Mechanical Engineering Degrees 2013
Our Mechanical Engineering degrees are relevant to the real world of industry and the needs of today’s engineers. They are designed to give you a thorough grounding, followed by opportunities to specialise, in particular in the areas of structures and materials, and robotics and control, with Formula Student used as a uniting theme.
Degree programmes
Entry requirements
Minimum entry requirements
- MEng: A level grades AAA
- BEng: A level grades AAB
We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers.
Conditional offers from Surrey will be made in grades or marks, and not listed in points from the UCAS tariff.
Required subjects
GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade C or above (or equivalent).
Mathematics A-level (or equivalent) is required for all programmes. Physics A-level (or equivalent) is also normally required.
English language requirements
Non-native speakers of English will normally be required to have IELTS 6.5 or above, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent).
Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.
Other suitable qualifications
Higher grades refer to MEng programmes.
Cambridge Pre-U
D3, D3, M1; M1, M1, M1
European Baccalaureate
76 – 75%
International Baccalaureate
37 – 35 points
BTEC (QCF Level 3) Extended Diploma
DDD (in an appropriate subject, with a supporting A-level in Mathematics)
In addition, we accept a wide range of qualifications, including other Level 3 QCF Level 3 qualifications, Scottish qualifications, the Irish Leaving Certificate, Access Diplomas and foundation courses. Other qualifications will be considered on an individual basis.
It is important to check whether the qualifications you are taking are suitable for your chosen degree. If you are uncertain whether your qualification meets our entry requirements, please contact us.
If you are an international student and you don’t meet the entry requirements to this degree, we offer the International Foundation Year.
Selection process
Offers are normally made in terms of grades. Suitable candidates will be invited to an Open Day. During the visit to the University, the candidate can find out more about the programme and meet staff and students. Candidates unable to visit the University will be considered based on their UCAS application.
Tuition fees
UK/EU students
Tuition fees are currently set at £9,000 per year for UK/EU undergraduates starting in 2012.
The tuition charge will be accompanied by a generous financial support package, underlining our continued commitment to widening access for those students who come from low income households.
Overseas students
The fee for students classed as overseas for fees purposes is £15,160.
The University will assess your fee status. If you are unsure whether you are likely to be considered a home, EU or overseas student for fees purposes, the UKCISA website offers more information.
Professional Training Year Fees
Programmes marked with an asterisk (*) in the table above include a professional training year.
Currently fees of £1,050 (based on an inflation assumption of 2.5%) are charged for the Professional Training Year. Fees will not have to be paid up front for those students who decide to take up the Government’s loan for higher education fees. The Professional Training year is a key factor in the high employability rates achieved by students with Surrey degrees.
Our degrees
Teaching is underpinned by the latest laboratory and computing facilities. We enhance your learning experience by ensuring that our programmes are fully up to date and offer a wide range of expertise, along with extensive research interests and collaboration with industry and commerce.
Almost everything that we associate with daily life in this technological age involves the work of professional mechanical engineers. They are involved in the design, supply, operation and performance of complex technologies for applications including aircraft, satellites, engines, robots, automobiles, production lines, construction machinery and medical equipment.
Their work is creative, varied, challenging and responsible. It is also respected, well rewarded and offers enormous potential for outstanding career success. Mechanical engineers frequently occupy key positions in senior management and are sought after for their highly developed analytical, computing and managerial abilities.
Our degrees offer you choices for broad-based or specialist study, geared to the realities of industry and commerce today. Designed to equip you with the knowledge and experience required of professional engineers, teaching is delivered through lectures, tutorials and seminars, supported by laboratory classes where you can test out the theory.
An advantage of our Mechanical Engineering and related programmes in Aerospace Engineering and Medical Engineering is a common first year. This introduces you to the broad basis of mechanical engineering and ensures that you can communicate with engineers of different specialisations. It also allows you to confirm or change your degree choice.
Our programmes are fully accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and so provide you with the best route to Chartered Engineer status.
Programme content
Programme overview
In year 1, not only will you study the technical topics like mechanics, design and thermodynamics, but you will also develop the key broader transferable skills of communication and teamwork. You will have the opportunity to work in a team in the ‘design-make-evaluate’ project, which pulls together knowledge from across the programme.
Year 2 provides you with a comprehensive range of mechanical engineering subjects, supported by extensive laboratory work, which will prepare you for your Professional Training year.
In year 3, if you are a BEng student, you will study four core modules including an extensive group design project, individual project and management modules, plus five optional modules. Recent examples of projects include ‘Formula Student engine development’, ‘Robot Martian Rovers’ and ‘Sailing yacht keel design’. If you are an MEng student, emphasis is placed on further development of your selected technical specialisation and managerial expertise.
In year 4 (MEng only), you will study theory and application to a greater depth and breadth, including an extensive individual research project in collaboration with industry. You will also benefit from multidisciplinary design work with students from other engineering departments to simulate an industrial engineering context.
MEng and BEng transfer
Direct entry to the MEng programme normally requires higher qualifications, but transfer from the BEng to the MEng is possible during the degree programme, depending on academic performance. This would normally happen after year 2. Transfer is also possible from the MEng and BEng programmes without a Professional Training year to ones with (and vice versa). This transfer can be made after year 1, giving students who were initially undecided time to consider the benefits of the Professional Training year.
Programme structure
Year 1 (FHEQ Level 4)
Modules include:
- Transferable Skills
- Mathematics
- Statics and Dynamics
- Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics
- Introduction to Electronics
- Experimental Methods
- Design and Component Production
- Design-Make-Evaluate Project
Year 2 (FHEQ Level 5)
Modules include:
- Mathematics
- Design
- Control
- Mechanics of Solids
- Fluid Mechanics
- Thermodynamics
- Instrumentation
- Engineering Experiments
- Engineering Management
- Vehicle Dynamics
Professional Training year
- Optional professional training year
Year 3 (FHEQ Level 6)
Modules include:
- Design
- Advanced Stress Analysis
- Dynamics
- Propulsion
- Business Management
- Project
- Numerical Methods
- Power Transmissions
- Control Systems Engineering
- Applied Vehicle Dynamics
- Electro-mechanical Systems
- Applied Fracture Mechanics
Year 4 (FHEQ Level 7) (MEng only)
Modules include:
- Advanced Electro-mechanical Systems
- Advanced Manufacturing Systems
- Strategic Management
- Research Project
- Multidisciplinary Design Project
Professional training
Professional placements are an important aspect of all our sandwich programmes. They allow you to gain ‘real life’ hands-on experience that you cannot learn in a lecture theatre. In addition to applying and enhancing skills as you study, you will find the Professional Training year invaluable towards the later stages of your studies and in your career development.
The enhanced interpersonal and management skills which you will also learn during the year are highly valued by employers and will provide you with an even greater head start in the jobs market.
This optional year also provides an opportunity to earn a salary (typically £14,900 per year), as while you are on your placement, you are paid by your employer but are still a member of the University.
Many students are offered subsequent employment by the firms with which they spend their placement year.
Companies that participate in the scheme include 2H Offshore Engineering, Air Products, Bentley, Vauxhall Motors, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce plc, APPlus IDIADA (Spain) and INA Walzlager Schaeffler KG (Germany).
Career opportunities
Graduate prospects
Graduates over the last few years entered employment in roles such as:
- Mott MacDonald – Graduate Engineer
- QinetiQ – Research Engineer
- Rolls-Royce – Graduate Trainee
- Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) – Project Support Engineer
Career opportunities
Our graduate employment record is truly outstanding. The University of Surrey is consistently at or very close to the top of the league table for graduate employment. This is due to the professional focus of our degrees, with accreditation by professional institutions, and the quality of our Professional Training scheme.
Most of our graduates proceed directly to employment in an engineering profession, with an average starting salary of £25,000. Typical careers span a wide range – professional mechanical engineering, general engineering and manufacturing.
Employers include some of the most famous names in engineering, aerospace, energy, telecommunications and research. A small but significant number of students take higher degrees at Surrey and elsewhere.
Additional information
Teaching
We recognise that each student is an individual with a unique academic background. We attempt to meet these differences with a blend of teaching methods ranging from lectures and group tutorials to small class groups in laboratories, plus developing online teaching resources.
You will be allocated a personal tutor to guide you through the programme and advise on option and career choices, helping you get the most from your studies with us.
Your communication skills, vital to professional mechanical engineers, are developed in communications and information technology modules where you will explore the whole spectrum of communication media, from chalk-and-talk to state-of-the- art computer software presentation packages.
Facilities
Specialised facilities include:
- An engine test cell with three diverse engines
- Six wind tunnels including an environmental wind tunnel, unique within the UK, and high-quality instrumentation
- Mechatronics and robotics laboratories
- A specialist medical engineering laboratory
Assessment
Degrees are awarded on a combination of examinations and continuous assessment, in the form of coursework, projects, laboratory assessments and presentations. Our students generally find this combination helps them to plan their time more effectively.
Year1 marks do not count towards your degree but allow us to see that you are making good progress. For BEng programmes, your final degree class is based on years 2 and 3, plus the Professional Training year if taken. MEng degrees are assessed on years 2, 3 and 4, plus the Professional Training year if taken.
Taster Courses
We run taster courses for Year 12 students each July. Living on-campus, you learn about what engineering is, what it has to offer and what you need to know to be successful in the field. Please contact us for further details.
Why Surrey?
Mechanical Engineering degrees 2013 at Surrey
- The Times Good University Guide 2013, The Guardian University Guide 2013 and The Complete University Guide 2013 all rank Surrey eighth for its mechanical engineering programmes
- Opportunities to apply knowledge to group and individual project work
- Home to a Rolls-Royce-funded University Technology Centre
- Formula Student racing car projects for BEng and MEng
- Professionally accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
- Programmes enhanced by closely related disciplines at the University
- A flexible degree structure with both MEng and BEng degrees, with a wide range of specialist options
My time at the University was a most enjoyable experience and has equipped me with the essential skills needed to develop my professional engineering career.
Michael Gibbons
MEng Mechanical Engineering
My time at the University was a most enjoyable experience and has equipped me with the essential skills needed to develop my professional engineering career.
There were many highlights of the programme and the culmination was being short-listed for the Science and Engineering Technology awards as one of the top three mechanical engineers in Britain.
I had an excellent industrial placement at Applied Materials in Horsham, developing robots and mechatronic systems for the semiconductor industry, and during my MEng project I made significant advances in vacuum techniques – which are critical to the industry. These opportunities provided invaluable experience and gave me the confidence to take on high levels of responsibility within an engineering team.
Having completed the MEng, I returned to Applied Materials working as a robotics engineer, developing automation systems for the semiconductor industry. I am currently introducing new techniques in self-teach robots and laser mapper detection systems, whilst being directly involved in the ‘commercialisation’ of major automation assemblies. My increasing level of responsibility has led to the managing and coordination of a variety of engineering activities.
I feel the course has strengthened my presentation and computer skills.
Maria Rae
MEng Mechanical Engineering
At the time of choosing where to go to university five years ago, Surrey had a good position in the league tables for engineering and the University was also close to my hometown.
I liked having both accommodation halls and lecture theatres on the same site. It made it very easy to access information from the Library or lecturers at all times of the day. The campus is also very close to the town and train station, which is handy if you want weekends away.
In my first year on the Mechanical Engineering course I really enjoyed the practical sessions. It was good to be able to make something and understand the processes involved. I feel the course has strengthened my presentation and computer skills. I also had the chance to work in a team and practise working to deadlines.
Currently I'm planning to go to Kenya to build homes for underprivileged communities in the slums near Nakuru, as I have been fortunate in my life and feel that I have an obligation to help improve others’ lives. After Kenya, I will begin working as a graduate engineer for Jacobs.
Professional recognition
Fully accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) as the fastest route to Chartered Engineer (CEng) status.