Mechanical Engineering with Placement Year

Our Master's level degree adopts a practical approach that will develop your skills and knowledge for a career involving innovation and leadership. The IMechE accreditation will qualify you as a chartered engineer, a professional title carrying considerable prestige with employers.

Mechanical engineering is concerned with anything that moves and many things that don’t. From a simple nut and bolt, through to the complex multi-physics of aerodynamics in Formula One, mechanical engineering solves the broadest range of challenges and leads to a multitude of different and exciting careers. Our approach reinforces your learning from lectures through practical activities and allows you to fully assess your assumptions while building teamwork and project management skills essential to your future career.

In the modern world, mechanical engineers are part of small or large teams developing complex systems. Our common first year is tailored to equip you with the required broad fundamental knowledge. You will study themes from within mechanical engineering, but also the fundamentals behind electrical, electronics and chemical processes, along with a solid foundation in engineering mathematics.

Specialist modules in mechanical engineering will begin in the second year, where you will cover main themes of materials, statics and dynamics, fluids and thermodynamics, complemented by design and laboratory activities. You have the opportunity to undertake a business development project, to introduce you to Industry 4.0 concepts.

In year three, you will work on an engaging individual project shaped over your interests and ambitions. Your supervisor, a leading specialist in the subject area, will guide you to gain an in-depth knowledge of the topic for successful project completion.

Previous examples include:

Wind turbine blade icing study

Microstructural design of steels for improving strength and toughness

Graphene-based coating systems for corrosion protection

Lightweight pipe inspection robot

In fourth year, you will undertake a year in industry, gaining valuable experience and enhancing your employability. We have extensive links built through our leadership in research and have students undergoing placements with multinational corporate companies through to smaller specialist SMEs. Once you have completed your placement, you will write an extended reflective piece about your time spent with the company.