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HND

Mechanical Engineering

Engineering is a huge field with incredible job opportunities. The HND takes a step beyond the HNC, developing your skills and knowledge to senior technician level and the equivalent of the second year of a BSc (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering. Learn part-time alongside work for two or four years.

How to apply Apply Through UCAS Book an Open Day Chat to Us

Key Course Details

  • Start Date

    September

  • Location

    Pontypridd

  • Campus Code

    A

Fees

  • Home students

    £785*

  • Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
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Build firm foundations for employment as a higher technician in industry, take the next steps in your engineering studies, and prepare for a career that will change the world.

DESIGNED FOR

If you’re interested in how things work and want to take your learning further, an HND in Mechanical Engineering is for you. Study part-time for two years (progressing from HNC) or four years (without HNC qualification) alongside work. The HND is equivalent to the second year of a degree, enabling you to progress to a BSc.

Accredited by

  • Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Career paths

  • Maintenance Engineer 
  • Production Engineer 
  • Manufacturing

Skills taught

  • Communication 
  • Problem-solving 
  • Teamwork 
  • Engineering mathematics 
  • Design and manufacture

A student wearing navy engineering overalls adjusts the measurements on a piece of engineering equipment on top of a desk in a workshop at USW's Treforest campus. Behind the student is windows showing plants outside against a white wall

Course Highlights

Part-time study

Many of our HND students are sponsored by their employers to gain their qualifications alongside paid work.

Practical learning

Each module includes practical tasks so you can put your learning to the test.

State-of-the-art facilities

Our labs let you apply the theory learned in our classrooms to facilities that mirror the real world.

Module Overview

Part-time students will attend the University one day a week and study three modules each year for two years (if you progress from HNC) or four years (if you don’t have an HNC qualification).

  • Engineering Mathematics 1
  • Design and Manufacture
  • Mechanical Science 1
  • Thermofluids 1
  • Professional Engineering Techniques
  • Measurement Systems
  • Instrumentation and Control Systems
  • Sustainable Engineering Design
  • Mechanical Science 2
  • Thermofluids 2

 

  • Project (HNC/HND)
  • Production Processes
  • Fundamentals of Business Engineering and Management

On completion of the HND, there is the opportunity to progress onto the final year of the BSc (Hons) Mechanical Engineering degree where you’ll be able to complete a major industry or research-based project. 

Course Highlights

How you’ll learn

This mechanical engineering qualification is taught via lectures, seminars and tutorials. You will also undertake practical work using specialist workshop and laboratory facilities. The time you are expected to commit to study may vary depending on your existing qualifications and previous experience.

Teaching staff

The staff that deliver the modules have a breadth of expertise in their subject areas. 

Some have developed this expertise through high quality research. The research areas are international in their scope whilst also having a relevance locally, often working with international companies that operate locally. 

Others have developed their expertise through successful careers in industry and are now using that knowledge to teach and prepare the students for their own careers.

This blend of backgrounds represented in the academic staff give a breadth to the student experience and develops them technically and professionally.

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.

Careers and Employability

Graduate careers

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.

Possible career paths

You may have a clear career path that you are aiming for and we can help you get there. On the other hand, you may still be unsure about the direction you wish to take and that’s why our lecturers, industrial contacts and careers services will want to talk to about these opportunities. It’s an exciting time to be a Mechanical Engineer – the world is facing some major challenges and we are at the forefront of developing solutions to many of these

Careers support

Our careers service offers a range of advice and guidance to students. We can link you up with industry, we can help you with interview skills and CVs and help you to focus on your own direction of travel.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

UCAS Points: 60 (or above)

Typical qualification requirements:

  • A Level: DD to include Mathematics or a Science subject
  • Welsh BACC: Grade D and D at A Level
  • BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Pass Pass Pass or BTEC Diploma Pass Pass
  • Access to HE: Pass Maths or Science Diploma with 60 credits overall to include 45 level 3 credits all Passes

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

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

UK Part-time Fee

£785

per 20 credits*

Further Information

Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. 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).

*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.

Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy.  We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.

 

Fees and Funding Scholarships and Bursaries Cost of Living Support

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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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.

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.
 

Next Steps

How to apply
Apply Through UCAS
Book an Open Day
Chat to Us