Civil Engineering with Foundation Year BEng (Hons)

University of Surrey

Foundation courses

A foundation year can develop your skills and make it easier to get started at university. It is an extra year of study at the start of your course that leads in to a full degree programme. It’s a great option if:

You don’t have the grades for a full degree course

You have non-traditional qualifications or experience

You’re starting university after some time away from education

You’re looking for more support during the transition into university study.

Life as a foundation year student

During a foundation year you’ll learn about your chosen subject, develop your study skills and get used to university life. On successful completion of your foundation year, you’ll be ready to progress to the first year of your degree course.

As a foundation year student, you’ll be a full student of the University and part of our community. You’ll have access to all our campus facilities and support.

Why choose this course

Our courses give you industry-focused, practical training, which prepares you for work as a professional civil engineer. There’s a strong focus on structural engineering, and you’ll work on integrated design projects centred on industry-relevant case studies.

Our close links with leading contractors and consultancies enable you to take up a salaried position on our award-winning Professional Training placements scheme. This valuable experience prepares students for roles in the sector and contributes towards chartership.

Around 35 per cent of our undergraduates are on our unique Surrey/ICE (Institution of Civil Engineering) scholarship scheme. This pairs students with a relevant industrial company early on in their course. They then:

-Spend their year-long Professional Training placement with the organisation -Benefit from paid summer work -Receive a generous scholarship bursary.

On graduation, many are offered a full-time role at their company.

We are ranked Top 20 in the UK for our civil engineering courses in the Guardian University Guide 2023 and The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023. Our Civil Engineering MEng has an overall satisfaction rating of 100 per cent in the National Student Survey 2022.

What you will study

On our fully accredited courses, you'll study a lively mix of modules drawing on Surrey’s outstanding expertise in areas such as water and environmental engineering, and advanced geotechnical engineering. You’ll learn through lectures, tutorials, practical challenges, industry speakers, site visits and field trips.

Whether you choose a BEng or MEng, you’ll study the same content for the first three years, before conducting a major third-year project on a topic of your choice. MEng students then do a masters year, which covers the full academic requirements for becoming a chartered engineer.

Depending on your progress, you may be able to switch to a BEng or MEng during your studies.

Accredited by the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer and partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer.