Study Abroad at Heriot-Watt University

Having been on a constant rise in terms of prestige and popularity, Heriot-Watt University is a renowned public research university located in Edinburgh, Scotland. Established quite back in the year 1821 as the School of Arts in Edinburgh, the university has been around for a long time and thus, it has a rich history and tradition. It was in the year 1966 that Heriot-Watt was granted the university status by royal charter. As is quite apparent, the name ‘Heriot-Watt’ was taken from the famous Scottish inventor, James Watt, and the Scottish philanthropist and goldsmith called George Heriot.

Having come a long way, Heriot-Watt is known and valued for its pioneering endeavors in research in line with the contemporary needs of businesses and industries. The institute started its journey with the establishment of the world’s first Mechanics institute that brought about a revolution in education-related to science and technology. Today, the university is widely recognized as one of the leaders in transnational education and as an institute that shapes the world and prepares brilliant leaders. Ever since having come into existence, Heriot-Watt has been a pioneer in education and has a distinctive approach.
This is one of the reasons for the university to have gained such popularity among international students all over the world. The university receives a huge number of applications every year and has become an institute with a truly global presence in the last few decades.

Courses Offered:

At Heriot-Watt University, the students get to choose from an extensive range of courses and disciplines. The university has earned a reputation for offering a world-class curriculum across all its courses. Heriot-Watt is a specialist in business, engineering, and design, and also the physical, social, and life sciences. In fact, the university is known for the pioneering research that it has done over the years in these areas. The institute offers a wide range of courses for the students to choose from. This range helps the students as it allows them to take a toll on their decision and look at this huge variety before finalizing the course that they wish to study.

The university is organized into Five Academic Schools. They are listed below:

  • Engineering and Physical Sciences
  • Mathematical and Computer Sciences
  • Social Sciences incorporating Edinburgh Business School
  • Textiles and Design
  • Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure, and Society

Through these five academic schools and the departments, the university offers as many as 493 courses for the students to take a look at. Courses are available at the undergraduate level, master’s, and even doctoral level. In addition, Heriot-Watt also offers basic foundation courses to the students and many online distance learning programs and certifications across a wide range of courses. The courses offered cover subjects like Accounting, Business Finance, Acoustics and Noise Control, Actuarial Management, Engineering, Earth Sciences, Applied Languages, Mathematical Sciences, Architectural Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Business Administration, Business Psychology, Computer Science, Computer Systems Management, Data Science, Energy, Fashion, Food and Nutrition, Housing, Information Systems, and many more.

Another interesting fact about Heriot-Watt University is that it currently has five campuses in different locations and also runs various distance learning programs through as many as 53 learning partners for students all around the world. The main campus of the university is located in South West Edinburgh that houses several academic buildings, student residences, and much more along with the university’s Institute of Petroleum Engineering.

The Scottish Borders campus of Heriot-Watt houses the university’s School of Textile and Design that had come to life in 1883. The university also has a campus in Dubai that was opened in the year 2005. With the opening of this campus, Heriot-Watt had become the first-ever British university to set up a campus in Dubai International Academic City. One of the campuses of the university is in Putrajaya, Malaysia. This campus was opened in September 2014. It is the first green campus in Malaysia. The fifth campus of the university is in Stromness, Orkney. This campus is home to the International Centre for Island Technology (ICIT), which is a part of the university’s Institute of Petroleum Engineering.

Reasons for International students to attend Heriot-Watt University:

Studying abroad seems to be a very exciting and fascinating prospect for the students, for various reasons. However, it is not easy to decide which college to finally go to. One needs to understand that the process of deciding which college to attend, which course to study, etc. is not easy at all. In fact, if somebody takes this decision easily and lightly, he might be committing a major mistake. Every year, a large number of students drop the idea of studying abroad because they dread the highly cumbersome process. Moreover, when it comes to international students, things are drastically different. Starting from the preconceived notions to the confusions and apprehensions, it is all different.

The basic reason for this difference in experience is that the local students have an advantage as they know about the colleges in their country, the prestige, and everything else. However, the international students lag behind in all this.

The college that one chooses for himself in this day and age ends up deciding the path and the kind of opportunities that one gets. Hence, students should not take this decision lightly.

At Heriot-Watt University, international students can find all the great reasons to study here. Some of these reasons are listed below:

1. Get to learn from world-leading academics

One of the major reasons for any student to leave his country and everything that has been familiar to him and move abroad to study is the quality of education. The pursuit of a higher and better quality of education is the sole reason for many students to leave their homes every year. At Heriot-Watt, the students get to learn at the hands of world-class academics and experts. All the teachers and faculty members of the university are experts in their fields of study and have tons of experience. The learning environment that the university offers to the students includes the very best of study programs designed in such a way that the students get to learn how they can apply their acquired knowledge to solve real-world problems. Over the years, the university has earned a reputation for producing highly competent graduates. For this reason, the university has been successful in grabbing the top rankings in multiple lists.
Therefore, international students from all over the world apply to this university in large numbers.

2. Great financial support from the university

For students who come from parts of the world like Asia, it can prove to be extremely difficult to finance higher studies, especially in Europe. The primary reason for this is the huge difference in the strengths of the currencies. Financial inability to afford the tuition fees and other expenses that come with staying abroad become the reason for many students dropping the idea every year.  Keeping this in mind, Heriot-Watt University offers a wide range of scholarships to the students. Every year, the university enables hundreds of students in enhancing their educational experience and stay by providing support through various scholarships and bursaries.

The tuition fee in most of the universities that offer a good quality of education is quite high. This keeps many students devoid of the kind of education they wish to receive. At Heriot-Watt University, the available scholarship options give all the students a chance to realize their dreams and overcome the barrier of financial inability. The authorities here make sure that every student who deserves to get a scholarship, really get one.

3. High employability

As already mentioned, Heriot-Watt University has had a longstanding record of producing graduates and professionals who can solve real-world problems and can overcome all the obstacles and challenges that the market and the real world puts in front of them. At Heriot-Watt University, the students get highly research-informed education along with the rich tradition and value system of the university that makes sure that the students develop in ana all-round manner and develop leadership skills. The learning environment at Heriot-Watt helps all the students develop a level of confidence that can help them become experts in their fields.

For these reasons, companies across industries seek out the graduates of Heriot-Watt University. The graduates of this university enjoy a high reputation among the employers across markets. The employers show faith and trust in the ability of the graduates of this university to get the job done efficiently. This is the reason why the students of Heriot-Watt find themselves in graduate-level jobs or in further study within the first six months after the completion of their program. Since employability is a very important factor and any student would want the employability of his college to be high, Heriot-Watt has become a preferred choice among the students.

Prospects for international students:

There is a very high number of universities in the world that open their doors to international students and yet, there are only a few that go on to establish their names as truly international ones. The simple reason behind this is that the international students need some extra support to feel comfortable on campus and to succeed, as compared to the local or native students. Heriot-Watt University has been successful in making a name for itself as an institute that provides international students with unlimited potential for advancement. Some of the reasons why international students thrive at Heriot-Watt university are mentioned below:

1. Great rankings

It is no secret that all of us want to study at an institute that has stellar rankings. After all, rankings are the easiest and the fastest way for all of us to know about a university and make an impression. No student would want to leave his hometown and travel thousands of miles to a new country to study at an institute that does not have good rankings. In this regard, Heriot-Watt University meets all the expectations of all the students.

It would help all the international students who aspire to study at Heriot-Watt to know that it was named the International University of the year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018 because of its global presence and the impact it has had over the years. Moreover, in the year 2020, Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed Heriot-Watt university among the top 300 universities in the world. Also, in the same year, The Complete University Guide ranked Heriot-Watt at the 35th position in the United Kingdom, which is ahead of a lot of Russell Group universities. Besides these rankings, the university has consistently performed well in several other rankings as well.

2. Assistance with the English language

It is no secret that the barrier of language is a very high one. If a student is not proficient in the native language of his study destination, the college years can be highly stressful and difficult. It is almost impossible to adjust to a place without knowing the language at all. For this reason, Heriot-Watt University offers support and assistance to all the students who are not proficient in the English language. The university offers assistance to the students on campus and also runs a pre-sessional English summer program for the students.

If you are an international student willing to join Heriot-Watt University, this pre-sessional English summer program is an efficient way for you to meet the entry requirements concerning the English language. This option gives the students the privilege of not having to study for an external examination. The university even offers a 50 percent discount to all the applicants who proceed to one of the degree programs of the university. The discount is meant to make the entire process easier for all the students. This program proves to be highly beneficial for all the students who are not as proficient with the English language as they need to be to have a comfortable stay during college years.