Heriot-Watt University Dubai

Heriot-Watt University Dubai opened in 2005 and is a campus of Heriot-Watt University, whose home campus is in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is licensed by the UAE authorities and its programmes are quality-assured by the parent institution.

The degree awarded is the Heriot-Watt degree — the same qualification a student would receive in Edinburgh — which is the central reason international students consider a branch campus rather than a locally founded institution.

Programmes cover engineering, business, computer science, construction and the built environment, design and psychology. Students can, on some programmes, transfer between the Dubai, Edinburgh and Malaysia campuses during their degree.

Entry criteria follow the parent university's standards, applied locally.

• A completed secondary qualification meeting the published entry standard, with mathematics and science prerequisites for engineering and computing.
• English proficiency at the level the parent university sets, or an eligible exemption based on English-medium schooling.
• A relevant bachelor's degree with the required classification for master's entry.
• A portfolio for design programmes.
• Attestation of academic documents as required by the UAE authorities, and the documents needed for the student residence visa the campus sponsors.

A branch campus of a UK university, and the crucial point is that its fees are set here rather than in Edinburgh.

• Fees are set by the Dubai campus, independently of the UK campus — they are not the same, and comparing to the UK figure will mislead you.
• Set per programme, with engineering and business differing from other subjects.
• The degree is awarded by the UK university, which is the main attraction, but the cost structure is local.
• Campus merit awards are partial and set by the Dubai campus — UK campus scholarships do not transfer here.
• Early acceptance and payment reductions are common and worth asking about.
• Additional costs — residence visa, medical insurance and Dubai accommodation.

The most common and most expensive assumption about branch campuses is that the home campus's fees and scholarships apply. They do not. Work from the Dubai campus's own fee schedule for your specific programme and year of entry — it is the only figure that will be correct for you, and it is republished every year. We will confirm the current cost and what it includes before you commit to an application.

Heriot-Watt's Dubai campus sets its own scholarships, and this is the caveat that matters most: awards advertised by the university's home campus in the United Kingdom do not automatically apply here. The award to look for is the one the Dubai campus itself publishes.

• Campus merit awards — partial tuition reductions decided on academic record.
• Programme awards — attached to particular degrees.
• Early acceptance and payment reductions — administrative reductions offered on the campus's own terms.
• Employer sponsorship — a common route for students studying alongside work.

Ask the Dubai admissions office directly which awards apply at this campus. Assuming a home-campus scholarship transfers is a costly and very common mistake.

A UK university's Dubai campus in Dubai Knowledge Park, smaller than the Edinburgh original and more focused on taught programmes.

• A purpose-built campus in Dubai Knowledge Park, alongside other international institutions.
• The same degree as the UK campus, taught to the same curriculum and quality assurance — the principal reason students choose it.
• A smaller campus than Edinburgh, which means a closer community and a narrower programme range.
• Student clubs and societies, plus shared facilities in the Knowledge Park cluster.
• Inter-campus transfer is possible on some programmes — worth asking about if you would like part of the degree in the UK.
• No campus accommodation in most cases, so students live at home or rent privately in Dubai.

If studying part of the degree in the UK appeals, ask about transfer arrangements before you enrol rather than afterwards. Where it is possible, it needs planning from the start.