| Subject | QS | THE | ARWU | U.S. News |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petroleum Engineering | #8 | — | — | — |
| Civil Engineering | #101-150 | — | #301-400 | — |
| Physics & Astronomy | #301-350 | — | — | #136 |
| Architecture | #151-200 | — | — | — |
| Chemical Engineering | #151-200 | — | #151-200 | — |
| Electrical & Electronic Engineering | #151-200 | — | #151-200 | #408 |
| Mathematics | #151-200 | — | #151-200 | #284 |
| Earth & Geosciences | #201-275 | — | #151-200 | #496 |
| Statistics | #251-275 | — | #151-200 | — |
| Business & Management | #201-250 | — | — | — |
| Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering | #251-300 | — | #201-300 | — |
| Materials Science | #351-400 | — | #201-300 | — |
| Telecommunication Engineering | — | — | #201-300 | — |
| Engineering & Technology | #207 | #251-300 | — | #392 |
| Environmental Science | #251-300 | — | #301-400 | — |
| Accounting & Finance | #251-300 | — | — | — |
| Linguistics | #301-350 | — | — | — |
| Modern Languages | #301-350 | — | — | — |
| Computer Science | #301-350 | #301-400 | #401-500 | — |
| Natural / Physical Sciences | #322 | #301-400 | — | — |
| Arts & Humanities | #387 | #301-400 | — | — |
| Energy Science & Engineering | — | — | #301-400 | #362 |
| Business & Economics | — | #301-400 | — | — |
| Psychology | — | #301-400 | — | — |
| Social Sciences & Management | #353 | — | — | — |
| Chemistry | #401-450 | — | — | — |
| Economics & Econometrics | #401-450 | — | — | — |
| Life Sciences & Medicine | — | #501-600 | — | — |
| Biological Sciences | #651-700 | — | — | — |
Heriot-Watt University ranks #287 in QS 2026, #450 in THE 2026, #701-800 in ARWU 2025 and #937 in U.S. News 2026. Its consensus position across the major rankings is #688 globally.
QS weights employer reputation and international metrics more heavily; THE places more weight on research influence and teaching environment. Differences of this size between the two systems are common — see our methodology comparison.