Year 1

Your first year of study will include courses in electronics and electrical engineering, mathematics and computing science.
About a third of your time will be spent on the foundational analogue and digital electronics, with much of this time in the laboratory, where you will design, simulate and test circuits.
Another third of the course will cover topics in mathematics. By the end of the year you will be able to apply calculations quickly to a whole range of real engineering problems. The remaining third of the course will develop computer problem-solving skills that are applicable independent of any particular programming language.

Years 2 and 3

You will gain a thorough grounding in hardware and software aspects of computer systems, including expertise in programming and software engineering using Java, detailed knowledge of operatings systems and networking, a solid foundation in databases and experience with electronic design software.

This will be combined with a working knowledge of electrical circuit theory, analogue and digital electronic system design and digital communications. This means that at the end of three challenging years, you will possess the basic skills required of any professional electronics engineer or computing scientist, and will be developing your abilities to integrate both hardware and software to design new systems.

Years 4 and 5

The main route to becoming a fully chartered engineer is through the MEng degree, which usually takes five years. The BEng and BSc degrees remain 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.

Whether you are a BSc, BEng or MEng student, you will have a wide choice of technical options in fourth year, choosing half your specialist topics from electronics and electrical engineering (including VLSI design and robotics) and half from computing science (including artificial intelligence, software engineering processes and network communications).

You will also gain expertise in professional aspects including economics, project organisation, environmental issues and safety.
If you are a BEng or BSc student, you will complete your studies with a substantial individual project under one-to-one supervision with a member of academic staff. You may choose from a list of projects or propose a project of your own.

If you are admitted into the MEng route you will have the opportunity to take part in a multidisciplinary integrated system design project. You will work in teams alongside students of other engineering disciplines. In fifth year you will complete a six-month project abroad and then take further technical subjects including a course in advanced system design, and management subjects.

Between third and fourth year you will undertake a work placement in industry. We can assist you in finding a placement in the UK or overseas. There is also an option to concentrate on a comprehensive management course supported by many manufacturing companies in Scotland.

As an MEng student you will complete a six-month research and development project in an international company or research lab, in fifth year. If you have chosen to study a European language you may be assigned to a host organisation in Europe – students choosing this option are considerably prized by future employers.

In the expanding information industry there is a strong demand for graduates with a combination of skills in hardware and software engineering. Previous graduates have found employment in a wide range of industries, including software houses, electronics companies designing computer-based equipment and commercial institutions such as banks and insurance companies. Examples of companies where our graduates have found jobs are Agilent, ARM, BMW, Ion Torrents, Thales and Wolfson Microelectronics.