Advanced Mechanical Engineering

The programme offers you deep knowledge and understanding of the 'state of the art' in some of the many mechanical engineering areas in which the Department has acknowledged expertise. You can select taught modules from an unusually broad range of topics.

The principal component of the course is the individual project, which is usually associated with current research activity or industrial consultancy - allowing you to develop substantial expertise in a specific area. 

Educational aims/objectives of the programme:
To…
• To prepare graduates for senior appointments in industry, the public sector and other
employment for Professional Engineers. To provide students with state-of-the-art courses and
experience of research projects for them to develop and advance their career interests.
• To keep under review the progress of individual students, the content of course subjects,
lecturers’ engineering subject expertise and teaching excellence.
• To develop new areas of teaching in response to the advance of scholarship and the needs of
professional engineers. 

Taught course
Students must select a minimum of 140 subject lecture hours. Taught course subjects may be
selected from the following subject areas (lecture hours in brackets):
Dynamics Group
• Advanced Vibration Engineering (20 hours)
Materials and Stress Analysis Group
• Advanced Stress Analysis (20 hours)
• Structure, Properties and Applications of Polymers (20 hours)
• Computational Continuum Mechanics (20 hours)
• Finite Element Analysis and Applications (20 hours)
• Fundamentals of Fracture Mechanics (20 hours)
• Polymer Processing Technology (40 hours)
Thermofluids Group
• Combustion (20 hours)
• Computational Fluid Dynamics (20 hours)
• Vehicle Propulsion Technology (40 hours)
• Aircraft Engine Technology (40 hours)
Ungrouped Subjects
• Advanced Control (20 hours)
• Introduction to Nuclear Engineering (20 hours)
• Nuclear Reactor Physics (20 hours)
• Nuclear Materials (20 hours)
• Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics (20 hours)
• Tribology (20 hours)
• Integrated Design and Manufacture (20 hours)
• Mechanical Transmission Technology (40 hours)

Term one:
All students attend the Course Introduction Day and this is followed by introductory lectures. All
students are issued with the ‘Course Notes’ – a booklet outlining all course regulations,
information and timetables, the ‘Postgraduate Study in Mechanical Engineering Handbook’,
together with subject and project information. The Taught Course lectures begin on day 3 and by
the third week of November each student must submit his or her ‘Subject Choice Form’, which
lists the taught courses for which they are registering. The majority of subjects are 20 lecture
hours with 10 plus hours of supporting tutorials and are taught over two terms. However, some
subjects are 40 lecture hours plus tutorials. The students are issued with a list of all research
projects offered by the staff and each student selects a project, after discussions with the Project
Supervisor and the MSc Course Director. Each student must register his or her project by the
third week of November. It is expected that the students will allocate one day per week to their
project during the Autumn and Spring Terms. All students will have one formal meeting with the
MSc Course Director at the end of November where both academic and pastoral matters may be
discussed. In the Autumn Term all students must take the compulsory Technical Presentation
Skills course.
Term Two:
All students continue with their taught course subjects and their individual research project
(average of one day per week).
All Taught Course subjects finish by the end of the Spring Term and each student must submit a
Research Project Progress Report at the end of the Spring term. It is intended that the students
will use the Easter Vacation to work on their research project and revise for their examinations.
All students will have one formal meeting with the MSc Course Director in the Spring Term where
both academic and pastoral matters may be discussed.
Term Three:
The Taught Course subject examinations are held during the first three weeks of this term.
June –Sept:
Students continue full-time on their research projects. Each student gives an interim seminar at the
end of June. The project ends with the submission of the thesis and a major seminar to the
External Examiners, staff and students.
All students will have one formal meeting with the Course Director in the Summer Term where
both academic and pastoral matters may be discussed.

The minimum qualifications for admission are normally an Upper Second Class Honours Degree
in engineering, science or mathematics from a UK University or an equivalent overseas
qualification. Industrial experience, while not a requirement of entry, is a factor weighing in the
candidate’s favour.

Selection is based on academic record, two references (preferably academic), personal
statement, and employment experience (if any). Applicants living in the UK at the time of
application are invited for interview.