BSc (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
This BSc (Hons) Mechanical Engineering degree will give you a strong foundation in a range of traditional mechanical engineering topics. It is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and the Engineering Council, so the successful completion will give you the academic qualification required to gain Incorporated Engineer (IEng) status.
It's a wide-ranging mechanical engineering degree that will develop your understanding of the field and your ability to solve engineering problems independently. You'll study basic principles used by engineering professionals and how they work in practice and understand how what you learn in the classroom can be applied in real-life to find solutions to everyday problems.
Our accreditation from professional bodies ensures that what you learn relates directly to industry standards. The diverse nature of this Mechanical Engineering course means you could establish a career in many areas of industry, such as production, process and manufacturing engineering. It is the ideal course for engineers who want to broaden their career prospects beyond individual specialist or technical areas.
Your studies will be underpinned by key engineering topics - maths, design and manufacture, mechanical science, thermofluids, professional engineering techniques and management systems. As you progress, you'll be exposed to more specialist topics such as instrumentation and control, production processes, and sustainable engineering design.
In your final year, you'll also undertake a dissertation project under the close supervision of a member of staff. Your chosen dissertation will give you the opportunity to manage a major project in an area of engineering that best suits your interests or career ambitions.
Year One: BSc Mechanical Engineering degree, full time
- Engineering Mathematics 1 - 20 credits
- Design and Manufacture - 20 credits
- Mechanical Science 1 - 20 credits
- Thermofluids 1 - 20 credits
- Professional Engineering Techniques - 20 credits
- Measurement Systems - 20 credits
Year Two: BSc Mechanical Engineering degree, full time
- Instrumentation and Control Systems - 20 credits
- Sustainable Engineering Design - 20 credits
- Mechanical Science 2 - 20 credits
- Thermofluids 2 - 20 credits
- Production Processes - 20 credits
- Fundamentals of Business Engineering and Management - 20 credits
Year Three: BSc Mechanical Engineering degree, full time
- Materials and Manufacture - 20 credits
- Operations Management - 20 credits
- Computational Analysis - 20 credits
- Engineering Dynamics - 20 credits
- Individual Project (BSc) - 40 credits
- Supervised Work Experience (SWE) - 120 credits (optional)
Year One: BSc Mechanical Engineering Degree, part time
- Engineering Mathematics 1 - 20 credits
- Design and Manufacture - 20 credits
- Professional Engineering Techniques - 20 credits
Year Two: BSc Mechanical Engineering Degree, part time
- Mechanical Science 1 - 20 credits
- Measurement Systems - 20 credits
- Thermofluids 1 - 20 credits
Year Three: BSc Mechanical Engineering Degree, part time
- Mechanical Science 2 - 20 credits
- Thermofluids 2 - 20 credits
- Production Processes - 20 credits
Year Four: BSc Mechanical Engineering Degree, part time
- Instrumentation and Control Systems - 20 credits
- Sustainable Engineering Design - 20 credits
- Fundamentals of Business Engineering and Management - 20 credits
Year Five: BSc Mechanical Engineering Degree, part time
- Materials and Manufacture - 20 credits
- Operations Management - 20 credits
- Design and Analysis - 20 credits
Year Six: BSc Mechanical Engineering Degree, part time
- Engineering Dynamics - 20 credits
- Individual Project (BSc) - 40 credits
- Supervised Work Experience (SWE) - 120 credits (optional)
Teaching
The mechanical engineering degree is taught by a team of tutors who promote an open door policy to students, so you will be able to get the best out of your studies in a supportive learning environment.
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.
You will learn through a combination of lectures, tutorials, practical sessions and seminars. This will be further consolidated by a series of practical exercises, design projects and where possible site visits. You’ll undertake open-ended tasks, applying concepts and key skills as you progress. You will also need to work independently doing research, keeping up-to-date with current issues and preparing for lectures.
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.
Assessment
The diverse nature of module content is reflected through a range of delivery and assessment methods including assignments, practical and project work, coursework, in-class tests, and end of year examinations.
Accreditations
This Mechanical Engineering degree is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), the fastest growing professional engineering institution in the UK and will enable you to gain Incorporated Engineering status.
Placements
We encourage all students to complete a placement as part of their mechanical engineering degree. 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.
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.
Lecturers
- David Dawkins
- Ewen Constant CEng
- Dr Rae Gordon
- Dr Xiao Guo
- Matthew Jones CEng
- Ilias Lappas
- Dr Talal Maksoud
- Dr Paul Messenger
- Dr Colin Morgan
- Dr Mohamed Mohamed
- Dr Joao Ramos
- Dr Meinwen Taylor
- Dr Shee-Meng Thai
- Dr John Wyburn
Find out about mechanical engineering research at USW.
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
BCC - CDD to include Mathematics and one other Science subject (this is equivalent to 104-80 UCAS tariff points).
Typical Welsh BACC Offer
Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade C/D in the Skills Challenge Certificate and BC - CD at A Level to include Mathematics and one other Science subject (this is equivalent to 104-80 UCAS tariff points).
Typical BTEC Offer
BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Merit Merit - Merit Merit Pass in a relevant Maths, Science or Engineering subject which must include Maths modules (this is equivalent to 112-80 UCAS tariff points).
Typical Access to HE Offer
Pass an Access to HE Diploma in Maths, Science or Engineering and obtain a minimum of 80 UCAS tariff points
Additional Requirements
GCSEs: The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics and English at Grade C or above, or their equivalent but consideration is given to individual circumstances
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.
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
Part-time UK: £740 per 20 credits
August 2024 - July 2025 Fees
Full-time UK: TBC
Full-time International: TBC
Part-time UK: 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.
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.
With a degree in Mechanical Engineering you could establish an engineering career in many possible areas, such as transport, health, defence, manufacturing, entertainment, design or finance. In addition to engineering skills and principles, you will gain extra key skills in management, computers, teamwork, design, project management and communication, which will make you attractive to employers in any sector.
Graduates can also progress to a PhD or research degree.
Our Careers and Employability Service
As a USW Mechanical Engineering student, you will have access to advice from the Careers and Employability Service throughout your studies and after you graduate.
This includes: one-to-one appointments from faculty based Career Advisers, in person, over the phone or even on Skype and through email via the "Ask a Question" service. We also have extensive online resources for help with considering your career options and presenting yourself well to employers. Resources include psychometric tests, career assessments, a CV builder, interview simulator and application help. Our employer database has over 2,000 registered employers targeting USW students, you can receive weekly email alerts for jobs.
Our Careers service has dedicated teams: A central work experience team to help you find relevant placements; an employability development team which includes an employability programme called Grad Edge; and an Enterprise team focused on new business ideas and entrepreneurship.
The Pontypridd Campus is made up of two sites: Treforest and Glyntaff. Our students love the community atmosphere, as well as living and studying in the same place. It’s quieter than the cities, with green open spaces and views across the valley.
It’s the community and friendships you’ll build that make this place special. Outside your studies you can experience our amazing sport facilities and Students’ Union.
Living in Halls is a great way to meet new people and make friends. We have high quality accommodation in Treforest, Cardiff and Newport.