About

Our profile

Leaders in ideas and solutions

Our heritage dates back to 1821 since when our community of scholars has been developing transformational solutions to specific global problems. We are specialists in engineering, business and science and leaders in innovative global education for a future world.

We are global

  • We 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
  • We have over 29,000 students studying with us at our 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

We are connected

  • The Watt Club is oldest graduate club in the UK
  • We have over 159,000 alumni worldwide in over 190 countries
  • We are the university of choice for business and industry​ and our graduates are sought by the best organisations worldwide

We are experts and leaders

  • The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 ranked 86.8% of Heriot-Watt's research as world-leading and internationally excellent.
  • We are 9th in the UK and 1st in Scotland for research impact (REF 2021).
  • We are ranked 256th in the world, 32nd in the UK and 5th in Scotland (QS World University Rankings 2025).
  • Top 18% of universities in Europe (QS Europe Rankings 2024).
  • Almost 90% of our graduates are in employment or further education 15 months after graduation, placing us 1st in Scotland and 4th in the UK for graduate outcomes (Graduate Outcomes 2023).
  • Top 20 in the UK for Chemical Engineering, Hospitality and Leisure Management, Petroleum Engineering, Architecture and Built Environment, and Mathematics (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024).
  • Top 30 in the UK for Arts and Humanities, Computer Science and Engineering (Times Higher Education University Rankings by Subject 2024).