Mechanical Engineering
University of the West of Scotland
UCAS Code: H300 | Bachelor of Engineering (with Honours) - BEng (Hon)
Entry requirements
A level
Including Maths and Physics For year 2 entry, BBC including Maths and Physics
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
including Maths and Physics For Year 2 entry, 28 points including Maths and Physics
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Including Maths and Physics.
Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF)
For year 2 entry
Scottish HNC
Entry to Year 2 with HNC in one of the following titles: Engineering Practice (including Maths for Engineering 1); Mechanical Engineering (including Maths for Engineering 1); Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering (including Maths for Engineering 1 and Engineering & Mechanics); Engineering & Mechanics; Engineering Science
Scottish HND
Entry to Year 3 with HND in one of the following titles: Mechanical Engineering (including Maths for Engineering 3)
Scottish Higher
Including Maths and National 5 Physics at B
T Level
UCAS Tariff
including Maths
About this course
**OVERVIEW**
This degree focuses on industry-relevant topics to reflect the needs of today’s employers, giving you the opportunity to build a career in the design, engineering and manufacturing sectors. Mechanical engineers combine a thorough knowledge of scientific and engineering principles with a flexible approach towards new ideas and developments.
Throughout the course, you will hone your practical skills by using our new state-of-the-art equipment and software modelling platforms, making you attractive to prospective employers and enabling you to work effectively as an engineering team member.
See also the entry for our related integrated master's degree MEng (Hons) Mechnical Engineering (H301).
**PRACTICAL FOCUS**
There is the possibility of undertaking periods of paid industrial training as part of your studies. These placements are obtained competitively. If you are successful in completing this period of employment, for a total of 36 weeks, you will graduate with a 'Sandwich' degree which demonstrates to employers that you are ready to make an immediate contribution to their teams. This thin sandwich placement is undertaken out-with term time/on a part-time basis meaning it does not affect the duration of the degree. You are responsible for applying for engineering jobs/placements yourself. As these positions are competitive, they cannot be guaranteed.
Placements in this course would be possible at the end of your Year 2 studies but before your Year 3 studies commence and at the end of your Year 3 studies but before your Year 4 studies commence. In recent years students have undertaken placements with organisations such as Spirit AeroSystems, Doosan Babcock and Rolls Royce.
In addition, guest speakers from industry are also invited to talk to you during your studies and these help to further deepen your understanding of the specific engineering subjects.
**PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION**
The BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering degree is accredited as fully satisfying the educational base for an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) and has been accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. See our website for full details.
**CAREER PROSPECTS**
Mechanical Engineering graduates are highly sought-after and find emnployment in a wide range of industries and in a variety of roles.
**Jobs**
Careers in the automotive, aerospace, offshore, energy, railways and shipbuilding sectors are possible for Mechanical Engineers in roles within stress, vibration, performance, service, design and development engineering and project management.
**Further Study**
Completing the BEng (Hons) will allow progression to a specialist taught master's degree or a research degree (MPhil/PhD). Some of our graduates have even progressed to undertake a one-year teaching qualification (PGDE/QTS).
Modules
You will commence your studies in Year one by establishing a solid engineering foundation and will cover subjects such as: mathematics, applied mechanics and engineering design and an introduction to the engineering industry. In subsequent years, you will study topics including: strength of materials, thermofluid mechanics, materials and manufacturing technology, engineering design process, computer-aided technology, engineering management, rapid prototyping and experimental testing techniques; intelligent systems and control technologies; and advanced computer-based analysis and simulation techniques, project management, advanced engineering materials, renewable energy systems and sustainability, computer-aided engineering design, and computational fluid dynamics. In addition, you will undertake a major individual project in your final year (Year 4) which allows you to investigate, in detail, a subject area of your choice.
Assessment methods
A variety of assessment approaches are utilised throughout the programme such as examination, written coursework, portfolio and presentations.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
Extra funding
Visit www.uws.ac.uk/scholarships
The Uni
Paisley Campus
Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences
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.
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.
Engineering (non-specific)
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Engineering (non-specific)
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.
Top job areas of graduates
Very few students study this subject, so there isn't a lot of information available on what graduates do when they finish - bear that in mind when you look at the stats above. Most graduates get jobs in engineering or management, but if you would like to find out more specifically about the prospects for your chosen course, it might be a good idea to go on an open day and talk to tutors about what previous graduates went on to do.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Engineering (non-specific)
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
£27k
£32k
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 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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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?
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