Heriot-Watt Personality: transforming people and the world

Founded in 1821 as the world’s first mechanics institute, Heriot-Watt has a rich heritage and an established reputation as a leading research-led university. Now, our communities of scholars come from across the world and for a purpose: leaders in ideas and solutions, they deliver innovation and educational excellence in business, engineering, design and the physical, social and life sciences.

Committed towards Positive Education

Committed to producing future-ready graduates who will go on to make an impact in the world, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia introduced a Positive Education approach in 2017. Positive Education does not only focus on academic excellence but also the holistic development of individuals. Through Positive Education, we are nurturing purposeful, impactful, professional and resilient individuals.

Malaysia's first green campus

Heriot-Watt University Malaysia’s purpose-built campus opened to students in Putrajaya in September 2014 and the formal launch took place on 12 February 2015.

The £35m campus sits on 4.8 acres in a stunning lakeside location providing exceptional educational facilities in an excellent environment, close to the Putrajaya marina and its modern leisure and sports facilities. This is a fantastic green area, part of Putrajaya Lake’s ‘green continuum’, and the building design is a conscious reference.

A green roof to match

The ‘green campus’ is remarkable for having the first living grass roof of its kind in Malaysia. At 300 metres long and 30 metres wide, it is the most recognisably sustainable feature of the campus. The roof shades the naturally ventilated spaces below, reduces thermal transmittance, and acts as an observation deck, accessible by glass lift. Other environmentally friendly, passive design features include campus lighting ‘powered’ by the maximum use of natural daylight, a rainwater harvesting system and optimised air-conditioning and thermal control systems.

A state-of-the-art learning environment

The campus is a state-of-the-art teaching and learning environment, reflecting our status as a leading provider of high-quality, professionally orientated education, knowledge transfer and research. Architect-designed in conjunction with educational design specialists, the campus has been developed with the current generation of students in mind, to create a dynamic, exciting place which maximises the potential of its setting for study and student life.

Our roots are in Scotland, our ambition and reach are truly international. Together with our alumni, civic community and industry partners, we transform people, society and the world we live in.

We specialise in the following fields:

• Foundation
• Accounting
• Actuarial Science
• Business
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Computing Science
• Construction Management
• Electrical Engineering
• Energy
• Enterprise
• Finance
• Human Resource Management
• International Business Management
• Marketing
• Mechanical Engineering
• Project Management
• Psychology
• Quantity Surveying
• Statistical Data Science

Start Local, Go Global

At Heriot-Watt, you have the opportunity to become a global student by taking part in an Inter-Campus Transfer under our Go Global programme. Under this programme, students have the option of transferring to the UK or Dubai campuses at any time during their studies with guaranteed placements for all of our programmes*.

Under the Go Global programme, you are able to switch between our campuses every semester or every year, and choose to graduate in any of them. What is important is that your studies will not be interrupted. Our programmes offer the same content, examinations, and resources wherever you are, ensuring the same quality Heriot-Watt is known for throughout your studies. What’s more, the certificate you receive upon graduation will also be the same as your counterparts in both the UK and Dubai campuses.

*as long as the programme is offered where you wish to transfer

Awards

The University has been presented with a prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize, recognising sustained pioneering work of the Institute of Petroleum Engineering (IPE) in innovation and research excellence, as the IPE celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Rankings & Recognitions

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

From our 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.

QS World University Rankings 2024

Heriot-Watt rank 235th in the world, 34th in UK and 5th in Scotland.

The Complete University Guide 2022

• 23rd in the UK and 4th in Scotland
• We are ranked in the top ten in the UK for the following subject areas – Building (3rd), Marketing (5th), Civil Engineering (7th), Electrical & Electronic Engineering (7th), Chemical Engineering (8th), Town & Country Planning (9th), and Mathematics (10th)
• We are ranked in the top three in Scotland for Building (1st), Civil Engineering (2nd), Electrical & Electronic Engineering (2nd), Marketing (2nd), and Town & Country Planning (2nd) and Mechanical Engineering (3rd)

Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021

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

The Guardian University Guide 2021

• Ranked joint 35th in the UK and 8th in Scotland
• 1st in Scotland for Building and Town & Country Planning
• 2nd in Scotland for Chemistry, Engineering-Chemical, Engineering-Electronic & Electrical and Engineering-Mechanical

The Times/The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021

• 35th out of 131 institutions in the UK, and 7th in Scotland
• First in Scotland – six years in a row – for Building, and 2nd in the UK
• First in Scotland for Chemical Engineering, and 4th in the UK
• First in Scotland for Chemical Engineering, and 4th in the UK Times Higher Education Golden Age Rankings 2020 THE's Golden Age University Rankings measures universities established between 1945 and 1967 for their teaching, research, citations, international outlook and industry income
• Heriot-Watt is ranked 47th out of 308 institutions

Employability

• The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 ranked Heriot-Watt joint 17th in the UK and 1st in Scotland for graduate salaries 6 months after graduation
• 95% of Heriot-Watt students are in employment or further study within six months of graduation.