Mechanical Engineering including Foundation Year
Mechanical Engineers are in high demand across various industries, from food processing and renewable energy to automotive and aerospace. Take your first steps towards a full degree as you discover how mechanical engineers help to build and improve the world around us.
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Key Course Details
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UCAS Code
H30F
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Start Date
September
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Location
Pontypridd
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Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£9,790*
International students
£17,200*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
Gain confidence as well as expertise as you prepare for our full Mechanical Engineering degree by studying on our Foundation Year with the help of our cutting-edge facilities and expert staff.
DESIGNED FOR
Our Foundation Year is ideal if you’re looking to study our BEng Mechanical Engineering degree, but you don’t have the right grades. Our course will prepare you for the full degree as well as an engineering career through its use of theory and hands-on-learning in our industry-standard facilities.
Accredited by
- Engineering Council
- This course is currently undergoing its scheduled five-year re-accreditation process with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). The outcome of the current review is expected by November 2026.
Career Paths
- Production Manager
- Biomedical Engineer
- Project Management
- Automotive Engineer
Skills taught
- Development of knowledge of cutting-edge technology
- Teamworking, management and leadership.
- Communication skills
- Understanding of professional responsibilities such as sustainability and ethics
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Course Highlights
Module Overview
Develop essential engineering knowledge and a strong mathematical base in our Foundation Year, designed to build your technical confidence and academic skills before you progress onto our Mechanical Engineering degree.
Starting your University Journey
This module helps you develop academic, personal and professional skills for university study. You’ll reflect on your progress, build confidence, and create an evidence-based portfolio to support your future learning.
Engineering in Action: From Theory to Practice
Explore real-world engineering challenges as you develop your theoretical knowledge, including core mathematical and scientific principles. Learn key skills through tutorials and seminars before applying them in immersive laboratories and workshops.
Design and Manufacture in Action
Discover the fundamental principles of engineering design and manufacturing, including the knowledge and practical skills to approach real-world challenges. You’ll explore the full design process, from research to creation and everything in between.
The Impact Challenge
You’ll work in teams with other Foundation Year students to tackle real-world challenges, developing solutions through research, curiosity, collaboration, and responsible problem-solving while building skills that will support your future studies.
Course Highlights
How you’ll learn
You’ll learn by doing, through real-world activities that help you understand how learning works at university. You’ll be encouraged to ask questions, explore new ideas and work with others, as well as independently. Teaching builds confidence, critical thinking and reflection, supported by digital tools. Regular feedback helps you track progress, plan next steps and build resilience and a strong sense of belonging as you prepare for higher-level study.
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How you’ll be assessed
You’ll be assessed in different ways, including short tasks, coursework, presentations, and group work. Early assessments are designed to support your learning and help you understand what is expected at university. Most assessments are coursework-based and help you develop key skills such as research, academic writing, teamwork, and communication. You’ll also reflect on your progress and use university systems and digital tools. Clear, timely feedback will help you understand how to improve and support your next steps.
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Placements
We know the value of placements, and we are passionate about helping our students to get work experience opportunities. We work with several local and national companies to assist students to get experience in the industry.
Once you’ve progressed onto the full Mechanical Engineering degree, you will have the opportunity to put what you’ve learned into practice in the workplace through an industry placement sandwich year following your second year.
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Facilities
During your Foundation Year and if you progress onto the full degree, you will learn using state-of-the-art facilities at our Treforest campus. Our students enjoy our industry-standard design and analysis software in our well-equipped computer rooms. You’ll have access to the latest equipment and technical staff in our workshops for when you’re completing your project work.
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Accredited By
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Innovation Hub at USW
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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
UCAS Points: 48 (or above)
Typical qualification requirements:
- A Level: DD, 48 tariff points
- Welsh BACC: N/A
- BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Pass Pass Pass or BTEC Diploma Pass Pass
- Access to HE: Pass Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 48 UCAS Tariff points
Additional requirements include:
The University normally requires a minimum 3 GCSEs including Mathematics and English at Grade C/Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent but consideration is given to individual circumstances.
Advanced Entry: Internal applicants (USW and Partner Colleges) taking the HND Mechanical Engineering who achieve a distinction profile with above 70% in mechanical science and thermo fluids are considered for third-year entry onto the BEng Mechanical Engineering. Applicants obtaining an HND from other universities or colleges with lower grade profiles are able to join the third year of the BSc (Hons) Mechanical Engineering.
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 4 overall and a minimum of 4 in each component 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
£9,790
per year*£17,200
per year*Additional Costs
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 stationery, printing, or equipment during your foundation year. For costs after you progress to year 1 of your degree programme, please see the list below.
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Introducing Calon
We are investing in the future of STEM with the exciting new Calon building at the heart of 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.
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.
Applicants accepted through advanced entry may study a different combination of modules to those advertised, as they will be joining a course already in progress. You will be contacted and advised about these modules once your application has been processed and an offer made.
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.
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