We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified*:
IELTS Academic module overall 6.5 with 5.5 in each component.
TOEFL-iBT (including Special Home Edition) 92 or above with 20 in each section. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
Cambridge English: Advanced or Proficiency overall 176 with 162 in each component.
Trinity ISE: ISE II with a distinction in all four components.
We also accept a wider range of international qualifications and tests.
English language qualifications must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the degree you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, or Trinity ISE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.
Virtually any machine or process you can think of in modern life has benefited from the input of a mechanical engineer. Mechanical engineers are responsible for the analysis, design and manufacture of an enormous range of industrial products and systems – almost anything with moving parts – from washing machines and wind turbines, to automobiles and aircraft.
As a mechanical engineer, you will use fundamental physics, complex mathematics and state-of-the-art engineering software, as well as your creative and inventive skills, to design and improve products and processes.
Studying mechanical engineering will open doors to increasingly diverse fields, including bioengineering, medical engineering, nanotechnology, sports engineering and renewable energy.
Ties to industry
Our Industrial Liaison Board includes senior representatives from important industrial companies, and this has a strong influence on our curriculum and programme development.
Work experience and internships
You are encouraged to undertake relevant work experience during your degree. We work closely with the Careers Service to advertise internship opportunities and arrange company presentations.
This can be recognised on your transcript through completion of an Edinburgh Award.
Accreditation
This programme is accredited as:
An accredited programme is needed to complete the educational base for CEng.
More info: Click here
Year 1
interdisciplinary teams to tackle society’s ever-more complex challenges.
In Engineering Principles you will experience a wide range of such challenges, developing essential engineering skills and gaining an understanding of the subject’s breadth and the role your chosen discipline plays.
In Engineering Design you will work as part of a team on an interdisciplinary engineering task – getting involved in design, and using your engineering judgement to evaluate your solution to a task.
These introductory courses will help you to develop the confidence, advanced thinking, team-working and problem-solving skills that you will later rely on as a professional engineer.
You will also study mathematical topics with particular relevance to engineers. In addition, you will choose courses from across the University to complement your engineering studies, with options available in sciences, arts and humanities*.
*(Revised 4 June 2020 to update Year 1 information.)
Year 2
In Year 2 you will specialise in core mechanical engineering topics including fluids, solids, dynamics and thermodynamics, building the foundations of each of these subjects in preparation for specialisation at honours level.
These courses cover technical concepts and where possible, give you the opportunity to apply them in a practical situation, allowing you extend and deepen your engineering design skills.
You will study programming to develop your skills in computer control and simulation – essentials in the engineer’s toolkit. Engineering mathematics is also studied.
You will continue your professional development with a course on essential professional skills for engineers*.
*(Revised 4 June 2020 to update Year 2 information.)
Year 3
You will now focus on your chosen field of engineering. At the end of Year 3, you will have the option of completing one more year for a BEng (Hons) or a further two years for an MEng (Hons), subject to students meeting the MEng progression requirments.
Year 4
You will concentrate on specialist study and innovative assessment that will prepare you for your professional career. Increasingly you will spend time on individual or group design projects.
Programme structure
Find out more about the compulsory and optional courses in this degree programme.
To give you an idea of what you will study on this programme, we publish the latest available information. However, please note this may not be for your year of entry, but for a different academic year.
Studying engineering at the University of Edinburgh prepares you for a career as a professional engineer in the UK or abroad, and all courses meet the requirements of the UK professional engineering bodies.
On graduation from any of our programmes you will leave with a thorough, core knowledge, together with analytical, practical, design and communication skills, enabling you to join a design, production or research team - or move rapidly into management and leadership roles.
Alternatively, many of our graduates have gone on to work in other areas, including the civil service, education, the armed forces and the financial sector.
