Course summary

The Mechanical Engineering MSc develops your knowledge and skills in mechanical engineering. You have the opportunity to undertake in-depth studies through your research projects. This one year course is intended for honours graduates (or an international equiv.) in mechanical or mechanical-related engineering (eg automotive, aeronautical or design), maths, physics or a related discipline. The taught part of the course consists of major engineering themes such as: •energy sources and storage •manufacturing •vehicle drives and dynamics •computational methods •engineering software. You will develop skills in: •mechanical engineering principles, practices, materials, components and systems •research and information retrieval •data collection •critical evaluation and effective application •current and developing practices in the field. Your project is chosen from an extensive range of subjects. Project work can range from fundamental studies in areas of basic engineering science to practical design, make and test investigations. General areas for project work include: •design and manufacture •thermo-fluid dynamics •composite materials •bioengineering and biomaterials •microelectronic-Mechanical Systems •mathematical and computational engineering modelling. Some research may be undertaken in collaboration with industry. The course is delivered by the School of Mechanical and Systems Engineering. The School has an established programme of research seminars. These are delivered by guest speakers from academia and industry (both national and international), providing excellent insights into a wide variety of engineering research. Effective communication is an important skill for the modern professional engineer. This course includes sessions to help develop your ability, both through formal guidance sessions dedicated to good practice in report writing, and through oral/poster presentations of project work. Graduates of this course, who pass with merit are normally offered the opportunity to progress to PhD study either on a self-funded project or on a funded PhD studentship. Delivery: The taught component of the course makes use of a combination of lectures, tutorials/labs and seminars. Assessment is by written examination and submitted in-course assignments. The research project (worth 60 credits) is undertaken throughout the duration of the Master's level course. Project work is assessed by dissertation and oral/poster presentations. You will be allocated, and meet regularly with, project supervisors. Accreditation: The course has been accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) under licence from the UK regulator, the Engineering Council. The accreditation is a mark of assurance that the course meets the standards set by the Engineering Council in the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC). This will give you some or all of the underpinning knowledge, understanding and skills for eventual registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng). Some employers recruit preferentially from accredited degrees, and an accredited degree is likely to be recognised by other countries that are signatories to international accords. Facilities: The School is based in the Stephenson Building. It has both general and specialist laboratories and workshop facilities. These are used for training, course delivery and the manufacture of materials/components needed to support project work. The Stephenson Building houses one of the largest networked computer clusters on campus, which supports all of the specialist software introduced and used within the course (eg CAD, stress analysis, fluid dynamics, signal processing packages) in addition to the School’s own cluster (60+ PCs) used for instrumentation and data acquisition laboratories.