Heriot-Watt University

Heriot-Watt University (Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) 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 was subsequently granted university status by royal charter in 1966. It is the eighth-oldest higher education institution in the United Kingdom. The name Heriot-Watt was taken from Scottish inventor James Watt and Scottish philanthropist and goldsmith George Heriot.

The annual income of the institution for 2024–25 was £293.9 million of which £52.3 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £301.1 million. Known for its focus on science as well as engineering, it is one of the 23 colleges that were granted university status in the 1960s, and it is sometimes considered a plate glass university, like Lancaster and York.

The university has three campuses in Scotland and one each in the UAE and Malaysia.

History

School of Arts of Edinburgh

Heriot-Watt was established as the School of Arts of Edinburgh (not to be confused with Edinburgh College of Art) by Scottish businessman Leonard Horner on 16 October 1821. Having been inspired by Anderson's College in Glasgow, Horner established the school to provide practical knowledge of science and technology to Edinburgh's working men. The institution was initially of modest size, giving lectures two nights a week in rented rooms and it had a small library of around 500 technical works. It was also oversubscribed, with admissions soon closing despite the cost of 15 shillings for a year's access to lectures and the library.

The school was managed by a board of eighteen directors and primarily funded by sponsors from the middle and upper classes, including Robert Stevenson and Walter Scott. It first became associated with the inventor and engineer James Watt in 1824, as a means of raising funds to secure permanent accommodation. Justifying the association, School Director Lord Cockburn said:

"[The building] shall be employed for the accommodation of the Edinburgh School of Arts; whereby the memory of Watt may forever be connected with the promotion, among a class of men to which he himself originally belonged, of those mechanical arts from which his own usefulness and glory arose. "

In 1837, the School of Arts moved to leased accommodation on Adam Square, which it purchased in 1851 with funds raised in Watt's name. In honour of the purchase, the School changed its name to the Watt Institution and School of Arts in 1852. The statue of Watt was added in front of the Adam Square school in 1854 and has since moved as the premises moved.

Watt Institution and School of Arts

Heriot-Watt's time as the Watt Institution marked a transitional period for the organisation, as its curriculum broadened to include several subjects beyond mathematics and the physical sciences. While the School of Arts had catered almost exclusively to working-class artisans and technical workers, the Watt Institution admitted a large number of middle-class students, whom it attracted with new subjects in the sciences, social sciences and humanities. By 1885, the skilled working class were no longer the majority in an institution that had been created explicitly for them.

A shifting class make-up was not the only demographic change to affect the student body: in 1869 women were permitted to attend lectures for the first time. This move put the Watt Institution some way ahead of Scottish universities, who were only permitted to allow women to graduate 20 years later following the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 55). The decision to admit women was made in large part owing to pressure from local campaigner Mary Burton, who later became the institution's first female director in 1874.

Campuses

Heriot-Watt currently has five campuses, and also runs distance learning programmes through 53 approved learning partners to students around the world.

Edinburgh

Heriot-Watt's main campus is located in Riccarton in South West Edinburgh on 380 acres (150 hectares) of parkland. The campus consists of: academic buildings, student residences, a postgraduate centre, shops, several library collections, childcare, healthcare, a chaplaincy, a variety of recreational and sports facilities, and a museum, as well as the Student Union's main premises. It is also home to the Edinburgh Conference Centre and Europe's oldest research park, Heriot-Watt University Research Park which opened in 1971. The university's Institute of Petroleum Engineering is based at its Edinburgh campus.

Scottish Borders

Heriot-Watt's Scottish Borders Campus in Galashiels is home to the university's School of Textiles and Design. The school began life in 1883 when the Galashiels Manufacturer's Corporation began running classes in practical courses for its workers. The institution gradually grew both in terms of student numbers and the number of courses it offered, and it ultimately became known as the Scottish College of Textiles in 1968. In 1998 the college merged with Heriot-Watt, leading to the creation of the School of Textiles and Design in its modern form.

The school is one of the few fashion schools in the world which offers a menswear course at bachelor's degree level, and the only school in Scotland to offer a fashion communication course. It was ranked 11th place in the UK for art and design in the 2013 Complete University Guide, produced a winner and five other finalists for the Scottish Fashion Awards Graduate of the Year in June 2012.

While the Scottish Borders Campus shares some facilities and administrative functions with Edinburgh, it is largely self-contained. As well as its own library, accommodation and catering facilities, it has its own branch of the Student Union which runs events on the site and is home to a collection of textile records and artefacts. A new £12M student village opened at the Campus in September 2012.

The entire campus is shared with Borders College, whose students make up the majority of those who study at the site.

Marillion's 1985 song Kayleigh was inspired by an SCT student, and refers to the snow and college halls of Galashiels.

Dubai

Heriot-Watt's Dubai campus opened in 2005. It was the first British university to set up in Dubai International Academic City.

Offering a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses similar to those found in Scotland, the campus facilitates student exchanges between Britain and the Gulf Emirates. It has facilities including a library, computer laboratory, cafes and restaurants. An expanded campus opened in the city on 3 November 2011, allowing double the number of students to study for a Heriot-Watt degree in the city.

Organisation

Heriot-Watt is divided into six schools and one institute that coordinate its teaching and research:

The School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, incorporating geoenergy engineering and renewable energy technology, architectural engineering, civil & structural engineering, construction management & surveying, geography and urban studies

The School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, incorporating chemical engineering, chemistry, electrical, electronic and computing engineering, mechanical engineering and physics

The School of Social Sciences (formerly, School of Management and Languages), incorporating accountancy and finance, business management, economics and languages and the Edinburgh Business School, which offers postgraduate courses at MBA, MSc and DBA level

• The School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, incorporating actuarial mathematics and statistics, computer science and mathematics
• The School of Textiles and Design
• The Global College which offers a foundation pathway to Heriot-Watt University degrees
• The Urban Institute, a research collaboration for urban studies between Heriot-Watt University and The University of Edinburgh

From 1 August 2016, the former School of Life Sciences was merged with other schools, with programmes transferred to the School of Management and Languages, the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society and the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

Academic profile

Rankings and reputation

Heriot-Watt University was named International University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018. Heriot-Watt is known for the strong prospects of its students, with 80% in graduate-level jobs or further study six months after leaving the institution.

In 2011, Heriot-Watt was named as The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2011–2012, with the paper emphasising the employability of the institution's graduates. In 2012, it was again Scottish University of the Year 2012–2013 for the second year running, and also became UK University of the Year for student experience. The same year it came 1st in Scotland and 4th in the UK in the 2012 National Student Survey.

Times Higher Education's 'Table of Tables' is the combined results of the three main UK university league tables – the Good University Guide (published by The Times and The Sunday Times), The Guardian and The Complete University Guide. In the Table of Tables 2015, Heriot-Watt was placed 27th in the UK and 3rd in Scotland. It is ranked 28th in the UK by The Complete University Guide 2018 and 26th in the UK by The Guardian University League Table 2018. In a 2015 detail report on UK universities, Durham academic Vikki Boliver placed Oxford and Cambridge in the first tier, and included Heriot-Watt in the second tier made of the remaining 22 Russell Group universities and 17 other "pre-92" universities.

In 2020, Heriot-Watt was ranked at 314 by QS World University Rankings and at 251–300 by Times Higher Education World University Rankings in the world. It was ranked 243rd in the world for engineering and technology by QS Rankings in 2019. It was ranked 143rd in the world for technical sciences in 2018 by Round University Ranking.

It was ranked among 201-250 globally for Business and Economics by Times in 2019. In 2018, ARWU ranked Heriot-Watt globally among 51–75 for Telecom Engineering and 101–150 for Civil Engineering, Mathematics and Oceanography.

Nationally, the university is ranked highly for Planning and Building education. In 2019, the university was ranked 4th in UK and 1st in Scotland for Town & Country Planning and Landscape Design by The Complete University Guide. It was also ranked 9th in UK and 1st in Scotland for Building and Town & Country Planning by The Guardian in the same year. In the 2019 The Complete University Guide national subject rankings Heriot-Watt had the following rankings: 2nd (of 34) – Building education, 17th (of 104) – Accounting and Finance, 15th (of 81) – Art and Design, 14th (of 30) – Chemical Engineering, 23rd (of 60) – Chemistry, 1 (of 56) – Civil Engineering, 25th (of 110) – Computer Science, 22nd (of 77) – Economics, 23rd (of 68) – Electrical Engineering, 15th (of 72) – Mathematics, 14th (of 69) – Mechanical Engineering, and 25th (of 48) – Physics and Astronomy. The university has been constantly ranked among the top 10 universities in UK for Building education since 2010.

Student life

Student Union

The Student Union at Heriot-Watt is a student-led organisation headed by individuals elected from the student population. The association has represented students both locally and nationally since its foundation in 1966, and is a member of both the Edinburgh Students' Forum and the National Union of Students (NUS). It is also responsible for running the university's Student Union, which runs events for students and supports student societies. Over 50 societies currently exist, including the Brewing Society which organises an annual charity beer festival. In addition, the Student Union runs many services at the Edinburgh and Scottish Borders campuses including catering facilities, a nightclub, an advice centre and a student shop. The Student Union also works closely with the Heriot-Watt University Dubai Student Council and the Heriot-Watt University Malaysia Student Association. In 2018 the Student Union won the University Student Union of the Year and also Officer Team of the Year at the NUS Scotland Awards 2018.

Sports Union

The Sports Union is responsible for the university's 35 sports clubs. and runs annual social events for students involved in sport. As with the Students' Association, the organisation is headed by elected Heriot-Watt students.

Controversies

Raytheon

In July 2025, Liberty Investigates and The Herald, using Freedom of Information laws, alleged collusion between Heriot-Watt University and Raytheon UK, a weapons manufacturer. In preparation for a Careers Fair held at the University in February 2025, Raytheon UK made requests for monitoring university groups, notice boards, CCTV monitoring and enhanced security patrols, to which a University Security staff member agreed. The University published a statement addressing the issues raised.

Notable alumni

Arts

• Theodore S. Clerk, (1909–1965), city planner, first Ghanaian architect and developer of the port city of Tema
• Sir James Dunbar-Nasmith (born 1927), conservation architect and head of ECA's Department of Architecture 1978–1988
• Sir Nicholas Grimshaw (born 1939), architect of the Eden Project, president of the Royal Academy since 2004
• Sir William Kininmonth (1904–1988), architect of Adam House and Pollock Halls, both in Edinburgh
• Lynn Kinnear (1960-2024), landscape architect
• Kygo, Norwegian DJ and record producer (did not graduate)
• Sir Robert Matthew (1906–1975), designed the Royal Commonwealth Pool and founded RMJM
• John McAslan, architect
• Taqi Nazeer, Scottish born actor
• John Notman (1810–1865), architect and landscape architect
• Patrick Nuttgens (1930–2004), academic and writer on architecture
• Nivetha Pethuraj, Indian actress
• Dame Muriel Spark, British writer (took a course in commercial correspondence and précis writing at Heriot-Watt College)
• Sir Basil Spence (1907–1976), architect of Coventry Cathedral and the New Zealand Parliament Building (nicknamed 'The Beehive') in Wellington, New Zealand
• Douglas Stuart, British writer, fashion designer, winner of 2020 Booker Prize

Notable staff

• Sir Thomas Hudson Beare, chair of mechanics and engineering, 1887–1889
• George Murray Burnett (1921–1980), served as principal, 1974–1980
• Andrew John Herbertson, lecturer in industrial and commercial geography, 1896–1899
• Sir Geoff Palmer, grain scientist and human rights advocate, 1977–2025

Principals

• Sir Francis Grant Ogilvie, 1886–1900
• Arthur Pillans Laurie, 1900–1928
• James Cameron Smail, 1928–1950
• Hugh Bryan Nisbet, 1950–1967
• Robert Allan Smith, 1968–1974
• George Murray Burnett, 1974–1980
• Thomas Lothian Johnston,1981–1988
• Sir Alistair George James MacFarlane,1989–1996
• John Stuart Archer, 1997–2006
• Sir Vito Antonio Muscatelli, 2007–2009
• Steven Kenneth Chapman, 2009–2015

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)