Mechanical Engineering with Foundation Year BEng (Hons)

Plymouth University

Course modalities offered

On campus - h Main Site
Sep 16, 2024 Part-time - 5 years

On campus - h Main Site
Sep 16, 2024 Part-time - 4 years

Key Course Facts

Student Satisfaction	60%
Salary after 15 months	£28000
Unemployment Rate	0% unemployed Proportion of students of this particular course unemployed and not studying 15 months after their course ended. Source: Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) by UK Department for Education Dec 20, 2022
Student Dropout Rate	25% Proportion of students of Mechanical Engineering with Foundation Year BEng (Hons) who are not continuing into their following year of study or have not been awarded a qualification in either of the two comparison years. Source: Unistats by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Oct 10, 2023
Duration	5 years - Part-time
Campus	On campus - Main Site
Degree	Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), BEng (Hons)
Subject	Mechanical Engineering

Student Satisfaction	60%
Salary after 15 months	£28000
Unemployment Rate	0% unemployed Proportion of students of this particular course unemployed and not studying 15 months after their course ended. Source: Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) by UK Department for Education Dec 20, 2022
Student Dropout Rate	25% Proportion of students of Mechanical Engineering with Foundation Year BEng (Hons) who are not continuing into their following year of study or have not been awarded a qualification in either of the two comparison years. Source: Unistats by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Oct 10, 2023
Duration	4 years - Part-time
Campus	On campus - Main Site
Degree	Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), BEng (Hons)
Subject	Mechanical Engineering

Admission advice for international students

Student Reviews

Below you can see course specific reviews of 25 graduates of Mechanical Engineering with Foundation Year BEng (Hons) and other courses in Mechanical Engineering at Plymouth University for each of the survey questions in comparison to the average for all UK degree courses in Mechanical Engineering.

Overall student satisfaction

60 /100

25 total respondents

Primarily based on data from undergraduate degree students.

	Mechanical Engineering with Foundation Year BEng (Hons) and other Mechanical Engineering courses of Plymouth University	Average review score among all Mechanical Engineering courses in the UK
Explanations	92	88
Interesting courses	66	71
Intellectually stimulating	78	86
Challenged to do my best	82	84
Depth of concepts	78	79
Builds on previous learnings	87	83
Joined ideas from different topics	51	80
Balance directed/independent study	58	74
Applicability of course content	86	80
Clear criteria in markings	70	71
Fair assessment	86	77
Tests reflected your learning	78	77
Timely feedback	74	65
Helpful feedback	65	61
Approachability of teachers	78	83
Support from teachers	79	81
Organisation of courses	70	74
Communication of changes	72	76
IT facilities	91	84
Library	74	88
Course specific resources	75	83
Student feedback opportunities	66	80
Student feedback valued	74	69
Student's feedback acted upon	60	56
Work of student union	72	70
Mental wellbeing services	62	80
Overall satisfaction	60	71

Source: National Student Survey NSS 2023. The Overall student satisfaction data point is from 2022 (latest available year). The Office for Students made the unfortunate decision to discontinue collecting overall student satisfaction data points per course.
All Mechanical Engineering courses of Plymouth University

The NSS is commissioned by the Office for Students

Salary

Salary of Graduates in Mechanical Engineering

Important: Salary data below is not course specific, but contains data of all students of Mechanical Engineering at the university. Due to data collection methodology, salary data is mainly based on data related to undergraduate students.

	15 months after graduation	3 years after graduation	5 years after graduation
Median salary	£28000	£30500	£35000
25-75 percentile range	£24000 - £30500	£25000 - £34500	£29500 - £41500

Source: HESA - Graduate Outcomes Survey Oct 10, 2023
All Mechanical Engineering courses of Plymouth University

Salary of all UK Graduates of Mechanical Engineering

	15 months after graduation	3 years after graduation	5 years after graduation
Median salary	£29750	£31542	£37045
25-75 percentile range	£25540 - £33016	£25315 - £38559	£29562 - £45197

Source: Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) by UK Department for Education Dec 20, 2022
All Mechanical Engineering courses in the UK

Course Description

Do you want to embark in engineering but do not have the traditional entry requirements to start a degree? Perhaps, you are looking for a complete career change. This four-year degree route incorporates a foundation year to give you a solid grounding in the disciplines underpinning mechanical engineering. You will be actively involved in engineering projects and our hands-on approach to learning runs through design, mechanics and materials, improving your employability across many industries.

- Open the door to a successful future. With starting salaries from £23,000, our graduates have gone on to work for Hoare Lea, Babcock Marine, Becton Dickinson, e2v, Edwards, the Shaw Group and the Ministry of Defence. - Aim for professional qualification. Subject to completion of the foundation year you will be eligible to progress onto one of our professionally accredited degree courses. - Make use of cutting-edge facilities. When our new engineering and design facility is launched, students in engineering, science and the arts will have access to a range of specialist equipment and innovative laboratories. - Be flexible. Our combined first year allows you to switch to marine technology or civil engineering in line with your career ambitions. - Be unique. Our courses are the only ones in the country to have a named 'with composites' pathway; choosing this will allow you to stand out in the job market. - Learn hands-on . We offer the latest industry-standard software, laboratory sessions and practical classes. - Aim higher. You may progress onto the MEng course at the end of your second year if you are doing well. - Put learning into practice. Take a paid year in industry – many of our students receive job offers or sponsorship as a result of their placements. - Go on to thrive. Your degree opens doors to sectors as diverse as aerospace, automotive, manufacturing and energy.

The accredited BEng (Hons) will meet, in part, the exemplifying academic benchmark requirements for registration as a Chartered Engineer and Students will need to complete an approved format of further learning pursuant to the requirements of UKSPEC. The accredited BEng (Hons) will also automatically meet in full, the exemplifying academic benchmark requirements for registration as an Incorporated Engineer (IEng).

Jobs & Career Perspectives

15 months after graduation, graduates of this course were asked about what they do and, if they are working, about their current job and their perspectives.

What graduates are doing after 15 months

	All Plymouth University graduates of undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering	All UK graduates of undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering
Total respondents	40	2630
Unemployed	0%	4%
Studying	5%	9%
Working	75%	73%
Both studying and working	10%	8%
No information	10%	4%

Source: HESA - Graduate Outcomes Survey Oct 10, 2023
All Mechanical Engineering courses of Plymouth University

Current jobs

Job in line with future plans

Utilise skills from studies

Work is meaningful

	Agree or strongly agree	Disagree
Job in line with future plans	60%	40%
Utilise skills from studies	40%	60%
Work is meaningful	70%	30%

Source: HESA - Graduate Outcomes Survey Oct 10, 2023
All courses of Plymouth University

Required skill level of job after 15 months

% Skilled jobs

	% Skilled jobs
Highly-skilled jobs	70%
Non highly-skilled jobs	25%
Skill level unknown or unclassified	5%

Source: HESA - Graduate Outcomes Survey Oct 10, 2023
All Mechanical Engineering courses of Plymouth University

Jobs of graduates of this course (15 months after graduation)

Example below based on all graduates of Mechanical Engineering with Foundation Year BEng (Hons) at Plymouth University

55%	Elementary occupations
10%	Finance Professionals
10%	Skilled trades occupations
5%	Business, Research and Administrative Professionals
5%	Customer service occupations
5%	Information Technology Professionals
5%
5%	Media Professionals
5%

Source: Unistats by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Oct 10, 2023

Grading & Study Time

Assessment Methods

Study Time Distribution

Assessment Methods
	Coursework	Percentage of assessment by practical exams	Written exams

Study Time Distribution
	Scheduled learning and teaching	Guided independent study	Placements
year 1	39%	61%	0%
year 2	42%	58%	0%
year 3	38%	62%	0%
year 4	27%	73%	0%

For up to date details, please refer to our website or contact the institution directly.

Grading Distribution

Students of the course received the following grades

	Students of the course received the following grades
Not classified	0
Pass	0
Merit	0
Distinction	0
Ordinary degree	0
Other honours degree	5
Lower second class	22
Upper second class	51
First class	22

Source: Unistats by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) 2016

Entry Requirements / Admissions

Minimum Required UCAS Tariff

To include minimum 2 A Levels. To include one relevant subject from: Applied ICT, Applied Science, Applied Business, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Computing, Computer Science, DT, Economics, Electronics, Engineering, Environmental Science, Technology and Design, ICT, Physics, Science, Statistics, Maths, Further Maths, Pure Maths, Use of Maths. Excluding General Studies

Source: UCAS Dec 4, 2023

UCAS Tariff of Accepted Students for this course

Average UCAS Tariff Score 81

Tariff score	% Students accepted for this course
<48	10
48-63	15
64-79	20
80-95	20
96-111	10
112-127	5
128-143	10
144-159	0
160-175	5
176-191	0
192-207	0
208-223	0
224-239	0
>240	0

Source: Unistats by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Oct 10, 2023
This particular course

Qualification requirements

M in T Level Health, Healthcare Science, or Science.

Access to HE Diploma

Including one in a relevant subject/science (80 UCAS tariff points)

BTEC Level 3 National Diploma: DD plus A Level English at grade B. Preferred:- Performing Arts, Art & Design, Digital Film and Video Production,Business IT, Applied Science,Sport, Sport and Exercise Science

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

Including one in a relevant subject/science (90 UCAS tariff points)

We consider the National Foundation Diploma for entry, preferably in a subject relevant to this course.  Entry requirements are based on achievement of the full National Foundation Diploma with a Distinction grade, PLUS one A-level at Grade A in an essay-based arts, humanities or social science subject, PLUS an EPQ or AS at Grade B.

Including a relevant subject/science @ C or above (80 UCAS tariff points)

31-30 overall or 665-655 in 3 HL subjects.

All applicants must have GCSE English and Maths at C/4

Source: UCAS Dec 4, 2023

English language requirements

test	Grade	Additional Details
IELTS (Academic)	6	With 5.5 in all elements.

Source: UCAS Dec 4, 2023

The University of Plymouth has a dedicated International Student Advice (ISA) service who will support you from the day you accept an offer at the University, right through to graduation. They will offer help and advice so you can get the most out of your studies, and your time in the UK, visit www.plymouth.ac.uk/student-life/services/international-students/international-student-advice for more information. Once you have applied through UCAS, your conditional offer letters will also be sent to you by email, so be sure to enter your current email address on your application and to check this email regularly. You'll need your unconditional letter, and the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) that we'll send you, when applying for your student visa to the UK. A tuition fee deposit will be required before we'll send you the CAS. We're a licenced Sponsor under the Points Based System. To comply with our duties as a Sponsor, we're required to check other aspects of your application in addition to your academic achievements, for example any previous studies, financial status and your immigration history in the UK. For course entry requirements (inc. English requirements) please refer to the specific page for the course you are interested in (www.plymouth.ac.uk/study). A recognised English language qualification (e.g. IELTS) would be required or successful completion of one of the University's pre-sessional English Language courses. Check our country pages to find out more about application from your specific home country www.plymouth.ac.uk/international/study/international-students-country-guides. International fees, please visit our fees and funding pages www.plymouth.ac.uk/study/fees. If you have any questions please contact [email protected]

Get advice on which foundation courses are best for you to still study Mechanical Engineering with Foundation Year, BEng (Hons), if you do not meet the minimum requirements in terms of UCAS score, A levels, or English language requirements.

Costs

Average student cost of living in the UK

Rent	£518
Water, gas electricity, internet (at home)	£50
Supermarket shopping	£81
Clothing	£35
Eating out	£33
Alcohol	£27
Takeaways / food deliveries	£30
Going out / entertainment (excl.alcohol, food)	£24
Holidays and weekend trips	£78
Transport within city	£17
Self-care / sports	£20
Stationary / books	£13
Mobile phone / internet	£13
Cable TV / streaming	£7
Insurance	£51
Other	£95

Average student cost of living	£1092

London costs approx 34% more than average, mainly due to rent being 67% higher than average of other cities. For students staying in student halls, costs of water, gas, electricity, wifi are generally included in the rental. Students in smaller cities where accommodation is in walking/biking distance transport costs tend to be significantly smaller.

Source: Own research based on surveys and university data

How to apply

Application deadline:

January 1, 2025

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Possible Entry Points:

Foundation

University Rankings

Positions of Plymouth University in top UK and global rankings.

Rankings of Plymouth University in related subject specific rankings.

Engineering

- #35
- #834
Engineering

URAP University Ranking by Academic Performance - By Field
[Published 22 July, 2023]
- #42
- #55
Mechanical Engineering

CUG The Complete University Guide - By Subject
[Published 08 June, 2023]

See all 29 university rankings of Plymouth University

About Plymouth University

Founded in 1992, Plymouth University is established in the small city of Plymouth, South West England. The university has a variety of residence halls at distinct price points, and all within walking distance of your classrooms. When wandering off-campus, students will find a blend of both urban and rural surroundings, ensuring that there’s something for everyone here.

List of 221 Bachelor and Master Courses from Plymouth University - Course Catalogue

Student composition of Plymouth University

Total number of students enrolled at Plymouth University by level Academic year 2021/22 - Full-time equivalent student enrollments published by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on February 2022
undergraduates:: 13880
postgraduates:: 2275
Total:: 16155

Source: Academic year 2021/22 - Full-time equivalent student enrollments published by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on February 2022

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