experience of living and working abroad.
More than half of the work submitted for the last Research Assessment Exercise was rated world-leading or internationally excellent. Mathematics produced the best results, but there were good grades, too, in petroleum engineering, physics, general engineering, the built environment, and art and design.
An estimated £14m will be needed to provide extra room for growing numbers of research-active staff and a separate project will create a new facility for the geosciences, marine sciences and related engineering disciplines that will also house the British Geological Survey.
The university has a number of sports scholarships and university teams do well. Music also thrives: there is a professional Director of Music and a number of music scholarships, as well as a varied programme of concerts and performances.
The students’ union was named Scottish Student Union of the Year by NUS Scotland. The 12 halls of residence are conveniently placed and house some 1,800 students. Built on the grounds of a country house, the landscaped Riccarton campus boasts a loch and a sunken garden. Regular bus services link to the city centre and its wide range of nightlife and cultural events.
The university delivers degree programmes to more than 18,500 students in 150 countries. As well as offering opportunities to independent learners to study in their own country, Heriot-Watt has 50 partner universities and colleges in over 35 countries.
And international students also fill around a third of the places on the Edinburgh campus – one of the biggest proportions in the UK. Heriot-Watt won an award from the Scottish Council of Development and Industry, partly for its support for international students.
In the UK, however, it is known above all for a consistently good graduate employment record, which places it in the top 40 in our league table this year. Our Scottish University of the Year for 2011 and 2012 also scores highly for student satisfaction.
The university’s strengths lie in the
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physical sciences, mathematics, business and management, engineering and the built environment. Concentration on these areas is fitting for a university which commemorates James Watt, the pioneer of steam power, and George Heriot, financier to King James VI. The university has fostered interdisciplinary teaching and research, with a battery of employment-related degrees.More than half of the UK-based students are from Scotland and just under 20% from other parts of Britain. Almost nine out of ten are from state schools and colleges, while a quarter come from working-class homes. The demand for places has been rising: applications were up by 11% in 2013, enabling the university to increase the size of the undergraduate intake and compensate for a drop in the previous year.
The main campus is to be the location for the purpose-built National Performance Centre for Sport (NPCS), a joint venture with the City of Edinburgh Council. The £30m facility will feature a Hampden replica pitch, outdoor synthetic and grass pitches for football and rugby, a nine-court sports hall, a 3G indoor pitch and a fitness suite, as well as world-class facilities for sports science and medicine.
The Scottish Borders Campus in Galashiels, 35 miles south of Edinburgh, specialises in textiles, fashion and design. Heriot-Watt and Borders College have signed a partnership agreement for a long-term collaboration to deliver higher and further education in the historically under-provided region, both institutions now sharing new campus facilities costing £12m.
The campus at Stromness, in Orkney, is for postgraduates and specialises in renewable energy.
Students in Dubai take business, engineering, science, technology or textiles and design courses. Numbers in the Gulf state have risen to almost 3,700 and continue to grow towards 6,000, as the university invests £35m in the campus.
The new Malaysian campus is now accepting students and has space for up to 4,000 students to take a range of degree programmes in science, engineering, business, mathematics and design. It is possible for Scotland-based students to study for part of their degrees at these foreign outposts, giving them valuable experience of living and working abroad.
More than half of the work submitted for the last Research Assessment Exercise was rated world-leading or internationally excellent. Mathematics produced the best results, but there were good grades, too, in petroleum engineering, physics, general engineering, the built environment, and art and design.
An estimated £14m will be needed to provide extra room for growing numbers of research-active staff and a separate project will create a new facility for the geosciences, marine sciences and related engineering disciplines that will also house the British Geological Survey.
The university has a number of sports scholarships and university teams do well. Music also thrives: there is a professional Director of Music and a number of music scholarships, as well as a varied programme of concerts and performances.
The students’ union was named Scottish Student Union of the Year by NUS Scotland. The 12 halls of residence are conveniently placed and house some 1,800 students. Built on the grounds of a country house, the landscaped Riccarton campus boasts a loch and a sunken garden. Regular bus services link to the city centre and its wide range of nightlife and cultural events.
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Detailed Statistics
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE
CATEGORY
SCORE
RANK
Ranking
-
41 (38)
Student experience
82.9
48th=
Research quality
18
41st
Ucas entry points
424
27th=
Graduate prospects
73.2
38th
Firsts and 2:1s
70.5
47th
Completion rate
82.4
89th
Student-staff ratio
16.4:1
47th
Services/facilities spend (£)
1,736
47th=
World ranking
-
352= (369)
VITAL STATISTICS
Undergraduates
(Full-time)
6,175
Undergraduates
(Part-time)
655
Postgraduates
(Full-time)
2,080
Postgraduates
(Part-time)
2,155
Applications/places
13,340/2,145
Applications/places ratio
6.2:1
STUDENT CITIES
Jessie Nelmes, students’ union president
You’re surrounded by swans, rabbits and squirrels.
We’re 25 minutes from Edinburgh, but we’ve worked hard for more buses.
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Cost of living
Nightlife
Transport
Culture
ACCOMMODATION
FEES
Scots/EU fees
£0-£1,820
RUK fees
£9,000
Fees (international)
£12,280-£15,490
Finance website
Graduate salaries
£23,285
BURSARIES/SCHOLARSHIPS
>
Range of scholarships and bursaries for Scottish students.
>
For all RUK students entering at year 1, £2,250 fee waiver a year plus £1,500 bursary in year 1; full fee waiver for placement year. From year 2, and for students entering at year 2, with household income below £25K, £3,000 bursary a year; household income £25K–£42.6K, £2,000 a year. RUK academic scholarship of £1,000 a year for students who achieve specified grades at A Level, or equivalent.
SPORT
Sports points/rank
557.5, 59th
Sport website
Student satisfaction
92.2%
90.7%
89.8%
89.1%
87.2%
87.0%
86.1%
85.8%
85.2%
85.1%
83.7%
81.5%
80.9%
79.9%
79.1%
79.0%
79.0%
79.0%
63.1%