You will study the same courses in the first three years whether you are on the BEng or MEng degree programme.

Year 1

You will receive a thorough grounding in the fundamentals that underpin civil engineering and architecture, taking courses in application software, architecture, communication studies, design projects, materials, mathematics and mechanics.

Years 2 and 3

You will take a range of courses within civil and structural engineering, and architecture. Courses cover both fundamental principles and practical applications. We place considerable emphasis on practical work, in the form of laboratory classes, physical and computational modelling exercises, project work, surveying fieldwork, design projects and site visits.

In third year you will take part in a multidisciplinary design project called INTERACT. Together with students of architecture and quantity surveying from other universities, you will work in small teams to solve real-life design problems, just as you would do in professional life.

Years 4 and 5

The main route to becoming a fully chartered civil engineer is through the MEng degree, which usually takes five years. The BEng degree remains popular and can normally be completed in four years. To become a fully chartered engineer with a BEng degree requires further study after graduation, which can be done part-time from work.

Your selection for BEng or MEng depends on your progress record in your first three years.

In fourth year, MEng students study a greater range of advanced analytical topics than BEng students. Year 5 of the MEng programme is largely devoted to a series of case studies, based on real problems and with strong industrial input, which are intended to develop high-level problem-solving skills.

There is an optional London visit to view civil engineering structures, usually planned for after the Easter vacation in third year, with visits arranged to places such as the Thames Barrier, the London Eye and the Millennium Bridge. Other local site visits are also organised, eg to the Falkirk Wheel and the Forth Road Bridge.

The architectural component is entirely design-oriented, studio-based and directed towards the production of sketches, drawings and models and their compilation into an annual portfolio. This component of the programme is taught at the Mackintosh School of Architecture, The Glasgow School of Art.

We have excellent links with industry, with industrialists contributing to projects, lectures and case studies. Many engineering employers are involved in the University’s prestigious Club 21 work experience programme, which offers well-paid summer placements and, in some cases, sponsorship.

You may apply to study abroad in years two and three. In addition, MEng students can work on their fourth-year project at overseas institutions.

95% of our Civil Engineering graduates are either in work or further study (Unistats 2010). Our recent graduates have been employed by companies such as ARUP, Buro Happold and Atkins Global.

Case study

As a Senior Structural Engineer and Team Leader at the firm of international consultants Buro Happold, Geoff Crow, who graduated with a first-class MEng degree, has been responsible for managing a multidisciplinary team of engineers and technicians at their Edinburgh office. He has worked on a number of building projects, costing up to £50 million, such as a large new campus building for Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh.