About this course
- Entry year: 2012/13
- Course code: H605
- Applications: UCAS
- Level: Undergraduate
- Tariff points: MEng:300
- Department: Engineering, Design and Mathematics
- Campus: Frenchay
- Duration: MEng - four years full-time/five years sandwich
BEng - three years full-time/four years sandwich
Part-time day-release option - five to six years.
- Delivery: Full-time, Part-time day release, Sandwich.
- Study Abroad: Yes
- Programme leader: Nigel Gunton
Introduction
Unlike careers in medicine or law, careers in electrical and electronic engineering are what could be termed 'hidden careers' yet they are every bit as important to our society and our lives. Almost everything we do and use has seen the involvement of electrical or electronic engineers in its design, development, distribution and eventual recycling. Imagine a world without electricity or electronic devices and it is easy to see why electrical and electronic engineering is vital to our very survival and to the development of our future technology.
Electrical engineers are responsible for the generation, distribution and use of our electricity.From medical equipment to mobile phones, from the safety of our vehicles to reducing the environmental impact of our washing machines and in the gadgets that transform our leisure time, you will find the work of electronic engineers. Dealing in milliwatts and microvolts, you could be developing the electronic systems to maintain our present and enable our future, creating the new technology itself and the technology of the future. Electronic and electrical engineers are found working and designing for manufacturing industries, transport and rail, aviation, electric vehicles, the built environment, the leisure industry and many other areas.
The Department of Engineering Design and Mathematics prides itself on the industrial relevance of its courses and the learning programme puts heavy emphasis on the blend of taught knowledge with student-centred problem solving exercises. The course is modular with a carefully balanced combination of technical, business and management modules aimed at producing graduates who can enter industry and make an immediate contribution. Each year of the course requires you to complete a core set of modules along with an expanding set of domain specific modules as the course advances. The choice of pathways within the degree allows you to gain knowledge in your chosen field of electrical or electronics applications. There are two routes - the MEng degree and the BEng(Hons) degree. The former is a four year study course (five in sandwich mode), the latter is a three (or four in sandwich mode) study course. You are encouraged to complete a one year sandwich placement after your second year of study. The experiential learning usually improves your final year performance and subsequent career progression.
Structure
Content
It may not be easy at application stage to decide which pathway to take, but the differences between electrical and electronic engineering will become more apparent as you progress through your studies. Therefore the modules in Year 1 are all core, and common to both the electrical and electronic engineering pathways, allowing you to switch between them at the end of the year. The year consists of a basic grounding in both digital and analogue electronics, backed up with the study of mathematics and computer programming. The module in Practical Electronics is about the application of electronics to a wider range of uses, and the Professional Studies module helps you to bring a professional approach and attitude to your studies. It includes project planning, group work and communication skills, all considered highly important by prospective employers.
In Year 2, you will study further modules in mathematics, signal processing, microcontrollers, communications and control systems. The Group Project and Management module, in which groups work together to learn project management, develops the themes from the Professional Studies first year module. The two pathways begin to diverge, as an electrical student you will take a module in electrical technology. This introduces the fundamentals of electrical power systems, and the control of machines using power electronics. Electronic students will take a module in digital hardware design. This introduces hardware development through the design, implementation and verification of a small microprocessor.
In the final year (BEng) or final two years (MEng) there are further pathway specific modules, which allow you to specialise towards your chosen career path. Provided you have performed well, you may choose between the BEng and MEng. Academic staff and student advisers will be on hand to help you make these choices. You will do a significant individual research and development project, which allows you to focus on a specific topic of your own choice, and gives you the chance to put into practice what you have learnt about project management in previous years. MEng students will also complete an interdisciplinary group project, and study four pathway specific modules at Master's Level in their final year.
The programme structure for our full time course can be found on our website.
Teaching and learning
Learning methods include lectures, seminars, tutorials, laboratory work, case studies and mini-projects with a mixture of group and individual activities optimised for the particular subject area.
You can find out more about electrical and electronic engineering programmes and facilities on the Department's website.
Study time
Day-release study option
Electronic Engineering and Electrical and Electronic Engineering are all available to study on a part-time day-release basis. Modules are structured in such as way as to allow you to attend lectures and tutorial sessions one day per week only. Dependent on entry qualifications, students generally complete the course within five years. Most are supported by their employers.
Programme structure diagram for the part-time programme. For a full programme booklet detailing the modules covered, entry requirements as well as fee information, please contact us at the Faculty of Environment and Technology, details below.
The programme structures change from year to year. Therefore you might find some variation between that shown here and the final version of your course.
Applications and enquiries for day-release study are made directly to the Faculty of Environment and Technology. Please contact the Admissions Office on +44 (0)117 32 84242 or fet.admissions@uwe.ac.uk to find out more. Applicants should expect to be invited to UWE for an informal discussion.
Assessment
Assessment is generally by a mixture of coursework, assignments and examinations.
Special Features
Professional accreditation
The BEng(Hons) degree is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). In the Department, all programmes which are determined as appropriate for accreditation and exemption are regularly inspected by the relevant institutions. However, due to the cyclical nature of accreditation visits, the status of individual programmes of study may vary from time to time. If you would like to check the current accreditation status of individual programmes, then please check the IET website at www.theiet.org. Please note that the MEng degree is not accredited.
You can find out more about the Department's accredited programmes on our website.
Placements
We encourage all students on our degree courses to do a placement year in an industrial, commercial or public sector organisation, doing work of value to the company. There are many companies who provide placements to university students. Previous students have been placed with Airbus, HP, Rolls-Royce, IBM, Lloyds TSB, Intel and BT, to name but a few. We also work with a number of smaller companies in and around the region.
The Department's Placements Team has close links with the business community and advertise hundreds of work placements every year. We will show you how to prepare your CV correctly, advise you on how to write letters of application and help you learn successful interview techniques.
Study facilities
Because the Department is integrated across the major areas of Engineering, it has access to many cross-disciplinary facilities that incorporate electronic, electrical or embedded computer systems as major components. For example, there are robotic assembly cells, power distribution systems and motor drives, as well as subsonic and supersonic wind tunnels.
Additionally the Department hosts its own servers to provide Windows, Linux and Unix based operating systems. There are over 500 available workstations in our teaching laboratories, as well as a large open-access laboratory, providing PC and Unix based machines.
Careers/further study
Demand for graduates with expertise in electrical and electronic engineering is high, and graduates are able to pursue careers as electrical and electronic systems designers to solve engineering problems for communications and power generation/distribution companies. They may also work for end-user companies in this high technology area. Recent graduates have been employed as Electrical Engineers, Design Engineers and Systems Engineers in a wide range of industries.
Meet Our Partners
Our degrees can lead to a very wide variety of careers choices. To ensure that our degrees make you as employable as possible, the UWE Department of Engineering Design and Mathematics works closely with seven major partner employers.
Partner Employers
Entry
Typical offers
- Tariff points: MEng:300
- GCSE: Maths and English Language Grade C or above required.
- Specific subjects: A level Maths grade C; IB Maths (Higher) grade 5; Advanced Diploma Additional Specialised Learning in Maths; BTEC unit Further Maths for Technicians; or equivalent.
Also one of the following Chemistry; Computing / Computer Science; Design and Technology; Electronics; Engineering; Information and Communications Technology; Music Technology; Physics.
- Relevant subjects: ICT, Science, Music Technology
- EDEXCEL (BTEC) Diploma: BTEC Nationals accepted: Aerospace Engineering; Communications Technology; Electrical / Electronic Engineering; Engineering; Manufacturing Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Operations & Maintenance Engineering; Polymer Processing and Materials Technology; Telecommunications.
- Access: Achievement of the Access to HE Diploma; achievement of level 3 credits in Maths (to include algebra and calculus) plus at least one other Science or Technology subject; achievement of level 2 credits in Maths, English Language and Science. The Maths Unit at Level 3 must cover the core content for AS Maths.
- Baccalaureate IB: Accepted (see the UCAS website for the UCAS tariff points that you can gain from the IB to put towards our points requirements)
Advice on typical offers
In addition to the 'typical offer' given here, please read the general information about
entry requirements.
How to apply
Please see the general information about
applications.
For further information
Page last updated 14 December 2011