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GUIDE TO STUDYING

ENGINEERING

INTRODUCTION

What is Engineering?

Engineering is used in everything, from the house you livein to mobile phones via trainers for athletes and ships,fighters and tanks for a nation’s military. Engineers are theones who come up with the ideas; the ones that makethem work!

Engineering is a diverse term. Studying engineering atuniversity is similar to saying that you study science, or thearts. Engineering encompasses all the different branchesthat you may hear about, the main being Mechanical, Civil,Structural, Electronic and Aeronautical/Aerospace, but thenalso hundreds of smaller, but no less important areas suchas Marine Engineering, Biological Engineering and SportsEngineering.

Engineering is a much more practical subject than theother sciences. For example, scientists will study differentmaterials and how they are formed and exist, whilstengineers accept that they do exist and learn how to usethem to the best of the materials properties. Engineersrequire a sense of whether something will work, and thenuse the fine detail to design and, in some cases, constructthe project to the best of their ability.

Moreover, being an Engineer is a position of responsibility.

Calling yourself an Engineer is an instantly recognisableposition. Engineers are employed in all walks of a life as adegree in Engineering shows that they are able to thinklogically and clearly and have a good analytical mind.

What different types of degree course are there?

Generally, for Engineering at University, there are twodifferent types of degree course: the Bachelor ofEngineering (BEng) and the Master of Engineering (MEng).(n.b some Universities will also give you a Bachelors leveldegree if you are taking the MEng, i.e. a B.A from Oxfordand Cambridge.)

The main difference between the BEng and the MEng isthat in England and Wales, the Bachelor degree is 3 years,whilst the Master is 4 years (in Scotland, 4 and 5 yearsrespectively). Effectively, the Masters is a BEng with a yearand a bit (due to working at a slightly faster pace towardsthe end of the course) extra, where your understanding istaken to the next level.

A BEng takes you to a similar level in Engineering as mostother degrees will in their respective subject, so may bemore suitable if you wish to enter a different career path inEngineering. The Master of Engineering shows that youhave a higher level of learning, so normally has a higherentrance requirement. This is often about a grade persubject, e.g. BCC to ABB, but it is possible at mostinstitutions to transfer from one course to the other.

The engineering degrees on offer generally conform to oneof two different structures. Most pick a subject at the startand focus on that area, whilst some (Oxford, Cambridge,and some courses at Durham) start with broad base,covering most of the degree subjects that it would bepossible to study at the other institutions and thenspecialise further towards the end of the course.

Thus, it is possible to study for either a BEng or a MEng ona standard course such as Mechanical, Civil or ElectricalEngineering; a more specific course from the start such asEngineering of the Life Sciences, Digital Electronics,Computing and Communications or Avionics, or then onmore general course which includes most (if not all) of theother fields for the first couple of years, before specialisingfor the final parts of the course.

Queen Anne’s Guide to Studying Engineering

Engineering is gaining in popularity as a university choice at Queen Anne’s, but there are so many different types ofengineering course on offer that it is hard to know what each one actually contains!

Be warned: Engineering is not just a single subject. It can range from working on a Mars Rover vehicle to designing an artificialheart, building infrastructure such as roads and railways and pioneering research into OLEDs. Thus, the choice of what field tobranch into is often more difficult than the original choice to take engineering as a start. This booklet will set out what anEngineering course at university will contain and also suggest how best to prepare for you application.

What will your course contain?

As stated in the above section, Engineering courses varygreatly between institutions. At a lot of universities, at leastsome parts of the course, i.e. first term, first year, etc. willhave some core topics that you study regardless of yourtype of engineering degree, e.g. Maths such as vectors andmatrices, differential equations; and then it is likely that youwill have to do some mechanics, structures, materials andelectronics. Otherwise, what you study depends on yourspecific course.

A significant number of the topics covered in the variousdegree courses are contained in the Cambridge course,which is a more general course. The first year of thatcourse contains:

• Mechanics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics andvibrations

• Structural mechanics and materials,

• Electromagnetics, linear circuits and informationprocessing, digital and analogue electronics

• Mathematical methods and dimensional analysis

• Technical Drawing and CAD (Pro Engineer)

• C++ programming course

• Product and structural design

Whilst the main topics for the second year are:

• Vector Calculus, linear algebra and probability

• Mechanics, structures and materials

• Thermodynamics and fluid mechanics

• Electromagnetics, linear circuits and electrical power

• Linear systems & control, communications, Fouriertransform and signal & data analysis

• Business economics

• Drawing including projection theory and CAD (ProEngineer)

• Computing including a C++ programming course

• Earthquake resistant structures project

Courses at most other universities will generally contain asubset of the topics listed, so those studying ElectronicsEngineering will study Electromagnetics, Linear Circuits andElectrical Power; some control, communication and signaland data analysis; and also some Maths, BusinessEconomics and computing, whereas a Mechanical Engineermight study the Mechanics, Structures and Materials alongwith Maths and some electronics.

Some of the subjects are more maths based, such as Fluidmechanics, Vibrations and Linear systems and control,whilst others not, as Materials and Structural Mechanics.Most of the courses fall in the centre however, with a highlevel of Maths, but also a strong understanding of thePhysical principles required.

Engineering at university is taught through lectures andlabs. One of the defining things about studying to be anengineer is the long timetable. However, the plus side isthat there is little work to do outside of lectures. At mostuniversities, you are looking at 20+ hours of lectures aweek and around 5 hours of labs, with weekends andWednesday afternoons off (some students studying artsubjects may have as little as two lectures a week, but asignificant amount of work to do outside of lectures).

This type of course is a contrast will that followed atOxbridge, however, where you will have around 10 hours aweek of lectures, 6-8 hours of labs, but much more workto do in your own time. The work on your own leads tosupervisions/tutorials where you spend an hour with yoursupervisor (usually a lecturer/PhD student) and a partnergoing through various problems around 2-4 times a week.For a Supervision, 6-8 hours preparation work is usuallyrequired to work through the example sheets given outfor each subject. This type of course overall takes moretime than the more Lecture based structure and you havemuch more work to do by yourself, but it is much moreflexible than studying Engineering at other universities.

The Oxford/Cambridge courses are also at a quicker pace,effectively fitting multiple degrees (Civil, Structural,Mechanical etc.) into the same timeframe as the otheruniversities without losing the depth of study. Hence, asingle lecture at Oxbridge will cover the same as 3, 4 oreven 5 lectures at other Universities. However, when yougraduate, you will have the skills in other fields ofengineering too, and as projects nowadays cover multiplefields of engineering, you will have an advantage on inter-area problems.

Costs

University course tuition fees in England and Wales are£9,000 in all universities. Thus, a four year undergraduatecourse will cost £36,000 for the tuition fees alone, withapproximately another £14,000 in maintenance loan (this isnever enough for the costs involved). The benefits of adegree are immediately apparent though, as the averagestarting salary for an Engineering Graduate is significantlyhigher than for a lot of other degrees: approximately£24,000- 33,000 depending on the size and nature of thecompany.

http://targetjobs.co.uk/career-sectors/engineering/284465-engineering-salary-round-up-from-graduate-to-chartered-engineer

Life after university

The aim, if you wish to enter the Engineering industryupon graduating, is usually to become a CharteredEngineer this means that you become a full member of aprofessional institution (i.e. Institute of Civil Engineers,Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Royal AeronauticalSociety etc.) and are registered with the EngineeringCouncil UK.

A Chartered Engineer is professionally qualified and it willtake around 8-12 years to obtain from when you start yourcourse (4-8 years after graduation). The term ‘CharteredEngineer’, is also legally protected so it is punishable by lawif you call yourself one when you are not. This will set youapart from the unchartered engineers and mean that thetop level engineering jobs, with top salaries, are open toyou.

To become a Chartered Engineer, you are now required tohave a MEng degree (see above) and then once graduated,have a period of professional practise where you keep arecord of your development. The final stage is an interviewwith a few Chartered Engineers where competence will beassessed. See the Engineering Council’s website for moreinformation: hhtp://www.engc.org.uk/professional-qualifications/chartered-engineer/about-chartered-engineer.aspx

If you decide that you don’t want to become an engineerin industry, don’t forget, that you are in possession of adegree so you can follow most career paths outside ofengineering too!

Your application to study Engineering at university…

Long Term, School and Sixth Form:

i. A Level requirements and GCSEsThe A Level and GCSE subject requirements to studyEngineering at university are similar for all the courses.Nearly all universities require maths to an A Levelstandard and then most prefer, but do not require, youto have Physics. The requirements to study currentlyrange from around 280 UCAS points (BBC at A Level)including Maths and another science for a BEng in Civil/Mechanical Engineering at universities such as Brightonand Plymouth to A*AA at Cambridge (including Maths,Physics, and Further Maths depending on your college ofchoice).

The requirements for each different course vary greatlyand also year on year, so it is best to check theUniversity’s prospectus for the year that you apply toget an accurate idea of the required grades.

The requirement for GCSEs is fairly standardthroughout university applications: a minimum of 5A*- C Grades usually containing Maths and English.Obviously better GCSE grades will help your application,but poor GCSEs can be compensated by good A Levelmarks.

ii. Work Experience Whilst not a requirement for entry to university, workexperience with an Engineer will help your universityapplication. Working for a longer period than requiredby the school shows commitment to what you want todo, and also that you know more about what anengineer does. It is a good idea to take some workexperience in Engineering before university so youknow what Engineering in industry covers and it willhelp you decide whether engineering is the right pathfor you.

iii. Extra-curricular activitiesA lot of engineering activities are focussed on workingas a team and subsequently managing one as youprogress up the career ladder. Thus, extra-curricularactivities such as sport, Wings of Hope AchievementAward and Duke of Edinburgh can help greatly with anapplication to study engineering.

However, the extra-curricular activities should not bethe main focus of your CV/personal statement whenyou come to write it so you should ensure that youhave some engineering related activities to put first.

Short term, choosing and applying to your universities:

i. Which university? The most important thing about choosing youruniversity is the university itself. There are multipleuniversities offering each type of course so it is moreimportant to look for the university you like than thecourse aspect.

There are many different types of university whichmainly fall into three categories, of campus universities,collegiate universities, and inner city universities.Campus universities are generally more modern andoften slightly out of town, such as Bath, Loughboroughand Warwick. These universities have most of theuniversities facilities on one site including first yearaccommodation.

Collegiate universities include Oxford, Cambridge andDurham, where you are a member of the collegeprimarily and the colleges form the university. Thesehave small clusters of buildings and accommodation, thecolleges, and then some central teaching/administrationbuildings.

Finally, there are the city universities, such asManchester, Bristol and Birmingham. This type covers alarge number of British universities, and they can eithercover one specific area of the city such as Bristol, or arespread around the city.

Different universities have different academic standards,so it is also sensible to look at these. If you are astudent who is predicted 3/4 A*s at A Level student, theit is advisable to look at the universities which havehigher admissions standards as then you are more likelyto fulfil your potential and thrive at University.Conversely, if you are expecting lower grades, then it issensible to apply to a couple of universities with loweradmissions criteria along with some which will stretchyou. A final possibility is to apply for a BEng and thenswitch towards the end of the first year to the MEngcourse. The BEng will have lower admissions criteria,and providing you pass the academic standard at theend of the first year, you should be allowed to switch tothe MEng course.

Ultimately, you may be set on attending a specific typeof university, or you may not, but the best way ofmaking up your mind is creating a shortlist and thenlooking around the university itself to get a feel of whatit is like.

ii. Which Course? As stated above, there are a large number of differentcourses, but also a large number of universities witheach type of course. The main choices that you have tomake are which type of engineering you want to study.

Some of the courses themselves cover a broader rangethan others; Mechanical Engineering at most universitieswill cover a really wide range of subjects, while coursessuch as Avionics/Systems Engineering will be muchmore focussed to a specific area. This diversity isechoed in the type of course that the differentuniversities offer. Some, offer courses with a basewhich covers multiple types of engineering andspecialises later in the course, while others remain withthe type for the course. The second type is ideal if youknow what you want to do, but the first type will offermore choice to specialise later in the course, and youwill also cover things that you may not necessarily coverin the latter. The first type also offers the chance tochange your mind to study a different type ofengineering later in the course.

It is worthwhile bearing in mind too, that some coursesmay have a more practical base, whilst others willrequire a higher level of theoretical understanding.Most courses will have a large amount of practicalcoursework by the end of the course, with the fourthyear often being project based as best to prepare youfor industrial life.

The numbers applying for engineering are significantlylower than for the Arts subjects at university, so whilstyour friends applying for English and French get rejectedfrom three of their universities, you are much morelikely to get all five offers as the applying numbers forengineering are much lower (in some cases 4:1 ratherthan 15:1).

iii. Personal StatementThe personal statement is one of the most importantparts of your application. It will differentiate you fromeveryone else who is applying for your course. Themost important part of this is to convince theadmissions tutor that you should be studyingengineering and that they should be looking to acceptyou. Hence most of your personal statement shouldfocus on why you want to do Engineering/why theyshould accept you. This is where work experiencecomes in; it is really useful as it confirms that you havethought about and tried Engineering in the work place.

You should start your personal statement off with themain reason why you want to do engineering. DONOT put anything like “I want to do engineering as I likeplaying with Lego”. Think of something which will makean impression; state an influence: “I decided that I wasgoing to be an Engineer when…” or, “I have wanted tobe an Engineer ever since…”

The last third, at the most, of the personal statementshould state why they want you to be a studentgenerally. However, this should not form a list, such as:“I play rugby, hockey, tennis, and football for the county,”but rather “I work well in a team as shown by…”

It is very important that you put a significant amount oftime and effort into your personal statement, and usethe personal statement specific advice which is on offer,as some universities do not interview and will base theiroffer on your personal statement, reference and grades.

iv. InterviewsA number of institutions interview candidates forEngineering. It is always wise to prepare throughly forsuch interviews. The interview practice at school isideal in this aspect, particularly since the teachers getfeedback from actual interviews from students inprevious years, so the style is very accurate.

It is a good idea to practise your basic Maths and Physicsfor Engineering interviews, covering topics such asdrawing graphs, using forces and energy and algebra.You will most likely be asked a couple of questions onMaths and Physics, but the aim of these is not whetheryou get them right or wrong, it is whether you can betaught by the interviewer. Hence do not panic if youcannot do the questions, take them back to basics andthen use this, and listen to the gentle prodding that theinterviewer will give you to complete the questions.

The most important thing in interviews, however, is notto act, it is to be yourself and relax. Everyone will benervous, and the interviewers will expect that, so thereis no point getting frustrated. The questions they askwill be designed to stretch you and in most cases, theywant you not to be able to answer them. A fewexample questions follow towards the end of thebooklet.

At Oxbridge, the format usually consists of a non-academic interview, with a member of staff who isgenerally not an Engineer, and an academic interview, ortwo. The first type usually is more of an informal chat,asking things such as why you chose that college/university, what your interests are and getting you to tellthem a bit about yourself. One of the reasons for thisinterview is to relax you slightly and also to get a feel foryour personality. The academic interviews will consistof a couple of questions; possibly starting by asking whyyou want to study Engineering and then following withsome academic questions. As stated above these areusually Maths/Physics based and are unlikely to be ofanything further than A Level material.

The interviewers may pick a couple of items out of yourpersonal statement and ask you a question related tothem. They may also ask you about a recent scientific/technological innovation. Thus, it is a good idea to learnabout one of these before you go. The internet andscientific magazines can be particularly useful for this;

however, subscribing to a magazine for a year is notnecessary. We do have some magazines in the libraryand, if there is something you want and it is notavailable, please talk to Dr Vincent. Importantly, ensurethe topic is not something so complicated that youcannot explain it; pick something that you can talkabout and show you have some basic levelunderstanding of.

Most importantly, read through your personalstatement before you go in, as you do not want tomake a fool of yourself by contradicting yourself infront of the interviewer.

v. GAP YearsMany universities recommend a gap year as it is anopportunity to further yourself and GAP years alsomean that the new students are one year more maturewhen the start the course. Completing some industrialwork (see the Year in Industry website for ideas,http://www.yini.org.uk/) is advisable as it will improveyour CV and show potential employers that you havesome significant work experience of engineering; this isespecially useful when you are applying for competitivesummer placements. An industrial placement will alsoshow the university that you are committed to beingan engineer.

vi. SponsorshipEngineering is one of the most recession proof careersthat there is. There will be a requirement for theforeseeable future for people to develop and repairthings that we have now and so companies are alwayslooking for people to sponsor through university.Often this comes hand in hand with work experience/commitment for a couple of years after a job butsometimes it does not. It is worth looking forsponsorship to university to study engineering as somany companies offer it!

It is possible to enter the Engineering industry throughother degrees but further learning and examinations willbe required for professional accreditation. However, it isperfectly normal to find people doing engineer’s jobs in abusiness with degrees such as Physical/Biological Sciences,Mathematical Sciences and Geography.

Reading List

See the reading list on the Cambridge UniversityEngineering Department website(http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/admissions/information/reading.html) for an idea on potential reading material. There isno need to buy any books on the list, and they will beavailable in libraries. Remember you can always visitReading University library: you are not able to take outbooks but can read them in the library or take photocopiesof articles. It is a good idea to read some parts of one ortwo of them, to get a general idea of engineeringproblems, and to give you a bit more material forinterviews.

You can top up the material here by reading articles inmagazines and also on the internet for the latesttechnological advances.

Sample interview questions:

• Draw the graph of (2x-1)/(x+2)

• If an aeroplane is approaching an airport at the angle of10 degrees to the ground and a ground speed of 90m/s,what is the force of the drag?

• What challenges do you think face modern Engineeringin industry?

• What do you think is the most important innovation inthe last 10/25/50/100 years?

• How would you estimate the mass of a building?

• If you have a square piece of paper, and cut a square offeach corner and fold it to form a hollow cube, what isthe largest volume it can form?

Citations

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationsAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinacen/Gettinstarted/DG_171573

http://www.independant.co.uk/student/career-planning/getting-job/starting-salaries-what-the-future-folds-814362.html

http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/explore-your-options/search-courses-and-training-programmes

http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/

OTHER ROUTES INTO ENGINEERING:

French engineer Michael Virlogeux created the original concept for the Millau Viaduct in 1991,however his designs were dismissed by local authorities as unfeasible. The authorities then rana design competition that was won by English architect Sir Norman Foster who presented amodified version of Michael Virlogeux’s original, leading to their collaboration.

The project pushed engineering boundaries with the viaduct being built across one of thedeepest valleys in France, taller than the Eiffel Tower. This was the bridge that was meant to beimpossible to be build, bringing the challenges of; the tallest bridge piers in the world, a 36,000tonne motorway and 7 steel pylons above every pier each weighing 700 tonnes. The localgeology was also very testing with susceptibility to mud slides due to fluctuating river levelsand plagued by deep caves.

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Director of Sixth FormDr Valerie Vincent

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Careers AdvisorMrs Linda McGrenary

T. 0118 918 7321E. linda.mcgrenary@qas.org.uk