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Mechanical Engineering (with a placement year)

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,C

Other A Level combinations are possible to achieve 112 points

Pass Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 80 UCAS points.

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

DMM

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

DMM

Achieve a minimum of 112 tariff points achieved from either five Highers or a combination of two Highers offered with two Advanced Highers. Where only Highers have been taken a minimum of (CCCCC) is required.

T Level

Pass (C and above)


Eligible T Level applications will be asked to achieve a minimum overall grade of P (A*-C) or Higher Pass as a condition of offer.

UCAS Tariff

112-120

We welcome a wide range of qualifications and qualification combinations. We assess each application individually, taking in to account any experience and skills you may have in your chosen field. Don't worry if you can't see your specific qualification listed, just contact our team of experts on 01782 294400 or email us at [email protected] for further advice

About this course


Course option

4years

Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Mechanical engineering

Our course has been designed for you to experience different aspects of Mechanical Engineering to enable you to develop your knowledge and skills and prepare you for a career in Engineering. Our Mechanical graduates have gone on to a range of engineering roles including design engineers, project engineers, systems engineers and mechanical engineers.

The course can offer you unique opportunities to engage with industry and to get involved in real life projects and this experience will help you develop, grow and have a great future as a modern engineer.

You will gain fundamental and advanced theoretical knowledge through a range of engineering topics with continuous opportunities to apply and evaluate this acquired knowledge in various practical situations using our mechanical engineering laboratory equipment. Alongside these subject specific skills, we’ll work with you to develop your employability and transferable skills, so you’ll be able to approach industry with confidence.

You will be surrounded by supportive and approachable teaching and technical staff and you will be offered opportunities to develop skills that underpin engineering and the chance to collaborate, communicate and be creative using our wide range of equipment. To maximise your practical experience, you will have opportunities to get hands-on with our cutting-edge facilities including, 3D scanners and 3D printers, rapid prototyping, laser cutters, wind turbine lab facilities and the latest Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software.

You will be encouraged to pursue a 9-12 months of work experience in industry between the second and final year of the course and you’ll be supported by our own placements team and careers staff with your CV preparation, interviews and careers skills to make sure you present yourself and your talent in the best possible way. For example, mechanical engineering students have gained placements previously with Bentley and Alton Towers amongst others.

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award:

BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering (with a placement year)

Modules

Year 1: Fundamentals of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Fundamentals of Mechanical Engineering & Thermofluids, Introduction to Engineering Design & Practice, Introduction to Engineering Mathematics, Professional Development & Engineering Applications.

Year 2: Mechanical Structures, Manufacturing Systems and Quality, Intermediate Engineering Mathematics, Advanced Engineering Mathematics, Automation & Control Engineering, Design Engineering, Leadership & Management, Team Design Project for Sustainability

Year 3: Placement year

Year 4: Structures and FEA, Vibration Analysis, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Manufacturing Technology, Individual Engineering Project, Modern Power Plants and Clean Technology (Option Module), Manufacturing Operations (Option Modules).

Assessment methods

Your course will provide you with opportunities to test your understanding of your subject informally before you complete the formal assessments that count towards your final mark. Each module normally includes practice or ‘formative’ assessments, for which you receive feedback from your tutor. Practice assessments are developmental and any grades you receive for them do not count towards your module mark. There is a formal or ‘summative’ assessment at the end of each module. This includes a range of coursework assessments, such as essays, reports, portfolios, performance, presentations, final year, independent project and written examinations. The grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark.

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
£16,750
per year
International
£16,750
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Staffordshire University (Stoke Campus)

Department:

Digital, Technologies and Arts

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.

67%
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.

Mechanical engineering

Teaching and learning

73%
Staff make the subject interesting
67%
Staff are good at explaining things
67%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
80%
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

86%
Library resources
87%
IT resources
93%
Course specific equipment and facilities
60%
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?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
94%
Male students
6%
Female students
81%
2:1 or above
11%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

E
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.

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.

£20,000
low
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
77%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

34%
Engineering professionals
10%
Science, engineering and production technicians
8%
Vehicle trades

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.

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.

£39k

£39k

£31k

£31k

£35k

£35k

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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Teaching Excellence Framework (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.

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here