MSc Degrees in Computer Science and Information Technology

1. Finance and Postgraduate Taught Programmes

Overseas students from outside the European Economic Area require a work permit to work more than 20 hours per week in the UK during term time. Our university's experience is that full time postgraduate students, who work more than a few hours a week, seriously risk failing their postgraduate programme.

The main sources available to support study for MSc degrees in Computer Science or Information Technology in 2013-2014 with us are:

• Scholarships and Loans for UK/EU Students
• International Scholarships
• University Scholarships in Music, Sports and other areas

Professional and Career Development Loans are also available to persons with an unrestricted right to stay and work in the UK. UK Armed forces personnel can get financial support for postgraduate study with us through the Enhanced Learning Credits Scheme.

2. Study Costs

In 2013-2014 Heriot-Watt University will charge the following tuition fees in the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences in GBP pounds per year for study for an MSc or Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Science or IT subjects delivered by lectures on the Edinburgh campus.

Study on the Edinburgh campus for the Graduate Diploma in Information Technology (a postgraduate foundation programme for overseas students wishing entry to our MSc programmes) in 2013/14 costs £11950 without any English. The Graduate Diploma with 3 English courses costs £14650 or £900 per extra English course.

At our Dubai campus in the United Arab Emirates studying full time for the

• MSc Computer Systems Management
• MSc IT (Business)
• MSc IT (Software Systems)

for 2013/14 will cost AED 62300 dirhams (£11390) in fees.

Heriot Watt University uses guidelines to determine whether an Edinburgh campus student pays the overseas rate of fees or the lower UK/EU rate. Students in doubt about their fees status can fill in a form and have their fees status explicitly determined.

Fees can be paid in various ways and even in instalments. Details on paying fees can be found here.

The university estimates the costs of maintenance for a postgraduate student in Edinburgh for the full year 2013/2014 as £8500.

Details on start dates and fees for English programmes at Heriot-Watt university for those who intend also to take an MSc programme starting in September 2013 can be found here .

3. Grants and Scholarships for UK/EU Students

1. Postgraduate Student Allowances
2. Carnegie-Cameron Scholarships
3. PG Bursaries for former Public School Boys

3.1 Postgraduate Taught Funding Loans

The Scottish Office Education Department (SOED) through the Students Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) is offering financial support in 2013/14 in the form of repayable loans to pay most of the fees for study on recognised postgraduate programmes at Scottish universities.

They are available for our full-time MSc programmes in Computer Science or IT for

• British citizens ordinarily resident in Scotland (but not primarily for the purposes of education)
• non-British European Union citizens

Applicants have to fill in an application form that can be obtained from June Maxwell and will be assessed for eligibility before they can receive the loan. The loan covering £3400 of fees will be paid directly to the university and students will be liable to start repaying the loan with interest when their MSc study programme ends.

All PTFL recipients will have to pay us £1210 which is the difference between the actual Home/EU fee rate of £4610 and the SAAS funded fees of £3400 from their own means.

Students are eligible if they

1. meet certain residence conditions
2. study a taught postgraduate programme supported by SAAS i.e. one of our MSc programmes
3. haven't received support from UK/EU public funds for a previous vocational postgraduate course

The SAAS website for postgraduate student allowances details eligibility, level of support and other relevant issues. After students have checked that they satisfy the eligibility conditions, they should fill in the application form and support their PTFL application with an unconditional offer of a place on one of our MSc programmes. SAAS will inform applicants directly if their application for a loan has been accepted. The following MSc programmes are recognised by the PTFL scheme:

MSc Advanced Internet Applications
MSc Artificial Intelligence
MSc Computer Systems Management
MSc Creative Software Systems
MSc Information Technology (Business)
MSc Information Technology (Software Systems)
MSc Software Engineering

British applicants, not resident in Scotland or who have only been resident there primarily for the purposes of study, should apply to their home LEA for an application form and their guide to postgraduate student allowances, and then apply directly to their LEA supporting their application with our offer of a place on a postgraduate programme. In practice, such opportunities are extremely limited, if they exist at all, and only available if applicants apply very early (before January).

3.2 Carnegie-Cameron Scholarships

Heriot-Watt University receives 3 awards per year to award to postgraduate students on the basis of overall merit and promise. Candidates will be from a Scottish background and usually have a 1st class degree. The award covers £ 3400 with the university waiving the rest of the fee. Fill in the scholarship application form and return it to us by 1st May.

3.3 SCAST PG Bursaries

Applicants who attended any of independent schools below may be eligible for Schools Competition Act Settlement Trust PG bursaries worth £ 2500. Applicants must have attended one of the these schools after September 2001, must be between 18 and 30, 6 years must have past since the applicant first attended such a school and applicants must be in difficult financial circumstances. For more details see the SCAST web site.

4. International Scholarships & Funding

1. British Chevening Scholarships
2. Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan
3. Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme Plan
4. Mexican Scholarships
5. Scottish International Scholarships
6. MACS Computer Science Overseas Scholarships
7. USA Graduate Scholarships and Loans

4.1 British Chevening Scholarships

British Chevening Scholarships are funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and administered by the British Council. They are offered to overseas students in over 150 countries and enable talented graduates and young professionals to become familiar with the UK and gain skills which will benefit their countries. The Chevening programme currently provides around 2,300 new scholarships each year for postgraduate studies or research at UK Institutions of Higher Education. Eligibility conditions for the scheme varies from country to country. For example Chinese applicants should be young professionals who have IELTS 6.5 and 3-5 years working experience who want to do a one year MSc programme, and Pakistani applicants should be mid-career professionals with a minimum of 3 years' relevant work experience, who are under 40 and have IELTS 6.5. Applicants are expected to apply for a Chevening award by mid November 2012 when planning university entry in September/October 2013. Choice of university is made after shortlisted applicants are interviewed in November and scholarships are awarded in December 2012 or January 2013.

4.2 Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan

Commonwealth scholarships are open to Commonwealth citizens and British protected persons permanently resident in any Commonwealth country other than the United Kingdom for postgraduate study. Candidates should hold an upper second class degree or equivalent. Nominations from agencies must be received in London by 31 December in the year preceding the award being taken up.

4.3 Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme

These scholarships are available for all full-time MSc programmes. These awards assist students from developing Commonwealth countries to come to the UK for a one-year taught Masters degree when they would otherwise be financially unable to do so. The award has an upper age limit of 35 with preference given to applicants under 30 years of age. Government employees are ineligible. Awards made under this programme must be relevant to the economic, scientific and social development of the applicants' home country. The scheme is administered by the Association of Commonwealth Universities and applicants must have or expect to attain the equivalent of a UK 1st class or upper 2nd class honours degree.

The Scholarships cover:

• tuition fees
• maintenance grant
• arrival allowance
• air fare to and from the UK

Applicants should apply through their School of study by 16th April 2013.

4.4 Mexican Scholarships

The University has entered a partnership with CONACYT to offer scholarships for Mexican students who undertake their studies in science, engineering and technology at Heriot-Watt. The scholarships, which cover tuition fees and living costs, are administered through CONACYT.

4.5 Scotland's Saltire Scholarships

Saltire Scholarships worth £2000 each towards the cost of tuition fees are available for MSc study at Scottish universities by citizens of Canada, China, India or USA. Saltire applicants must study 1 year full-time MSc programmes in life sciences, technology, creative industries, financial services, renewable and clean energy. Obtain a conditional or unconditional offer of a place from us on one of our 1 year full-time MSc programmes in Computing or IT for 2013/14 at the Edinburgh campus and then fill in the application form here and submit it before 1st June 2013.

4.6 MACS Computer Science Overseas Scholarships

The School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences at Heriot-Watt University is offering a few postgraduate scholarships worth £2,500 each to overseas students studying MScs in Computer Science or Information Technology with us full-time in 2013/2014. All applicants MUST already hold an offer of a study place on a taught programme at the University when they apply for the scholarship. A scholarship application form is available here. Applications must be received by 30 April 2013. Criteria for awarding the scholarship are academic merit, financial circumstances and motivation.

4.7 USA Graduate Scholarships and Loans

Financial Aid for US students to study at Heriot-Watt University in the form of loans can also be obtained. Please contact Morag Heggie for more details.

5. Professional and Career Development Loans

Two banks in Britain - Barclays and the Cooperative Bank - provide career development loans on behalf of the Employment Department which can be used to pay for an MSc programme with us. These loans, ranging from £300 to a maximum of £10000, are available to persons satisfying all the following conditions

• are aged 18 or over with an unrestricted right to stay and work in Britain
• have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the learning programme
• wish to finance their vocational training to pursue a career in Britain, the EU or the European Economic Area

Living expenses, books, equipment and either 80% or 100% of fees may be financed out of such loans. No interest or principal repayments are made until one month after the programme ends. Read consumer advice from 2009 before obtaining further details from the Banks or from

6. Other Sources of Information

UKCISA, the UK Council for International Student Affairs, provides a good statement of eligibility issues for various forms of fees and financial support while studying at universities in scotland. UK government advice about funding for postgraduate study is also available.