University of Heriot-Watt, details of Heriot-Watt university

Heriot-Watt

University ranking

• 2010  39
• 2009  =49
• 2008  44

History

• Heriot-Watt is the eighth oldest higher education institution in the UK, and gained university status by Royal Charter in 1966.
• The university originated as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, founded in 1821 as the world’s first Mechanics Institute.
• Named after George Heriot, 16th Century financier to King James, and James Watt, the great 18th Century inventor and engineer.

Location and transport

• Campuses in Edinburgh and in the Scottish Borders at Galashiels, with a further small campus in Orkney.
• The Edinburgh campus combines a beautiful parkland site with all the attractions offered by one of the world’s great cities.
• The university has a further growing campus in Dubai based at the purpose-built Academic City.

Accommodation

• All first year undergraduates are guaranteed accommodation as long as their application is received by the deadline of 1 September.
• Facilities in catered or self-catered halls of residences and flats are designed to support student learning needs.
• Free broadband access at the Edinburgh campus, well-equipped kitchen if self-catering, TV lounge. Laundry and 24 hour computer labs as standard.
• More information on accommodation at Heriot-Watt University can be found here.
  
  

Entry standards
League Table

• Admission to courses is by individual assessment where experience and skills are valued alongside formal qualifications.
• Guidance on undergraduate entry requirements is available at www.undergraduate.hw.ac.uk/admissions/
• Students with particularly good grades may be offered the opportunity for second year entry into degree courses.

Bursaries and scholarships
Sports scholarship.

• There are no variable tuition fees in Scotland. Fees for 2010-11 have not yet been confirmed. If you are a Scottish-domiciled first degree student you are eligible for your tuition fees to be covered by the Scottish Government. Scottish students should apply to the SAAS to cover this cost. Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland should apply for a fee loan to Student Finance England, Student Finance Wales, and Student Finance Northern Ireland as appropriate. Students from elsewhere in the EU should contact the SAAS.
• Tuition fees for non-Scottish domiciled students for 2009-10 have yet to be confirmed but are expected to be £1,820 a year (£2,895 for medicine).
• The RUK Bursary has been introduced for students normally resident in England, Wales or Northern Ireland only, studying at a Scottish university, who would otherwise have been eligible for a £319 national minimum bursary (i.e. in receipt of full HEMG) had they studied at a university in the rest of the UK. The RUK Bursary is currently worth around £310. 
• Fees for placement year and year abroad are normally 50% of full-time fee.
• A number of scholarships of £500 a year for four/five years of study are available, with preference given to study of subjects in Science and Engineering.
• Scholarships in Engineering and Physical Sciences of £500 a year for up to 5 years are offered for female students.
• The Alumni Fund scholarships at £500 a year for four to five years for UK/EU students.
• Annual music scholarships for instrumentalists and singers applying for a course.
• Sports scholarships.
• For more information on bursaries and scholarships at Heriot-Watt, click here.

  Student mix

• Heriot-Watt consistently out-performs its national benchmarks for percentage of entrants from state schools and areas of low HE participation.
• One-third of students at its main campus come from outside the UK.
• Each year Heriot-Watt University disburses over £5 million in the form of fee and stipend scholarships to more than 400 students.
• Places are in demand with around a 20% overall conversion rate of applications to places for first degree courses. The ratio of applications to places varies for different disciplines.

Course flexibility

• Flexible modular teaching with opportunities for transfer between courses and learning modes.
• Teaching is supported by virtual learning environments which add value to the student learning experience.
• The Virtual Campus is exemplified by the popular SCHOLAR programme, a learning resource for first year courses.

Teaching standards
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• An Enhancement-Led Institutional Review by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) in 2006 awarded the university the highest possible assessment.

• A well developed Learning and Teaching Strategy focuses on employability and professional career readiness, and the student learning experience.
• Student representation is included on key strategy/policy making committees which set the standards for learning and teaching and student support.

Research standards
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• The university offers the advantages of a research-led teaching environment where advances in relevant fields are reflected in the syllabus.

• Almost all research at the university was assessed in the top grades of 4, 5 and 5* in the 2001 national research assessment exercise.
• Heriot-Watt is a partner in the Edinburgh Research Partnership, a multi-million pound venture bringing together world-class engineering and mathematics research.

Academic strengths

• Close relationships with business and industry ensure that courses are up-to-date and accredited by all the relevant professional bodies.
• Flexible learning programmes internationally, with 11,800 students studying off-campus in 150 countries world-wide.
• A newly introduced two semester system is aimed at improving the student learning experience.

Student facilities (including Library and Computing)
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• Campus facilities are designed to accommodate everyone’s requirements, be they academic, social, sporting, cultural, religious or welfare.
• Libraries at the Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Dubai campuses, each of which has a Subject Librarian who specialises in each subject area.
• The main computer network encompasses Edinburgh and Borders campuses, accessible from Schools, Libraries, Computer Centres and some Halls of Residence.

Disability services

• Information on the disability services at Heriot-Watt University can be found here. 

Students' Union

• Supports a student-orientated approach to every aspect of university life and an environment in which students feel safe and able to participate.
• Provides an extensive programme of entertainments each week, including comedy and club nights and live music. On-site bars and café.
• Supports a variety of student societies catering for all sorts of tastes, run by students for students.
• More information on the students' union at Heriot-Watt is available here.

Sport

• The multi-million pound Sports Academy includes a sports science and sports medicine centre with premier league quality pitches.
• Sports halls, floodlit tennis courts, golf Academy, climbing wall, squash courts, cardiovascular suite, strength and conditioning centre and more.
• Heriot-Watt’s Sports Union is run by and for students with over 30 clubs from football to fencing and snow-sports to sub-aqua.
• For more details on sport at Heriot-Watt, visit the website.

Recent/prospective new builds

• The university is investing in a multi-million pound upgrade of facilities at the Scottish Borders campus in a co-location project with Borders College.
• A dedicated Postgraduate Centre will open early in 2009 at Heriot-Watt’s Edinburgh campus.
• The Postgraduate Centre and the student learning environment/supporting facilities are the focus of a multi-million pound Fundraising Campaign.

Availability of part-time work

• The Careers Advisory Service advertises jobs on behalf of employers who notify Heriot-Watt of their vacancies.
• Students are asked to register with Jobs Direct and set their profile for the type of work they are looking for.
• When any suitable new vacancy or employer presentation is made available to the Careers Advisory Service students receive an automatic e-mail alert.

For further information

• www.hw.ac.uk
• enquiries@hw.ac.uk
• Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS
• +44 (0)131 449 5111
• Travel and maps