Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Mechanical Engineering

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B-B,B,B

120-128 points from 2 or 3 A levels, including an A level in a relevant subject.

122-128 Tariff points from the Access to HE Diploma in a relevant subject.

Cambridge Pre-U score of 56-60, to include a minimum of 3 Principal Subjects, to include a Principal Subject in a relevant subject.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE English and Combined Science/Physics at grade C, or equivalent/GCSE English and Combined Science/Physics at grade 4, or equivalent.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

29-30

29 points from the IB Diploma. 664 at Higher Level, with one relevant subject at Higher Level - 30 points from the IB Diploma. 665 at Higher Level, with one relevant subject at Higher Level.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H3,H3,H3,H3,H3-H2,H2,H3,H3,H3


To include a Higher Level in a relevant subject.

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.

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

DDM

Must be in a relevant subject.

120-128 Tariff points, including an Advanced Higher in a relevant subject.

T Level

M

Acceptable T Level Subjects: T Level in Construction: Design, Surveying and Planning, T Level in Building Services Engineering, T Level in Engineering and Manufacturing Design and Development, T Level in Maintenance, Installation and Repair for Engineering and Manufacturing, T Level in Engineering, Manufacturing, Processing and Control

UCAS Tariff

120-128

120-128 points from 2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, to include a relevant subject.

120-128 points from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate including 2 A levels, one of which must be a relevant subject, plus the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate.

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Other options

5 years | Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Mechanical engineering

**This is a Connected Degree**

Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

**Overview**

With huge technological advances taking place in areas of transport, energy, healthcare and robotics, studying mechanical engineering can put you in a position to influence the future of global industries.

To meet the challenges of the engineering world, you'll study the design, development, modelling and operation of engineered products and systems. To establish your expertise in engineering, you'll get to specialise in subjects such as sustainable development, computer-aided engineering and computational fluid dynamics.

This 4-year MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering integrated Master's degree course is similar to our 3- year BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering course. The difference is you'll study more advanced topics leading to a Master's degree at the end of the course.

**Course highlights**
- Learn about the underlying elements of successful engineering and manufacturing projects, including engineering analysis, optimisation and design

- Work on a project proposal sponsored by an external company – previous students have worked on a heat loss optimisation with Rolls Royce, fire alarms with Apollo Fire Detectors and wind turbine blade production with Vestas

- Get the chance to be involved in Formula Student, where you'll design, construct and test a competitive race car with fellow students to be judged and raced at Silverstone, home of the British Grand Prix

**Accreditation**

This course is accredited by European Engineering Programmes (EUR-ACE), the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). The BEng meets in part the academic requirement for registration as Chartered Engineer (CEng) and the MEng meets in full the academic requirement for registration as Chartered Engineer (CEng).

**Careers and opportunities**

This mechanical engineering degree course will give you the skills and experience you need to work in any industry that depends on mechanical systems, from transport and construction to the armed forces and energy.

And your skills will be in demand when you graduate – all mechanical engineering roles are listed in the UK Government’s 'skills shortage list'. This is backed up by the fact that 90% of our MEng graduates are in work and/or further study 15 months after they graduate, with 80% of those in highly skilled work. 5 years after graduation, students on our mechanical engineering courses are earning an average of £35,000 a year.

Graduate destinations

Our graduates have worked for national and global companies such as:

- Babcock International

- Pall Corporation

- Rolls-Royce

- Defence Science and Technology Laboratory

- Bosch Thermotechnology

- Wärtsilä

- Mercedes-AMG

What jobs can you do with a mechanical engineering degree?

Roles you could go onto include:

- mechanical engineer

- design engineer

- test engineer

- project manager

- energy storage analyst

- mechanical design engineer

Other graduates have continued their studies at postgraduate level or set up successful businesses with help and support from the University.

After you leave the University, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability service as you advance in your career.

"Formula Student has given me the confidence in my ability as an engineer, as components that I have designed were built and proven to withstand their environment." Simon Hotchkiss, Mechanical Engineering Student

Modules

Year 1

Core modules in this year currently include:
- Electrical and Electronic Principles
- Introduction to Design
- Introduction to Materials and Manufacture
- Introduction to Solid Mechanics and Dynamics
- Introduction to Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics
- Mathematical Principles

There are currently no optional modules in this year.

Year 2

Core modules in this year currently include:
- Computer Aided Engineering and Product Manufacture
- Engineering Design
- Engineering Mathematics and Numerical Analysis
- Solid Mechanics and Dynamics
- Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics

Optional modules in this year currently include:
- Engineering Programming
- Materials and Manufacture
- Modern Foreign Language
- Robotics and Automation

Placement year (optional)

After your second year, you can do an optional work placement year to get valuable longer-term work experience in the industry. Previous students have gone on to placements at organisations including: Airbus Defence and Space, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, GE, Aviation.

In your placement year, you can also set up a business on your own or in a group. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your aspirations. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year.

Year 3

Core modules in this year currently include:
- Design for Quality
- Finite Element Analysis in Solid Mechanics
- MEng Individual Project
- Sustainable Development and Environmental Management

Optional modules in this year currently include:
- Advanced Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics
- Big Data Applications

Year 4

Core modules in this year currently include:
- Energy Systems
- Multidisciplinary Group Project
- Structural Application of Finite Elements
- Structural Integrity

Optional modules in this year currently include:

- Computational Fluid Dynamics
- Control Systems
- Renewable Energy Management

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment methods

You’ll be assessed through:

- written examinations
- coursework
- practical tests
- project work
- presentations

You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.

You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:

- Year 1 students: 84% by written exams and 16% by coursework
- Year 2 students: 56% by written exams, 13% by practical exams and 31% by coursework
- Year 3 students: 60% by written exams and 40% by coursework
- Year 4 students: 42% by written exams, 5% by practical exams and 53% by coursework

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
£9,250
per year
International
£19,200
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 Portsmouth

Department:

Faculty of Technology

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.

75%
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

67%
Staff make the subject interesting
84%
Staff are good at explaining things
75%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
66%
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

75%
Library resources
83%
IT resources
77%
Course specific equipment and facilities
64%
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?

82%
UK students
18%
International students
89%
Male students
11%
Female students
58%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
D
D

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.

£25,000
med
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education
89%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

68%
Engineering professionals
5%
Business, research and administrative professionals
3%
Science, engineering and production technicians

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.

£27k

£27k

£31k

£31k

£38k

£38k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

Share this page

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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