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Heriot-Watt University · Undergraduate
BSc (Hons) Computer Science (Data Science) Bachelor's degree at Heriot-Watt University
BSc (Hons) Computer Science (Data Science) at Heriot-Watt University offers specialisations such as Software Engineering, Data Science, AI & Machine Learning, Cyber Security, Web & Mobile, Cloud & DevOps, Games, and HCI.
BSc (Hons)
Award
4
Years
Full-time
Study mode
90%
in work/study (15m)
About this course
Our BSc computer science degrees focus on constructing robust and useable systems. The Data Science specialism is gained in later years by course and project From the provider’s course page.
BSc (Hons) Computer Science (Data Science) is a Bachelor's degree (BSc (Hons)) at Heriot-Watt University, based in EdinburghCampus. It runs 4 years, studied full-time.
For Computer science graduates from this provider, 90% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, 83% in highly skilled roles, typical earnings around £33,000. (HESA Graduate Outcomes / LEO, via Discover Uni.)
For the typical curriculum, specialisations, career paths and graduate earnings for Computer Science, see the sections below.
Course evidence score
The arithmetic mean of the official measures available for this course: NSS satisfaction, graduate activity and continuation.
8.0
/ 10
Excellent
3 of 3 official measures
Student satisfaction
What students say in the National Student Survey
Strong72
Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Graduate outcomes
In work or further study 15 months after graduating
Exceptional90
Moderate evidence Published sample: 35; avoid reading small differences as meaningful. Cohort 2021-23. Graduate Outcomes work or further study 90% (2021-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Continuation
Students who continue past their first year
Strong78
Published threshold met Discover Uni suppresses continuation data below its publication threshold. Cohort 2022-23. Continuation 78% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Curriculum & modules
Real modules published for this course, grouped only where the source gives a year, stage or level.
Year 1 7 modules
- Logic and Proof
- Introduction to Interaction Design
- Praxis Software Development 1
- Discrete Mathematics
- Introduction to Computer Systems
- Software Development 2
- Web Design and Databases
Source: provider course page. Modules can change; required/optional status, credits, descriptions and assessment are shown only when explicitly published.
Course in depth
What this course covers, who it suits and where it leads.
What you'll study
You'll study computer science with a focus on constructing robust and usable systems, moving towards data science specialisation in later years through coursework and project work. Year 1 typically covers programming fundamentals in languages such as Python and Java, computer systems and architecture, and discrete mathematics for computing. Year 2 usually progresses to algorithms and data structures, databases and software engineering, and artificial intelligence and machine learning. From Year 3 onwards, you'll choose specialist options such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, software engineering, systems and networks, or human-computer interaction, alongside core modules in security and networks. You'll complete a substantial supervised project in your later years, applying practical skills to a real-world problem.
Who it's for
This degree suits students with A-level qualifications or equivalent. Most accepted students held A-levels or equivalent (83% of entrants over recent years), typically with a UCAS tariff of 176–191 points. The course is open to anyone meeting the entry criteria and studying in full-time mode.
Careers & job market
Across Computer Science courses nationally, 85% of graduates are in work or further study 15 months after graduating. Of those working, 75% are in highly skilled roles or continuing their studies. National graduate earnings data shows starting salaries of £25,000–£35,000 (15 months post-graduation), rising to £23,375–£33,000 after three years and £29,750–£42,000 after five years. These figures reflect national outcomes for Computer Science graduates, not university-specific guarantees.
University & format
This BSc (Hons) is delivered full-time over 4 years at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Instruction is in English. The degree is awarded by a recognised UK degree-awarding body and is nationally recognised. The university was founded in 1821 and currently has approximately 29,000 students.
Student satisfaction
How students on this course answered the National Student Survey, by theme.
Share of students responding positively. Overall student satisfaction: 64%.
Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Applicant information
The next application dates for this course, followed by facts the provider publishes.
Application timelineWhat happens next
- 2027 entryCompleted applications can be submitted
Your application needs a reference before you can send it.
- 2026 entryFinal date for 2026 applications
Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.
- 2026 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice
Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.
- 2027 entryEqual-consideration deadline
18:00 UK time for most undergraduate courses.
Show 5 later dates
- 2027 entryUCAS Extra opens
Applicants who used all five choices and hold no offer may be able to add another choice.
- 2027 entryLast day applications go directly to providers
Applications received after 18:00 UK time are entered into Clearing.
- 2027 entryClearing opens
Eligible applicants can see vacancies and release themselves into Clearing.
- 2027 entryFinal date for 2027 applications
Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.
- 2027 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice
Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.
AccreditationBCS
Names detected beside accreditation or recognition copy on the provider course page; verify the route and intake.
Entry & how to get in
Most entrants held A-levels or equivalent83% of accepted students came in with A-levels or equivalent (entrants over recent years).
Typical UCAS tariff: 176 - 191 pointsThe most common UCAS tariff band among accepted students. This is what entrants had, not a stated requirement.
Entry requirements are set by the universityGrades, subjects and contextual offers vary. Check Heriot-Watt University's official course page for the current offer.
Who gets in
What recently admitted students actually held, official admissions data, not a stated requirement.
UCAS tariff of entrants
Grades are the A-level equivalent of each points band. Tap a band to check your own chances below.
Qualifications held on entry
| Qualification | Share |
|---|---|
| A-levels or equivalent | 83% |
| another higher-education qualification | 10% |
| a previous degree | 3% |
| a Baccalaureate | 3% |
| Other | 2% |
| an Access course | 1% |
Entry & your chances
An honest read from the official entry data, plus your personal match.
Competitive entry
Accepted students typically held strong UCAS tariffs. Check how your predicted grades compare and whether a contextual offer applies.
Will you get in? Plot your grades
Pick your predicted A-levels and watch your UCAS points land on the real spread of students admitted to this course.
Your UCAS points0
▾
Each bar is the share of admitted students in that UCAS-points band (lower → higher). Grades show the A-level equivalent.
Add your grades to see where you land
Based on the official admitted-student tariff distribution. Many universities make contextual (reduced-grade) offers, so a result below the range doesn’t rule you out.
How to apply
Undergraduate applications go through UCAS. Here’s what matters for this course, the right deadline, the grades to aim for, and the steps in order.
Apply by13 January 2027, 18:00 UK timefor this course
Typical gradesA*A*A*+A-level equivalent admitted students held
UCAS codeG450quote this on your application
- 1Register on UCAS Hub
Create your UCAS application and add this course (code G450). One application covers up to five choices.
- 2Write your personal statement
A single statement covers all your choices, so keep it broad enough for similar courses while showing genuine interest in this subject.
- 3Submit by 13 January 2027, 18:00 UK time
UCAS equal-consideration deadline for most undergraduate courses. Source: UCAS 2027 dates.
- 4Reply to your offers
When decisions are in, pick a firm (first) choice and an insurance (back-up) choice with slightly lower grades.
- 5Results day & confirmation
On results day (mid-August) your place is confirmed if you meet the offer. Just missed? Talk to the university, or find a place through Clearing.
💡 Many universities make a contextual (reduced-grade) offer, for example based on your school’s results, time in care, or where you live. Ask Heriot-Watt University whether you’re eligible before you apply; it can lower the grades you need.
Fees & funding
What this course costs and how UK student finance covers it.
Tuition per year
Home£9,790 / yr
International£25,808 / yr
Provider fee page. Set under Scotland's student-finance system; the provider's page is authoritative.
Check fees at Heriot-Watt University →If you normally live in Scotland
For eligible Scottish-domiciled students at an eligible Scottish provider, SAAS can pay tuition directly. Living-cost support can combine bursary and loan and depends on household income and student circumstances. Students from elsewhere use their home funding body.
Check the current amounts with SAAS →Paying for it
- SAAS tuition payment: paid directly to the university for eligible Scottish-domiciled students, applied for through SAAS.
- Living-cost support: a mix of bursary and loan from SAAS, depending on household income.
- Repayment: only above the Scottish repayment threshold, and written off at the end of the plan term.
- Earn alongside: most students work part-time in term, part-time roles on the StudySmarter job board.
Scotland runs its own system through SAAS; check saas.gov.uk for current rates.
Funding matched to this course
All Heriot-Watt University funding →Scholarships & bursaries you could qualify for
Named awards published by the university. Compare the eligibility and application route before budgeting for one.
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Check eligibility →Amounts, exclusions and deadlines can change. An award is not guaranteed unless the university confirms it.
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Career quizApplication walkthroughSalary & CV check
Careers & earnings
What Computer Science graduates actually earn, from real outcome data, 15 months, 3 years and 5 years after graduating.
Graduate earnings: this course
| When | Median | Typical range | Graduates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 months after | £33,000 | £29,000 – £36,000 | 35 |
| 3 years after | £30,500 | £23,000 – £39,000 | 60 |
| 5 years after | £41,000 | £29,500 – £58,500 | 70 |
Nominal earnings for graduates of this course/subject at this provider. Moderate evidence. Published sample: 35; avoid reading small differences as meaningful. Cohort 2021-23.
Graduate outcomes, 15 months on: this course
90%
in work or further study 15 months on
83%
in highly skilled work or study
78%
continue past their first year
80%
find their work meaningful
85%
say work fits their future plans
- 1Graduate / Junior DeveloperFirst engineering role · 0–2 yrs
- 2Software EngineerShipping features end-to-end · 2–5 yrs
- 3Senior / Lead EngineerOwning systems and mentoring · 5–9 yrs
- 4Principal / Engineering ManagerArchitecture or leading teams · 9+ yrs
How pay grows: this course vs Computer Science nationally
Starting (15 months) HESA GO
£33,000
£25,000 – £35,000After 3 years LEO
£30,500
£23,375 – £33,000After 5 years LEO
£41,000
£29,750 – £42,000national rangethis course’s medianaxis £22,000 – £43,500
National figures for Computer Science graduates, HESA Graduate Outcomes (15 months) and the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset (3 & 5 years). These are national, not university-specific; actual pay varies by employer, region, role and experience. Different cohorts, so the bars are not one group over time.
Work out your pay
Headline figures hide a lot. Calculate realistic take-home pay for this field by role, region and experience, then check your CV before you apply.
What happened to 100 students?
Choose an outcome to translate the published percentage into a simple 100-person view. Each dot represents one percentage point, not an individual tracked student.
90 of 100
were in work or further study
15 months after graduation
83% working6% working and studying1% in further study83% in highly skilled work or study
Source: Discover Uni, using Graduate Outcomes and continuation data. Cohorts: 2021-23. Moderate evidence. Published sample: 35; avoid reading small differences as meaningful. Cohort 2021-23. Each tab is a separate published measure; categories can overlap and should not be added together.
Value compared with similar courses
How this course’s 5-year median earnings compare with Computer Science courses at the same study level.
This course £41,000Peer median £34,500Middle 50% £29,000–£43,000
72nd percentile
Compared with 1,820 courses with compatible official earnings data. This is a course-value comparison, not a quality ranking.
UK occupations graduates enter
Published graduate destinations, joined conservatively to UK SOC 2020, ONS pay and Skills England demand.
- Information Technology ProfessionalsSOC 2020 213 · 57% of published destinations · ASHE median £55,357
Discover Uni JOBLIST/JOBTYPE; ONS ASHE 2025 provisional, all employee jobs; Skills England Occupations in Demand 2025. SOC is shown only for an exact normalised label match; demand is shown only at exact four-digit SOC. Published sample: 145; response rate: 51%. Pay describes the occupation across workers, not a guaranteed graduate salary.
Is BSc (Hons) Computer Science (Data Science) worth it?
Generally yes. On its graduates’ median earnings, BSc (Hons) Computer Science (Data Science) is worth about +£130,840 more over the first ten years of work than going straight to a job, a solid return once you net out the fees.
Solid payoff: pays for itself within the typical range for a degree
Cumulative earnings vs. going straight to work at 18, counting tuition and 4 years of wages given up while studying. The line clears zero around year 13. This is a simplified gross-earnings comparison, not a forecast of cash loan repayments.
+£130,840
10-year payoff
extra earnings over the first decade, after the fees you pay
4.3×
Return on investment
extra earnings over 10 yrs per £1 of fees
£39,160
Tuition over the course
£9,790/yr × 4 yrs (published course home fee)
£41,000
Grad earnings, 5 yrs on
£17,000 above a non-graduate (£24,000)
Model: this course’s own median graduate earnings (Graduate Outcomes / LEO) above the £24,000 non-graduate baseline (ONS), net of £9,790/yr over 4 years (published course home fee). Eligible England-domiciled students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan; repayments are 9% only on income above the threshold, with anything left written off after 40 years. That makes the cash flow different from conventional commercial debt. Opportunity cost assumes £18,000 gross earnings forgone in each study year; figures are nominal and exclude tax, living costs, investment returns and loan interest. A simplified estimate. Earnings and actual fees vary by graduate, provider, fee status and UK nation.
Job market & outlook
How Computer Science graduates fare in the labour market, and how AI is reshaping the work.
85%
in work or further study 15 months after graduating, across Computer Science courses nationally.
Graduate Outcomes75%
of working graduates are in highly skilled work or further study.
highly skilled85%
of students continue past their first year (still enrolled or completed).
continuationHow AI is changing the work
AI doesn't replace the profession, it shifts it: routine tasks get automated, while judgement, working with people and using AI well become more valuable.
What AI takes off your plate
- Boilerplate and scaffolding code
- First-pass tests and docs
- Routine debugging and refactors
- Standard data wrangling
More human than ever
- System design and architecture trade-offs
- Reviewing and owning correctness & security
- Translating fuzzy problems into software
- Leading delivery and mentoring
The strongest graduates pair subject depth with the ability to use AI tools critically.
Roles & employers
Where Computer Science graduates typically go, indicative destinations from graduate career data. Each role links to live openings on the StudySmarter job board.
Roles graduates go into
Where they work
- Tech companies
- Banks & fintech
- Consultancies
- Government (GDS) & startups
Jobs after this course
Current roles from the StudySmarter job board that suit Computer Science graduates.
Software Developer Placement Programme No experience neededIT Online LearningSoftware Developer - .NET & Azure for Green Energy ProjectsOfgemSoftware Developer Backend (SFIA5)ZaiziSoftware Developer (Mobile Apps) in Guildford - ECM Selection (Holdings) LimitedJava Script WorksSoftware Developer (Contract) – Higher Education Projects (UK)Burman RecruitmentSoftware Developer – Distributed Scheduling & Workload OrchestrationCGG Services (UK) LimitedLive from the StudySmarter job board · as of 2026-08-01.See all matching jobs
Is this course right for you?
The essentials UK applicants ask about: finance, outcomes, entry and quality.
💷
Student finance
Published home tuition is £9,790/year for this course. Tuition for eligible Scottish-domiciled students is paid by SAAS directly to the university, applied for through SAAS and not Student Finance England. Living-cost support is a mix of bursary and loan, and you repay only above the Scottish threshold.
📈
Where graduates go
90% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, with a median salary of £33,000. See the full breakdown in Careers & earnings above.
🎯
Your entry chances
Use the UCAS points calculator above to see how your predicted grades compare with admitted students, and whether a contextual offer could apply.
⭐
Official-data snapshot
Averaging the official measures published for it, this course scores 8.0 out of 10: NSS 72% · in work or study 90% · continued 78%.
Who studies here and in this subject?
Provider- and UK subject-level context.
Heriot-Watt University
All students9,845
International31.2%
Aged 25+21.8%
Computing across the UK
Students205,990
Aged 25+31.2%
HESA student record 2024/25. Counts are rounded.
Is Computer Science right for you?
Tick what applies to you and see how good a fit it is.
International students
What applying to Heriot-Watt University from outside the UK involves: fees, English, visa, funding and living costs.
Tuition fees
International tuition is £25,808 / year for this course (from the provider’s fee page). You’re not eligible for UK Tuition Fee or Maintenance Loans, so plan for fees plus living costs upfront.
English language
Most UK undergraduate courses ask for around IELTS 6.0–6.5 (no band below 5.5–6.0), or an accepted equivalent. If you’re just short, most universities run a pre-sessional English course that counts towards the requirement.
Student visa
You’ll usually need a Student visa (Student Route). After you accept an offer the university issues a CAS; you then show funds for fees plus about £1,023–£1,334/month living costs and pay the Immigration Health Surcharge for NHS access.
Scholarships & funding
Many universities offer international/global scholarships (often £2,000–£6,000/yr), check Heriot-Watt University’s funding pages.
Living costs
Budget roughly £1,100–£1,400/month outside London and £1,400–£1,800/month in London for rent, food and travel; the figure also matters for your visa.
Working while you study
A Student visa usually allows up to 20 hours/week in term time and full-time in holidays, useful alongside study, though not something to rely on for fees.
Visa rules and fees change. Always confirm the current requirements with Heriot-Watt University and gov.uk before you apply.
Related courses
More at Heriot-Watt University
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Common questions
How competitive is entry?
Entry is competitive. Accepted students typically held strong UCAS tariffs. The most common tariff band among recent entrants was 176 - 191 UCAS points. Use the calculator on this page to see where your predicted grades would put you; many universities also make lower contextual offers.
What are the entry requirements?
Set by Heriot-Watt University. Most accepted students held A-levels or equivalent. Check the university's course page for the exact offer.
What do graduates go on to do?
For Computer science graduates from this provider, 90% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, 83% in highly skilled roles, typical earnings around £33,000. (HESA Graduate Outcomes / LEO, via Discover Uni.)
What will it cost me?
The published home tuition is £9,790 per year for this course. Tuition for eligible Scottish-domiciled students is paid by SAAS directly to the university, applied for through SAAS and not Student Finance England. Living-cost support is a mix of bursary and loan, and you repay only above the Scottish threshold. See Fees & funding on this page to work out your numbers.
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