Automotive Engineering
Turn your love of cars and electronics into a career with our future-ready BEng in Automotive Engineering.
How to apply Apply Through UCAS Book an Open Day Chat to Us/prod01/channel_2/media/university-of-south-wales/site-assets/images/04-profiles/41-undergraduate-student/profile-ug-engineering-automotive-Alexios-Papazoglou-50163-2-800X800.jpg)
Key Course Details
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UCAS Code
H330
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Start Date
September
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Location
Pontypridd
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Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£9,535*
International students
£16,200*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
-
UCAS Code
H331
-
Start Date
September
-
Location
Pontypridd
-
Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£9,535*
International students
£16,200*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
The automotive industry is changing fast and we’re changing with it. Our BEng in Automotive Engineering combines mechanics and electronics to meet the needs of car designers and manufacturers. You’ll complete your degree ready to work on the cars of tomorrow and be a part of the future of motoring.
DESIGNED FOR
If you’re considering a degree in Automotive Engineering, you probably have more than a passing interest in cars. We won’t train you to fix old ones, we’ll teach you to design the next generation of automobiles. You’ll be someone who likes to look for new ways to approach a problem.
Accredited by
This course is currently pending IET accreditation. This would confer a partial requirement for Chartered Engineering (CEng) status.
Career Paths
- Automotive design
- Electrical engineering
- Mechanical engineering
- Software design
Skills Taught
- Problem solving
- Circuit design
- Management
- Business and professional practice
Course Highlights
Module Overview
Over three years you’ll learn all you need to know about designing cars, from electrical circuits and electric vehicle technology to vehicle dynamics and structure. You’ll be able to test your knowledge and ideas both on campus in our laboratories and in work placements with our industry partners.
Year One
Maths for Engineers
Engineering Computing Applications
Engineering Mechanics
Electrical Principles
Engineering Applications
Programming for Electronics Engineering
Year Two
Configuration and Programming of Embedded Systems
Power, Machines and Control
Group Project and Management for Engineers
Engineering Science
Design for Automotive Engineers
Electronics for Automotive Systems
Year Three
Hybrid/Electric Vehicle Tech
Power Electronics and Drives
Vehicle Dynamics and Structure
Sensors and Smart Vehicle Technology
Individual Project
In your first year, you’ll undertake modules common with either electrical or mechanical engineering students. You’ll develop your specialist knowledge in years two and three. We’ll cover maths, electrical principles, and engineering applications.
Maths for Engineers
Understand the relevance of maths in engineering and use it to solve problems.
Engineering Computing Applications
Use computer applications in engineering through programming and computer-aided design.
Engineering Mechanics
Learn engineering principles and solve problems in the areas of static and dynamic.
Electrical Principles
Learn the fundamental theorems and analysis techniques for problem-solving in electrical circuit theory.
Engineering Applications
Aquire the skills to safely assess techniques to successfully design novel and/or improve simple electronic circuits.
Programming for Electronics Engineering
Understand the mechanics of programming with high-level languages and syntax.
In your second year, you’ll start to specialise. We’ll explore design for automotive engineers and configuring and programming embedded systems. You’ll also complete a group project and start to learn management skills. We strongly recommend you take a work placement year after year two.
Configuration and Programming of Embedded Systems
Use C programming language to develop real-time embedded systems on a general-purpose microcontroller.
Power, Machines and Control
Explore essential principles for and analyse electrical machines and basic power systems.
Group Project and Management for Engineers
Through teamwork, you’ll use the skills you’ve learned to solve complex real-life problems.
Engineering Science
Understand engineering principles in engineering mechanics, thermofluids and vehicle dynamics.
Design for Automotive Engineers
Learn the theory behind the design and solve design problems involving automotive components.
Electronics for Automotive Systems
Learn principles and technologies used in circuits and how they are used in automotives.
Your third year takes you to your future. You’ll study hybrid and electric vehicle technology, power systems and vehicle dynamics. We’ll also look at autonomous vehicle technology – maybe you’ll be the engineer that cracks self-driving cars! Your individual project lets you direct your learning.
Hybrid/Electric Vehicle Tech
Learn engineering concepts, theory, and applications for HEV, PHEV and BEV for the passenger car industry.
Power Electronics and Drives
Understand the operating principles of power electronic devices and power electronic converters.
Vehicle Dynamics and Structure
Develop knowledge and analytical understanding of automotive vehicle dynamics and control.
Sensors and Smart Vehicle Technology
Understand automotive sensors, principles, advantages, disadvantages, limitations and roles.
Individual Project
Undertake a detailed, research or project relevant to your chosen subject area.
Course Highlights
How you’ll learn
We know different students learn in different ways, so you’ll have a combination of teaching, lab time and self-directed study. You’ll have opportunities to put what you learn in the classroom to the test in our dedicated labs, working on real cars, from chassis to electrical circuitry.
We encourage you to think outside your experience of cars and try things no one else has thought of. Our relationship with the Centre for Automotive & Power System Engineering (CAPSE) gives you access to cutting-edge research within the advanced automotive and power systems engineering sectors
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Teaching staff
Our teaching team comes from a mix of industry and academia. No matter where you might dream of working in the future, someone on our faculty will have a connection there.
The skill mix of our lecturers is vast. Our combined experience includes conducting research, presenting at conferences, publishing our work, and informing your studies with the latest insights. You will also benefit from guest speakers from the engineering world.
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Placements
Automotive Engineering isn’t an abstract science. You’re training to design cars – or elements of cars. We have close partnerships across the automotive industry and use those partnerships to create live learning opportunities. We encourage you to consider a “sandwich” year, working in industry between your second and third year of study.
Our graduates have found their placement year particularly beneficial as it has allowed them to gain practical, hands-on experience within their chosen career and the opportunity to learn directly from professionals based out in their industry.
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Facilities
Our excellent engineering facilities will become your home from home. They include composite-making facilities, additive manufacturing facilities, laser scanners, aluminium casting facilities, a wind tunnel, material testing facilities, non-destructive facilities as well as laboratories with equipment for supplementing teaching in mechanics, dynamics, thermodynamics, fluid-dynamics and control.
We also have a well-equipped Formula Student build area. Our electronics labs feature industry-standard facilities to help you make the transition from the classroom into an employment setting.
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Innovation Hub at USW
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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
UCAS points: 120 (or above)
Typical qualification requirements:
- A Level: BBB to include Mathematics and a numerate subject such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Geography.
- Welsh BACC: Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales Grade B and BB at A Level to include Mathematics and a numerate subject such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography
- BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Distinction Merit in a relevant subject which must include Maths and Engineering or Science modules
- Access to HE: Pass Access to HE Diploma in Maths/Science with a minimum of 120 UCAS Tariff points
Additional requirements include:
We can also consider combinations of qualifications and other qualifications not listed here may also be acceptable. We can sometimes consider credits achieved at other universities and your work/life experience through an assessment of prior learning. This may be for year one entry, or advanced entry to year two or three of a course where this is possible.
To find out which qualifications have tariff points, please refer to the UCAS tariff calculator.
If you need more help or information or would like to speak to our friendly admissions team, please contact us.
International applications welcomed:
We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages.
English language requirements
International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing or equivalent.
Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.
If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.
If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.
USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.
We're here to help
Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch, and we'd love to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.
Fees and Funding
£9,535
per year*£16,200
per year*£16,200
per year*Additional Costs
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
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Investing in your future
We are investing in the future of STEM at USW with an exciting new Computing, Engineering and Technology building at our Pontypridd Campus.
University Quality Assurance
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.
If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.
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How to apply
All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS. You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time.)
Advanced entry
If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.
International admissions
International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.
