BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering

This BEng Mechanical Engineering degree allows you to use your analytical and mathematical skills to solve real-life problems.

Mechanical engineers are sought-after in all types of industries, from food processing to pharmaceutical manufacture, as well as in high-profile sectors such as automobile and aerospace.

Accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), and the Engineering Council, this is a modern mechanical engineering degree that is relevant to a range of industries. You could design, analyse, research and test anything from wind turbines to turbojet engines.

It has been developed with engineering professionals and forms the educational base for Chartered Engineer status, with a period of further learning. We have strong links with industry and place considerable emphasis on student projects. We also encourage industrial placements as part of a sandwich year option. This course is also available through Network75, a combined work and study route.

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2023
2024

UCAS Code	Study Mode 2023	Duration	Start Date	Campus	Campus Code
H300	Full-time	3 Years	September	Treforest	A
H303	Sandwich	4 Years	September	Treforest	A

UCAS Code	Study Mode 2024	Duration	Start Date	Campus	Campus Code
H300	Full-time	3 Years	September	Treforest	A
H303	Sandwich	4 Years	September	Treforest	A

This Mechanical Engineering degree includes the computing, mathematical and physical sciences required to design, develop and manufacture a range of engineering systems. You’ll study the core areas that underpin mechanical engineering, which are material science, engineering mechanics, thermofluids, manufacturing systems and engineering design. This includes extensive laboratory experience, so you can gain the skills needed to test systems that you have analysed and constructed.

You’ll also study a management, business and professional practice module. This will develop your initiative, and eﬀective communication and interpersonal skills, to achieve the high level of technical leadership required in a modern engineering environment. Your new skills will be further tested through group and individual research and design projects.

Year One: Mechanical Engineering degree

Mathematics for Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineers - 20 credits
Design and Manufacture - 20 credits
Engineering Computing Applications - 20 credits
Engineering Mechanics 1 - 20 credits
Electrical Science - 20 credits
Thermofluids 1 - 20 credits

Year Two: Mechanical Engineering degree

Further Mathematics for Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineers - 20 credits
Sustainable Engineering Design - 20 credits
Engineering Mechanics 2 - 20 credits
Control and Instrumentation - 20 credits
Thermofluids 2 - 20 credits
Engineering Materials - 20 credits

Optional

Supervised Work Experience (year out in industry) - 120 credits

Year Three: Mechanical Engineering degree

Individual Project (BEng) - 40 credits
Thermofluids 3 - 20 credits
Design and Analysis - 20 credits
Industrial Management – 20 credits
Mechanics and Control - 20 credits

Teaching

You will learn via lectures, tutorials and seminars. As well as this, you will spend time keeping up-to-date on current issues within the engineering industry. You will also learn through practical work, group projects and a final year project, plus industry visits to companies such as GE Aircraft Engine Services, The Royal Mint and local businesses.

We have excellent links with employers in Wales, the UK and beyond. Through regular consultation with practising professionals, we keep our mechanical engineering courses up-to-date with industry standards. Our strong links also mean you’ll have opportunities for site visits, industrial placements and, for students on sandwich courses, practitioner mentoring. Our lecturers are experts in their subject areas, having worked in, or with, industry, conducting research, presenting at conferences, publishing their work, and informing your studies with the latest insights. Not only will you be taught by academics who are specialists in their fields, but you will also benefit from guest speakers from the engineering world.

As part of this Mechanical Engineering degree, you also have the option to spend a year working in industry. This year will give you an inside look at the industry, boost your employability and could help your grades.

You may also have the opportunity to progress to the MEng Mechanical Engineering course which combines the undergraduate degree (BEng) with a Masters-level qualification. The additional year gives you higher technical knowledge, and allows you to apply what you’ve already learned to an individual project. You enrol on the undergraduate degree, and have the opportunity to progress to an MEng if you achieve satisfactory grades in your assessments during your first two years of study.

Find out about mechanical engineering research at USW.

Assessment

The mechanical engineering degree is assessed through assignments, coursework, ongoing class tests and exams. Presentations are included as elements of assessments in some modules, in order that key communication and presentation skills can be developed.

Accreditations

USW’s Mechanical Engineering degree is fully accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), to gain Incorporated Engineering status. Students who progress on to the MEng will gain the academic requirements for Chartered Engineering status.

Placements

We encourage all students to complete a placement as part of their mechanical engineering qualification. On a sandwich placement, you can spend up to a year working in the industry to apply your new knowledge and learn new skills – it’s a great boost to your CV and can lead directly to employment when you graduate.

Find out more about Engineering Placements at USW

Facilities

Our Mechanical Engineering facilities are excellent. They include:

Well-equipped computer rooms using state of the art (industry standard) design and analysis software. (SolidWorks, Ansys, FEA and CFD, LS-Dyna, SolidCAM, Simul8, etc.), with a cluster (Super Computer) for use on high end computational activities.
Dedicated project rooms for all cohorts, access to laser cutter and a four-axis CNC router.
Composite manufacturing facilities, including autoclaves.
Additive manufacturing facilities (3D printing), laser scanner, wind tunnel, extensive material testing facilities, as well as laboratories with equipment for supplementing teaching in all core subjects, mechanics, dynamics, materials, thermodynamics, fluid-dynamics and control.
Non-destructive testing (NDT) facilities.
Access to technical staff in our workshops which include CNC machining centre, lathes and milling machine, drills, etc, for use on all project work undertaken.
Large open access multi discipline built area for projects.
Well-equipped Formula Student build area.

Featured Lecturer:
Dr Joao Ramos

"A mechanical engineer can do a bit of everything. It’s by far the most flexible of engineering subjects. It is not rare to see a mechanical engineer move out of their comfort zone and branch out in to another type of engineering, and sometimes even business. This ability to adapt to an ever-changing industry is what sets mechanical engineers apart from the competition. The world can become a better place through engineering."

Lecturers

We regularly revalidate courses for quality assurance and enhancement

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.

The entry criteria below reflect our standard entry requirements for the course for September 2023. However, all applications received by the University are reviewed holistically and individually. Entry criteria for September 2024 is changing and will be published on ucas.com from 8th May 2023. Entry criteria for September 2024 will be updated on our website from the end of October 2023.

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 it’s a 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. Here is a link to our Contextual Admissions Policy.

Other qualifications and experience

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 here

Typical A-Level Offer

BBB to include Mathematics and one other Science subject.

Typical Welsh BACC Offer

Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade B in the Skills Challenge Certificate and BB at A Level to include Mathematics and one other Science subject.

Typical BTEC Offer

BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Distinction Merit in a relevant Maths, Science or Engineering subject which must include Maths modules.

Typical Access to HE Offer

Pass an Access to HE Diploma in Maths/Science and obtain a minimum of 120 UCAS tariff points

Additional Requirements

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 3rd year entry onto the Full time BEng Mechanical Engineering. Applicants obtaining an HND from other universities or colleges with lower grade profiles are able to join the 3rd year of the Full time BSc (Hons) Mechanical Engineering or year 5 of the Part time BSc.

Additional Requirements

The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances.

International Entry Requirements

We also welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications. Please visit the country specific pages on our international website for exact details.

English Requirements

In general, international applicants will need to have achieved an overall IELTS grade of 6.0 with a minimum score of 5.5 in each component.

However, if you have previously studied through the medium of English IELTS might not be required, but please visit the country specific page on our international website for exact details. If your country is not featured please contact us.

Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee will remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course

August 2023 - July 2024 Fees

Full-time UK: £9000
Full-time International: £14400

August 2024 - July 2025 Fees

Full-time UK: TBC
Full-time International: TBC

Student Perks

At the University of South Wales, you’re investing in so much more than a degree. We strive to provide our students with the best possible experience, no matter what you chose to study. Whether it’s access to top of the range mac books and PCs, state-of-the-art facilities packed with industry-leading equipment and software, masterclasses and events led by industry experts, or a wide range of clubs and societies to meet likeminded people, better tomorrows start with extra perks.

Each course also has their own unique student benefits to prepare you for the real word, and details of these can be found on our course pages. From global field trips, integrated work experience and free course-related resources, to funded initiatives, projects working with real employers, and opportunities for extra qualifications and accreditations - at USW your future, is future-proofed.

Click here to learn more about student perks at USW.

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.

Funding

Funding to help pay for (or cover) course tuition fees and living costs

Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).

To learn about course fees, funding options, and to see if you are eligible for financial support, visit our Fees and Funding pages.

Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Science Travel Bursary

The Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Science offers a travel bursary of £500 which is available to all students undertaking an undergraduate sandwich degree. Find out more.

BEng or MEng?

UK students

Apply via UCAS if you are a UK residing applicant, applying for year one of a full-time undergraduate degree, Foundation Year, Foundation Degree or HND and you have not applied through UCAS before. If you are applying to study part-time, to top up your Foundation Degree or HND, or to transfer to USW from another institution, please apply directly.

International and EU students

Apply directly to the University if you live outside the UK.

Admissions statement

Our Mechanical Engineering degree has a good reputation in industry, and our graduates have carved out successful careers in areas including research and development, design, manufacturing management, technical sales, and plant engineering.

Graduates can also progress to an Engineering PhD or research degree.