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Mechanical Engineering with Robotics (with an industrial placement year)

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B-A,B,B

A-levels must include Mathematics. You should have a broad range of GCSEs grade 9-4 (A*-C), including good grades in relevant subjects.

Pass Diploma with at least 39 level 3 credits at Merit or above including 21-24 credits at Distinction. You will normally need A-level Mathematics, grade B, in addition to the Access to HE Diploma. All Access applicants will be assessed on a case by case basis.

We take the EPQ into account when considering your application and it can be useful in the summer when your results are released if you have narrowly missed the conditions of your offer. We do not routinely include the EPQ in the conditions of your offer but we sometimes offer alternative conditions that include the EPQ. If you wish to discuss this further please contact Admissions at [email protected]

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

30-32

This score should be from the full IB Diploma. Higher Levels must include Mathematics, with a grade of 5. For entry, either Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches or Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation at Higher Level will be accepted.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDD-DDM

The BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma should be in Engineering and must include a Distinction in Calculus to Solve Engineering Problems or if taking the BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Engineering you must gain a Distinction in the Further Mathematics for Engineering Technicians. GCSE (or equivalent) Mathematics with at least grade 5 is essential (or grade B). You should also have a broad range of GCSEs 9-4 (A*-C), including good grades in relevant subjects.

Scottish Higher

A,B,B,B,B-A,A,B,B,B


If you are taking Scottish Advanced Highers we would normally ask for BBB. Highers must include Mathematics, grade A. You should normally have an Advanced Higher in Mathematics (grade B).

UCAS Tariff

120-147

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Mechatronics and robotics

Mechanical engineering

**=8th in the UK for Graduate Prospects – Outcomes in Manufacturing and Production Engineering (Complete University Guide 2023)**

**14th in the UK for Mechanical Engineering (The Guardian University Guide 2023)**

**87.9% of our research outputs in Engineering were assessed to be world leading or internationally excellent (REF 2021)**

**About the course**

On this course, you have the opportunity to develop specific expertise in robotics alongside skills in mechanical engineering; making you employable by various sectors, from robot design and development to autonomous cars, robotics, automation, mechatronics, automotive, aerospace, and renewable energies. The placement year also gives you the chance to get real work experience for a year in industry, whilst still being supported by the department at Sussex.

Our world class research in robotics, dynamics and control, space systems, sensors, and flexible electronics informs our degrees to give you the best start in your career. You’ll study in our £12-million Future Technologies Labs, which provides a new space for building robots, and programming embedded systems, as well as state-of-the-art computer design and modelling suites. In particular, you will have access to our flexible manufacturing system, industrial robotic manipulator, humanoid robots, fleet of drones, autonomous vehicles, and a real-time motion monitoring system.

Dedicated academic advisors will support you during you time at Sussex, and you will be welcomed into our active, student-run engineering societies.

**MEng or BEng?**

We also offer this course as a three-year BEng without the industrial placement year, as a four-year MEng, or as a five-year MEng with an industrial placement year.

**About Sussex**

Sussex graduates change the world. Our students become the leaders of the future, making discoveries, improving lives and changing things for the better.

Study with us to join a welcoming and inspiring community of staff and students from more than 140 countries.

**Location**

We shape the world from a fantastic campus on the UK’s beautiful south coast.

We are the only UK university surrounded by a national park, so you can step off campus to explore the hills and woodlands of the South Downs. The vibrant, colourful and creative seaside city of Brighton & Hove is just nine minutes away.

With Brighton voted the happiest city in England for students, (Student Living Survey, Sodexo, 2018) there can be few better places to study.

Modules

See the modules you will study by year by going to the 'view course details' link.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£25,000
per year
International
£25,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Sussex

Department:

Engineering and Design

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

81%
Mechatronics and robotics
79%
Mechanical engineering

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Production and manufacturing engineering

Teaching and learning

73%
Staff make the subject interesting
83%
Staff are good at explaining things
78%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
75%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

82%
Library resources
68%
IT resources
85%
Course specific equipment and facilities
68%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

55%
UK students
45%
International students
88%
Male students
12%
Female students
87%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

Mechanical engineering

Teaching and learning

44%
Staff make the subject interesting
81%
Staff are good at explaining things
60%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
62%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

83%
Library resources
78%
IT resources
89%
Course specific equipment and facilities
65%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

64%
UK students
36%
International students
88%
Male students
12%
Female students
84%
2:1 or above
7%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Production and manufacturing engineering

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£25,000
med
Average annual salary
89%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

42%
Engineering professionals
8%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
8%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

Graduates are in significant demand, so unemployment rates are well below the national graduate average and starting salaries are well above average. Much the most common industries for these graduates are now vehicle manufacture - there are not enough people with these degrees to go round and so the big employers tend to take the lion's share at the moment. But pretty much anywhere there is manufacturing, there are production engineers. Bear in mind that a lot of courses are four years long, and lead to an MEng qualification — this is necessary if you want to become a Chartered Engineer.

Mechanical engineering

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£26,000
med
Average annual salary
85%
low
Employed or in further education
80%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

44%
Engineering professionals
12%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
8%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals

We're short of engineers in a lot of areas and mechanical engineering is no exception. Mechanical engineers are in demand across multiple industries, with vehicle manufacturing most popular, with roles especially common in design and manufacturing. Other important sectors include aerospace, the oil and gas industry, consultancy and defence. Jobs are all around the country, with London, the Midlands, Scotland and the South East the most likely places for a new mechanical engineer to find work at the moment, and starting salaries are good. Although large employers are much the most likely place to get work, some of the most challenging, cutting edge jobs are with small niche engineering firms, so keep your eyes peeled if you want something a little different. Bear in mind that a lot of courses are four years long, and lead to an MEng qualification — this is necessary if you want to become a Chartered Engineer.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Production and manufacturing engineering

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£26k

£26k

£32k

£32k

£36k

£36k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Mechanical engineering

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£26k

£26k

£32k

£32k

£36k

£36k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here