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Mission Statement
The mission of Heriot-Watt University is to create and transfer knowledge, to enable students and staff to fulfil their potential and enrich all the communities with which it engages.
Agreed strategic objectives of the University are highlighted in the University strategic plan, 2019-2025 Shaping Tomorrow Together
International Role
Heriot-Watt University stands as a truly international institution with a far-reaching global presence. With approximately 27,000 students across five campuses and over 100 learning partners worldwide, it embraces a deeply multicultural ethos with around one-third of Edinburgh campus students coming from outside the UK. Its global footprint includes three campuses in Scotland and one each in the UAE and Malaysia, the latter two with a very internationally diverse population of students and staff. The university houses four global research institutes that serve as powerful convening platforms fostering targeted multi-party research collaborations across diverse disciplines. Heriot-Watt maintains highly developed networks with major organizations globally, delivering degree programs to students in 150 countries through distance learning and its innovative Approved Learning Partner network. It maintains articulation and partnership agreements with institutions in China, India, Kazakstahn, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Myanmar, Vietnam, turkey, Thailand, Egypt, Singapore, Italy, Mauritius, USA, Ukraine, Jamaica, Switzerland, Spain, Jordan, Norway, Ireland, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Rwanda, and the Kyrgyz Republic.
National Role
Heriot-Watt University’s School of Textiles and Design stands among Scotland’s six distinguished institutions offering design education, alongside Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (University of Dundee), Edinburgh College of Art (University of Edinburgh), Gray’s School of Art (Robert Gordon’s University, Aberdeen), The Glasgow School of Art, and Strathclyde University. The School enjoys long-standing collaborations with these institutions and Further Education colleges across Scotland, collectively enriching the student learning experience through skills development, knowledge exchange, research, and enterprise.
A notable example of this shared commitment is the collective effort to establish the Victoria and Albert Museum of Design, Dundee, in 2018—a landmark national achievement that unites all Scottish design schools. Beyond academia, Heriot-Watt’s School of Textiles and Design fosters enduring partnerships with both Scottish and international textile and design industries. Esteemed designers and entrepreneurs, including Dame Vivienne Westwood, Patrick Grant, and Mary Portas, have lent their support, reinforcing the School’s reputation as a vibrant hub for creative collaboration and innovation.
Main Focus
We are oriented in providing undergraduate and postgraduate education in design, fashion, and textiles
Faculties and Departments
1) Communication and Design
2) Creative and Virtual Environments
3) Fashion and Textiles
Bachelor Level Programs
In Dubai:
BA (Hons) Communication Design
BA (Hons) Fashion, Branding and Promotion
BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design
In Scotland:
BA (Hons) Fashion
BA (Hons) Design for Textiles
BA (Hons) Communication Design
BA (Hons) Fashion, Branding and Promotion
BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design
Master Level Programs
In Dubai:
Masters in Interior Architecture and Design
MSc Design Management
In Scotland:
MSc Textiles and Fashion Management
MA Fashion and Textiles Design with Industry Placement
MA Fashion and Textiles Design
MA Digital Design and Innovation
MA Interior Architecture and Design
Research Activity and Main Areas
Design-led interdisciplinary collaboration is central to the School of Textiles and Design research.
By working within and across Heriot-Watt’s Global Research Institutes in Health Technologies, NetZero, Robotics, and Earth and Marine Sciences, academics and students at the School of Textiles and Design engage in innovation-focused inquiry to meet contemporary challenges in business, culture, technology, and society.
The school supports traditional, practice, and lab-based methodologies to advance knowledge across multiple domains, including material innovation, mobility, sustainable and circular design practices (for interior architecture, fashion, branding, policy, products and services), design management and leadership, health and wellbeing, inclusive design, media and communication, computational, and AI-driven design.
Our research mission champions impact and rigour equally and believes in the crucial role design must play in meeting sustainability and health imperatives, addressing technological advances and cultural challenges, and promoting social changes.
Spanning academic inquiry and real-world application, our research reinforces the design discipline’s capacity to create new knowledge, innovate, collaborate, and shape policy, thereby positively impacting industry and society.
Doctorate Level Programs
PhD Design
Subject Areas for Exchange Students
Design Management, Fashion Design, Textile Design, Interior Architecture and Design, Communication Design, Fashion Branding and Promotion
Application Deadlines
End of February for the coming academic year (2025-26);
Deadlines are 15th June for the September semester 2025-26 and mid-October 2025 for the January Semester 2026.
Teaching Languages
English
Semester Dates
September-December (Semester – 1) and January to May (Semester – 2)
Cost of Living Per Month (Studying and Living)
We do not offer that estimate.
