MEng in Mechanical Engineering with an Industrial Placement Year

Course description

This is the most flexible of our MEng degrees and covers fundamental engineering principles, while also giving you the freedom to follow individual interests in your third and fifth years. Your learning is complemented by a year working in a mechanical engineering company. This will put your academic studies into context and improve your skills and employability.

There’s a strong focus on engineering design and modelling throughout the course, which gives you plenty of opportunities to apply the theoretical knowledge you gain to practical engineering problems. You’ll also be introduced to the business and management context of engineering.

In your first two years, you’ll study the core subjects required to be a successful mechanical engineer, including mathematics, dynamics, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and the mechanical behaviour of materials.

The aim of the later part of the course is to prepare you for your career and develop your interests. You can choose to specialise in biomechanics, or stay with the broader mechanical engineering.

In the Mechanical Engineering with Biomechanics stream you’ll learn how to improve human health through cross-disciplinary activities that integrate engineering sciences with biomedical sciences and clinical practice.

In the Mechanical Engineering stream you’ll do a group design project in your third year which focuses on a real-life challenge, and there are opportunities to work on projects with real clients. In your final year you’ll carry out an extended individual project. You can choose from a wide selection of engineering modules to reflect your interests and career aspirations.

Year four is your placement in industry. This is an excellent opportunity to build a work profile, learn more about your own career interests, and start your journey towards being a professionally recognised engineer.

You’ll be responsible for finding your own placement but the departmental and faculty careers and employability teams will help you find the right position and get the most out of your placement. Salaries for placement students typically range between £11,000 and £21,000.

This is a practical course: our students learn by doing. You’ll apply what you’ve learnt in the lecture theatre to engineering problems and experiments. You’ll have the chance to manufacture and prototype your designs. You’ll also develop the transferable skills employers look for, such as communication, project management and time management skills.

Depending on your performance, you might be able to switch between our degrees. For example, you may be able to switch to another MEng course at the end of your first year (depending on course requirements and availability). At the end of your second year, you could also switch to a BEng course based on your performance. This could be an option if you decide to explore a specialised MSc.

All our students get involved in week-long projects that develop the skills you’ll need as a successful engineer. There’s the Global Engineering Challenge in your first year, where you’ll find creative solutions to real-world problems with engineers of different disciplines, and Engineering You’re Hired! during your second year.