Heriot-Watt University is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted university status by royal charter in 1966. It is the eighth oldest higher education institute in UK.

Heriot-Watt is global

• They have five campuses across the world: Edinburgh, Scottish Borders, Orkney, Dubai and Malaysia, as well as 53 Approved Learning Partners (ALPs) and educational collaborative partners in 150 countries
• They have over 29,000 students studying with us at their campuses and online through distance learning (year end 2017)
• One third of our on-campus students studying in Scotland are from outside the UK, making Heriot-Watt one of the most internationally diversified of any UK university

Heriot-Watt is connected

• The Watt Club is oldest graduate club in the UK
• They have over 130,000 alumni worldwide in over 190 countries
• They are the university of choice for business and industry​ and our graduates are sought by the best organisations worldwide

Heriot-Watt is experts and leaders

• The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 ranked Heriot-Watt 22nd in the UK, with 82% of our research as world-leading or internationally excellent
• They are 9th in the UK and 1st in Scotland for research impact
• Over 80% of our academic staff are currently engaged in research at internationally recognised levels
• They are ranked 302nd in the world in the 2019 QS World University Ranking
• At least 90% of students were satisfied overall with their course in 10 of our 22 subject areas in the National Student Survey 2019.
• They are 37th in the world, 13th in the UK and 3rd in Scotland for their international outlook based on THE World University Rankings 2019.
• 8th in Scotland in the Guardian University Guide 2021
• 95% of graduates are in employment or further study within six months of graduation

Heriot-Watt's rankings

Where they rank

Heriot-Watt University is consistently ranked at a high level across a number of key university league tables.

From their research performance to student satisfaction, graduate employability and the quality of our teaching, Heriot-Watt's status as a world-class university is independently confirmed.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings use 13 performance indicators to examine universities across all of their core missions – teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

• Ranked in the top 250 universities worldwide (201-250) for Engineering and Technology
• Ranked in the top 25 UK universities for Engineering and Technology.