We offer a highly flexible first year, allowing you to experience several strands of engineering before specialising.
Students on many of our programmes have the opportunity to spend an extended period in industry during their studies.
Teaching staff use their world-changing research as a basis for challenging, up-to-the-minute teaching.
Edinburgh engineering graduates are actively recruited by a wide range of leading-edge companies in engineering, finance, management and other fields.
The University’s close connection with industry was an important factor for me. I want to gain experience in various firms during my studies and I believe the University’s close links with industry will help me gain the experience I would like.
Engineers create innovative solutions to real-world problems. We invent products, systems and processes that are faster, smaller, cleaner, safer, stronger, more efficient, more environmentally friendly, more economical, more sustainable and more marketable.
Engineering is all around us, making up much of what we take for granted - telecommunications, transport, energy generation and distribution, buildings, bridges, water supply, materials, fuels and much more.
Engineering at Edinburgh has a long and distinguished history and enjoys a vibrant and successful present. Our graduates have a distinctive blend of technical skills, ingenuity and entrepreneurship, that can open the door to a rewarding career.
Your programme will draw material from one, or more, of our four disciplines:
Our programmes cross the traditional engineering boundaries through cross-disciplinary design projects and teaching, in recognition of the multidisciplinary nature of modern engineering projects.
You can keep your options open between these disciplines by applying for H100 Engineering. In Year 1 you will study a general engineering course that covers all four teaching areas. You must follow at least two of these, but can elect to study three or four if you wish. The route provides an insight into engineering as a whole, and helps you focus in on areas of particular interest. On completion of the first semester, you will discuss your options with your personal tutor, and transfer to one of the programmes offered by the School of Engineering. All programmes, with the exception of Structural Engineering with Architecture, are available through this route.
Suitably qualified students may opt to apply for direct entry to Year 2, in which case flexibility is reduced, but the length of study is the same as a comparable degree in the rest of the UK. Note that H100 and Structural Engineering with Architecture are not available to students applying for direct entry to Year 2.
All our MEng programmes are accredited as fully satisfying the educational base for a Chartered Engineer (CEng).
All of our BEng programmes are accredited as partially satisfying the educational base for a Chartered Engineer (CEng). An accredited programme is needed to complete the CEng educational base.
Your time will usually be divided between engineering, mathematics and option courses. You study several branches of engineering, followed by the first in-depth study of your preferred subject.
For most of our programmes you can choose an option from the sciences, arts or humanities. Chemical engineering students must take chemistry in Year 1.
You will study your chosen branch of engineering, supported by classes in mathematics. You will extend the application of your scientific and mathematical skills to the real problem solving, that you started in Year 1.
You will now be able to focus on your chosen field of engineering. At the end of Year 3, you will have the option of completing one more year for a BEng (Hons) or studying for a further two years for an MEng (Hons).
You will concentrate on specialist study and innovative coursework that will prepare you for your professional career. Increasingly you will spend time on individual or group design projects.
MEng only: You will have further opportunities to broaden and deepen your understanding of fundamental engineering concepts with several optional courses and you will develop your skills in applying this knowledge in a range of specialist areas.
You will produce a substantial project that may involve working overseas or in industry in Year 4 or 5, depending on their discipline. You may also participate in our unique interdisciplinary design projects, initiated with support from the Royal Academy of Engineering.
You will be expected to purchase your own protective clothing, with a typical cost of between £3 and £55 depending upon your programme.
Lectures take place in the George Square area during the first year, and for all other years at the University's King's Buildings campus. You will have access to the University's libraries and engineering and computing laboratories. Study materials are available online.
Students registered for MEng programmes in chemical engineering, electronics, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering can apply for an industrial placement. These are taken during Years 4 or 5 and are at least six months in length. These are assessed, and count towards your final degree.
There are opportunities to study abroad across Europe, through the Erasmus programme, or at some of the most prestigious universities in Asia, Australasia and North America.
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, laboratory sessions, projects and group work. In your final years you will dedicate more time to private study and will receive individual supervision with projects.
You will be assessed through course work and examinations.
Studying engineering at the University of Edinburgh prepares you for a career as a professional engineer in the UK or abroad and all courses meet the requirements of the UK professional engineering bodies.
On graduation from any of our programmes you will leave with a thorough, core knowledge, together with analytical, practical, design and communication skills, enabling you to join a design, production or research team - or move rapidly into management and leadership roles.
Alternatively, many of our graduates have gone on to work in other areas, including the civil service, education, the armed forces and the financial sector.
