Automotive Engineering – BEng (Honours)

At a glance

Get a firm foundation in engineering and then specialise in automotive engineering on a course designed to give you a wide range of engineering skills ready for a quickly changing workplace. Benefit from industry-grade facilities and a one-year paid placement with partners that include General Motors, BMW and Rolls-Royce.

Key points• Develop your professional knowledge, technical and management skills.
• Academic teaching is complemented by presentations from industry experts and by industrial visits.
• Benefit from excellent facilities that include wind tunnel, robotics and virtual labs.
• Earn up to £12-18k in a paid one-year placement and gain experience with multinationals like General Motors, BMW and Rolls-Royce.

What is automotive engineering?By looking at each component in modern vehicle construction, automotive engineering is a subject which deals with aerodynamics, thermofluids, engineering structure/material analysis, vehicle technology, engine technology, engineering design and manufacture, engineering business management, and environment and society.

This course

Learn the fundamental principles of engineering before specialising in automotive engineering. With this broad subject knowledge, you become more adaptive to the requirements of the modern engineering workplace. You are better placed to tackle the problems faced by many companies whose manufacturing processes rely on co-ordinating individual specialists from various engineering disciplines.

Throughout your studies, you gain insight into specialist subjects including aerodynamic body styling, suspension, transmission, brakes, tyres and engines.
During the course you learn to use all of the industry standard tools and equipment needed to ensure you’re ready for industry. You have access to a wide range of hardware and equipment, including computer-aided design (CAD) software such as ProEngineer, and analysis software such as Fluent, Abacus and Matlab.

Other specialist facilities include
• rapid prototyping equipment to create accurate prototypes of product designs from CAD-generated information and a 5-axis machining centre which completes the CAD/CAM cycle
• a robotics laboratory to study computer-controlled manufacturing equipment
• an automotive workshop for engine testing
• a wind tunnel for aerodynamic studies
• a flight simulator

Your first year is common to other engineering courses. This provides a firm base of engineering principles, knowledge and basic skills and means you can change course at the end of the first year if you prefer.

After two years of study, we recommend you get experience applying what you’ve learnt on a paid work placement. This allows you to apply your knowledge to commercial practice while gaining new skills, learning how industry works and earning a salary. We help you find a placement and negotiate a sensible salary.

Previous students have gone on placement to organisations including • Airbus UK • BMW Manufacturing • EDF Energy • General Motors • Kongsberg Automotive • Rolls-Royce plc • Unilever • Reckitt Benckiser.

In your final year, you continue studying general mechanical engineering subjects, with specialist modules in automobile design and production and engine technology. You also complete a major project, which students often integrate with placement or Formula Student competition.

We also cover business, financial, legal and environmental constraints.