Material Information: Mechanical Engineering (BEng)

Course name Mechanical Engineering

Award Degree of Bachelor of Engineering
UCAS Code H300
Start Date Welcome Week starts 29 September 2025
Duration 3 years full time (30 weeks per academic year)
Regulation The University is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS)
Location of study University of Warwick, Coventry
What you will Course overview
study Mechanical systems, mechanisms and machines lie at the heart of our traditional
engineering industries, and the skills and techniques associated with them
continue to be essential.

In recent years, these skills have extended into areas such as precision
engineering, nanotechnology and mechatronics, as mechanical engineers have
broadened their abilities and embraced technologies from other disciplines to
solve difficult problems.

We provide opportunities to learn from world-leading researchers at the School

of Engineering and WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group) in areas such as
precision mechanics, fluid dynamics and sustainable thermal energy technology,
as well as complementary areas in other fields of engineering.

Study abroad
You may choose to take an intercalated year in industry, research or study
abroad between years two and three (BEng and MEng) or between years three
and four (MEng only). If you choose to take an intercalated year this will be
reflected in your degree title, and add a year to your degree programme.

Teaching
We take an enhanced learning approach to enable practical, experiential,
reflective, flipped, interactive and peer-to-peer learning. You will experience
face-to-face and online teaching and learning activities such as lectures,
interactive sessions (e.g. seminars, workshops), design and make, practical and
experimental (laboratory) activities. The mix of activities and mode of delivery
are selected according to the content of individual modules, and multiple face-
to-face sessions are normally provided weekly.
There is strong support in the School from students and staff. Lecturers provide
support and feedback hours for additional help with materials they have
covered. To help you make the transition from school to university, in your first
year you will meet your personal tutor each week in a group usually of five or six
students.

Class sizes
Class sizes for lectures, practical laboratory sessions and seminars vary
depending on the number of students taking the module.

Overall workload
The expected total study time is normally 1200 hours per year (average of 40
hours per week).

The hours below are based on a typical pathway through the course and could
vary significantly, particularly from Year Two onwards. The hours will heavily
depend on module or course choices and are subject to change.

Year One
350 hours of lectures, seminars and similar. 750 hours of independent study. 100
hours of project work.

Year Two
320 hours of lectures, seminars and similar. 640 hours of independent study. 240
hours of project work.

Year Three
260 hours of lectures, seminars and similar. 640 hours of independent study. 300
hours of project work.

Assessment
You will experience a variety of assessment methods, and can expect to mostly
sit (online or face-to-face) examinations and complete coursework assignments.

The percentages below are based on a typical pathway through the course and
could vary significantly, particularly from Year Two onwards. The percentages
will heavily depend on module or course choices and are subject to change.

Year One
20% Coursework, 20% Practical or Project, 60% Exam.

Year Two
25% Coursework, 25% Practical or Project, 50% Exam.
Year Three
25% Coursework, 35% Practical or Project, 40% Exam.

Modules
Core modules
We offer flexible degree programmes that enable you to experience a range of
different engineering disciplines before you decide to specialise.

All first year students study a general engineering programme, which is much
favoured by industry. From second year onwards you can specialise in one of
nine engineering disciplines, or continue on the general Engineering pathway. If
you specialise in mechanical engineering, you will develop a deeper
understanding of mechanically based systems.

You can also switch from the three-year BEng to the four-year MEng if academic
requirements and regulations are met.

Year One
Dynamics and Thermodynamics
You will gain a thorough understanding of the fundamental concepts of
thermodynamics and the dynamics of mechanical systems. You will study the
motion of an object and its causes in one and two dimensions and learn to solve
a range of problems using appropriate coordinate systems. You will learn how to
use quantities such as impulse, momentum, work and energy conservation to
solve problems in dynamics. You will develop an understanding of engineering
thermodynamics, considering the properties of working fluids and mechanisms
of heat transfer. You will develop and apply an understanding of the First and
Second Laws of Thermodynamics, and learn to make appropriate assumptions to
model real-life engineering situations, including engine cycles.

Electrical and Electronic Circuits

You will gain a secure foundation in the fundamental concepts of circuits,
devices and systems that underpin all branches of engineering. This will include
study of the mathematical operations of AC quantities, including phasors,
vectors and complex numbers. You will study the electronic components that
comprise complex electrical and electronic circuitry, and control systems theory.
You will be encouraged to develop your problem-solving and modelling skills to
prepare you for more advanced material in later years.

Engineering Design
Design is a major activity within all branches of engineering. This module aims to
introduce students to the complexities of the design task and equip them with
some of the techniques and experience required to design for a function and
manufacturing/construction process within their discipline. You will learn the
ability to generate innovative designs and solutions to problems, to design for a
particular manufacturing process, to collaborate effectively across teams and
deliver compelling presentations of designs.

Engineering Mathematics
Through the practical problem-solving tasks provided in this module, you will
gain the skills needed to apply the fundamental mathematical concepts that
underpin all engineering disciplines, and prepare yourself for more advanced
study. You will apply mathematical, probabilistic and statistical tools and
techniques to real-life engineering problems, make appropriate, informed
assumptions and examine models using analytical, statistical and numerical
techniques.

Engineering Business Management and Professional Skills

Most professional engineers apply their skills within a business organisation. A
key objective of business is to be commercially successful. Hence it is important
for engineers to appreciate the industrial and commercial environment in which
businesses operate and recognise the requirements and constraints created by
this environment, ultimately with a view to strategically managing the business
to greater success.

The aim of this module is to provide the engineering student with an

appreciation of some of the practical problems and issues (such as ethics,
equality and diversity) involved in competitively managing an engineering
business.

The module presents a systems view of the firm or business, consistent with
many engineering models, where a collection of inputs are transformed into
outputs which are valued by the customer. For the purposes of this module an
engineering business is simply defined as a business that employs at least one
engineer. The business could deliver a product or a service, it could be any size
from a single consulting engineer to a global corporation and it can take a variety
of legal forms from sole trader to public limited company.

Materials for Engineering

As an Engineer, you will be required to evaluate and select appropriate materials
and manufacturing processes, whilst taking due account of performance, cost
and sustainability. During this module you will learn to distinguish the main
classes of materials, explain how their structure affects their properties, and
describe how their structure can be manipulated to enhance those properties.
You will make decisions on the appropriateness of materials for a particular
design and justify your choices, as well as being able to evaluate their
environmental impact.

Engineering Structures
You will build fundamental knowledge of statics and the behaviour of structures
that underpin many branches of engineering science in this module. This will
provide the knowledge required for further study in the design and analysis of
structures from buildings to spacecraft, motor vehicles and wind turbines. The
module will increase your ability in mathematical analysis and in particular its
application to solving problems in structures and will further help in developing
experimental skills and awareness of health and safety issues applicable to
working in a supervised laboratory.

Systems Modelling, Simulation and Computation

Systems modelling is an essential skill that underpins all engineering disciplines,
allowing complex engineering problems to be approximated using mathematical
models. Systems modelling provides necessary information to make decisions in
the design and development of engineering solutions or to investigate systems
that are too costly, difficult or unethical to investigate physically. This module
focuses on the design and programming of models from first principles by the
application of mathematical techniques and avoidance of modelling errors. You
will learn how to: represent multi-domain systems graphically, derive models
from data, construct a simulation model to predict system responses, and
consider design principles that ensure robust model development (covering
verification and validation techniques).

Year Two
Dynamics and Fluid Mechanics
Engineering Mathematics and Data Analytics
Electromechanical System Design
Materials Technology for Sustainable Energy
Mechanical Engineering Design
Planar Structures and Mechanisms
Applied Thermodynamics

Year Three
Managing Engineering Excellence
Dynamics and Control of Vibrating Systems
Finite Element Methods
Engineering Fluid Mechanics
Advanced Mechanical Engineering Design
Individual Project
 Optional modules
Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may
include:

Engineering Reactors for Sustainable Processes

Manufacturing Management
Measurement and Instrumentation
Project Management
Systems Modelling and Control
Lean Operations and Quality Improvement
Other course As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to
costs cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.

For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on the course web
page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to
our Module Catalogue (please visit the Department’s website if the Module
Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).

Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the
Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2024/25
year of study). Information about module specific costs should be considered in
conjunction with the more general costs below:

• Core text books

• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Deposits No deposit is required for full time undergraduate courses.