Mechanical Engineering (Top-up) BEng(Hons)

Start date

22 September 2025

Duration

1 year full-time

Places available (subject to change)

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About the course

Reasons to study

Flexibility - in our Mechanical and Automotive Engineering subject area, all our degree programmes share the same first year of study, which means you can leave your options open until the start of your second year.
Enhance your employability - past students have spent their placement year at companies, for example, Cummins, DriveWorks, Jaguar Land Rover, Syngenta, Caterpillar, and Airbus.
Prepare for your future career - in your first and second year, you'll study through EnABLE (Engineering in an Activity Based Learning Environment), working in small teams to solve real engineering problems, just like engineers do in industry.

Mechanical Engineering impacts virtually all aspects of our daily lives and is vital to the functioning of many of the systems and products we rely upon. Following this course, therefore, you could choose from a wide range of rewarding and challenging careers, many of which will give you the chance to drive forward the increasingly important sustainability agenda and EngineeringUK report 25% of all job postings in the UK are in engineering and technology.*

The top five job titles advertised in the UK for graduate roles associated with Mechanical Engineering courses are Mechanical Engineer, Robotics Engineer, Test Engineer, Mechanical Service Engineer and Equipment Engineer.**

Engineering skills needs – now and into the future, EngineeringUK labour market analysis, May 2023 *Lightcast data – job postings from May 2022 to May 2023 showing jobs advertised associated with a selection of relevant graduate roles.

Why study Mechanical Engineering (Top-up) BEng(Hons) at Huddersfield?

For those with good knowledge of engineering, this top-up course could help you build on your existing skills. A one-year course, you will be expected to have completed prior university or higher education study in a related subject.

The course allows you to continue your studies in the principles of, for example, dynamics and design, and to have the choice of other key modules to best suit you. With an understanding of the key role of sustainability, we aim to prepare you for career opportunities in a wide range of industries.

You will work on a selected individual research/design project with the support of your academic supervisor. It is possible to align this with one of the Master's team projects, which involve the design, build and friendly competitive testing of either a road, airborne or rail vehicle, for example, Team HARE, Team Hawk or HudRail.

Opportunities for the skillset of a graduate engineer can be varied, with our Mechanical Engineering graduates often finding themselves at the heart of technological developments within the industry.

We aim to provide you with strong practical, theoretical and transferrable skills that may reward you with an interesting and challenging future as a professional engineer.

Course detail

Core modules:

Design Analysis

In this module you will discover the principles behind Finite Element Analysis (FEA). This is increasingly becoming an integral part of the design process and has recently been linked to optimisation methods within many commercial computer packages. You will develop the understanding of the theoretical foundations and limitations of these methods for their effective application in practical contexts. In addition, you will gain an invaluable experience of using state-of-the-art commercial software of this type to equip you with the skills of carrying out accurate and cost effective finite element and optimisation analyses.

Dynamic Analysis and Control

This module will let you develop knowledge and understanding of dynamic systems related vibration and its analysis and control in machine systems. The module uses selected topics to give you an understanding of the analytical tools applied to vibration in mechanical systems and the ability to synthesise and analyse complex mechanisms. The module focuses on mathematical models of physical systems which are key elements in the design and analysis of control systems through theory and practical examples. Mathematical and analysis packages are used extensively throughout the module.

Eco Design and IPR

In this module you will have an opportunity to demonstrate a range of knowledge and understanding of sustainable design processes and the inherent value of design by undertaking a group design project. Through collaboration you will develop product design solutions that comply with the sustainable engineering agenda with the goals of a lower carbon economy at the forefront of your thinking. You will develop and use quantitative techniques that allow for the direct measurement of outcomes from a sustainability and commercial perspective. In addition you will demonstrate critical and creative thinking in the creation of industrially appropriate approaches to the handling and exploitation of intellectual property in regard to new and novel products.

Final Year Project

This module is designed to provide you with the opportunity to study and investigate a specific engineering topic in-depth. The aim of this module is give you the skills and experience to carry out an engineering project and introduce you to the process that would typically take place in a professional engineering environment. You will undertake and execute a project on a topic appropriate to your study pathway. You will be allocated a project supervisor(s) who will direct you through the process of project planning, undertaking background research and carrying out the technical aspects of the project to a satisfactory conclusion. Your project will be an in-depth study of an engineering problem and may be either academic or industry-based. You will have the opportunity to either select a project defined by a tutor, or to propose your own project idea. The project work will extend your knowledge and capabilities in the specific field associated with the project topic and allow you to demonstrate your initiative, commitment, and engineering capability to a professional standard.

Option modules:

Project Quality and Production Management

In this module you will be introduced to concepts, standards, techniques, software and systems for project management, quality management and production management, making reference to relevant ISO standards. You will cover case material relevant to manufacturing and service industries and gain experience of practical application. On completion you will be in a strong position to apply these key industry standard practices to projects in your role as a graduate engineer.

Aerodynamics and Computational Fluid Dynamics

This module will provide you with fundamental knowledge of fluid dynamics in general and aerodynamics in particular. You will gain knowledge in the fundamentals of aerodynamics ranging from bluff body aerodynamics to compressible flows. The practical elements of this module will equip you with an ability to work with experimental and numerical tools to establish aerodynamic characteristics of important industrial systems encountering fluid flows.

Teaching and assessment

Throughout your studies, you will have the opportunity to get continual feedback through weekly SAIL (Score as I Learn) assignments so you will feel confident in your studies and be able to access support when you need it.

A variety of assessment strategies will be used depending on the type and nature of the module. These include reports on laboratory experiments, laboratory-based assignments, and projects. An average of 12%* of the study time on this course is spent with your tutors (either face to face or online) in lectures, seminars, tutorials etc. Your module specification/course handbook will provide full details of the assessment criteria applying to your course.

Feedback is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks – unless the submission was made towards the end of the session in which case feedback would be available on request after the formal publication of results. Feedback on exam performance/final coursework is available on request after the publication of results.

*based on the course structure for 2025 entry as at December 2023.

Further information

The teaching year normally starts in September with breaks at Christmas and Easter, finishing with a main examination/assessment period around May/June. Timetables are normally available one month before registration. As this is a full-time course, you may have to attend every day of the week.

Your course is made up of modules and each module is worth a number of credits. You will study modules to the value of 120 credits. These credits can come from a combination of core, compulsory and optional modules but please note that optional modules may not run if we do not have enough students interested.

Teaching excellence

The University of Huddersfield has been rated Gold in all three aspects of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023. We were the only university in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West to achieve Gold ratings in all three aspects of the TEF among those announced in September 2023. In fact only 13 Universities, out of the 96 that were announced in September 2023, were Gold in all three ratings.
Further proof of teaching excellence: our staff rank in the top three in England for the proportion who hold doctorates, who have higher degrees, and hold teaching qualifications (HESA 2024). So, you’ll learn from some of the best, helping you to be the best.
We are joint first in the country for National Teaching Fellowships, which mark the UK’s best lecturers in Higher Education, winning a total of 23 since 2008 (2024 data).
We won the first Global Teaching Excellence Award, recognising the University’s commitment to world-class teaching and its success in developing students as independent learners and critical thinkers (Higher Education Academy, 2017).

Global Professional Award

At Huddersfield, you'll study the Global Professional Award (GPA) alongside your degree* so that you gain valuable qualities and experiences that could help you to get the career you want, no matter what your field of study is. On completion of the Award, you'll receive a GPA certificate from the University of Huddersfield, alongside the specialist subject skills and knowledge you gain as part of your degree, which may help to set you apart from other graduates.

Giving students access to the Global Professional Award is one of the reasons the University won ‘Best University Employability Strategy’ award at the National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2021. Find out more on the Global Professional Award webpage.

*full-time, undergraduate first degrees with a minimum duration of three years. This does not include postgraduate, foundation, top-up, accelerated or apprenticeship degrees.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for this course are considered on an individual basis and are normally one of the following:

Higher National Diploma at Merit in Mechanical Engineering
Foundation Degree in Engineering
International qualifications are accepted, with high technical engineering content

Other relevant skills or experience will be considered.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

Engineering

A tour of our Department of Engineering facilities.

Ever wondered how you will use our facilities as part of your course? Follow Connor on a tour who explains all.

Facilities

Students observing a robotic arm

Student working on a car

Group work in one of our engineering laboratories

Female Student with circuit board

Sparck Jones canal

Your career

Previous graduates from courses in this subject area have gone on to work in a variety of roles such as Supplier Quality Manager, Vehicle Engineering, Design Engineer, Lead Engineer and Chassis Engineer in organisations including McLaren Automotive Ltd, Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd, Rolls-Royce, Cummins Inc and Bentley Motors Ltd.**

Additionally, you may gain skills that are transferable to other industries and may be able to pursue a career that requires a good honours degree. You could also go on to further study and the University has many options available for postgraduate study which may interest you.

*of undergraduate graduates from the School of Computing and Engineering who are in work and/or further study within fifteen months of graduation (HESA Graduate Outcomes 21/22, UK domiciled graduates)

*Source: LinkedIn

88.1%* Graduates employed

Career support

We know you’re coming to university to study on your chosen subject, meet new people and broaden your horizons. However, we also work with you to focus on life after you have graduated to help you towards achieving your ambitions.

So while you’re here (and even after you graduate) the Careers and Employability Service offer professional help, support and guidance, including industry-supported workshops, careers fairs and one-to-one guidance sessions.Find out more about the service

Further study

Progression to a postgraduate course is dependent on successful completion of your undergraduate studies; there may also be minimum qualification requirements such as a first-class, Upper second-class Honours (2.1) or a Lower second-class Honours (2:2) degree.

Many of the taught Master’s degrees in the School of Computing and Engineering require a (2:2) degree for entry. Please check the entry requirements of the postgraduate course you are interested in to confirm.

Inspiring Graduate

An undergraduate degree from the University of Huddersfield could be the start of an exciting career in your chosen field. Our graduates go on to succeed in a whole range of exciting careers.

As a graduate of the University of Huddersfield you'll become a member of our alumni community, allowing you to stay in touch and continue to access university services.

I can't recommend the University enough for Mechanical Engineering. The direct engineering skills I have gained have given me a much greater understanding of the day to day work I'm involved in but it is also the transferable skills such as presenting, report writing and all round confidence that have helped me progress further in my career.

John Roberts, Mechanical Engineering MEng, Design Engineer, SPX ClydeUnion

Career support

An undergraduate degree from the University of Huddersfield could be the start of an exciting career in your chosen field. Our graduates go on to succeed in a whole range of exciting careers.

As a graduate of the University of Huddersfield you'll become a member of our alumni community, allowing you to stay in touch and continue to access university services.

I can't recommend the University enough for Mechanical Engineering. The direct engineering skills I have gained have given me a much greater understanding of the day to day work I'm involved in but it is also the transferable skills such as presenting, report writing and all round confidence that have helped me progress further in my career.

John Roberts, Mechanical Engineering MEng, Design Engineer, SPX ClydeUnion

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Research excellence

Research plays an important role in informing all our teaching and learning activities. Our research community has expertise in such diverse areas as precision engineering, intelligent interfaces, systems engineering, and diagnostics. Our research environment is lively and collaborative, and well stocked with cutting edge equipment. Our Centre for Precision Technologies is widely regarded as the best research facility of its type in the UK and one of the top three in Europe. Through research our staff remain up-to-date with the latest developments in their field, and contribute to society, which means you develop knowledge and skills that are current and highly relevant to industry. For more information, find out more about our Research institutes and centres.

Fees and Finance

Tuition Fees - full-time

The maximum fees we will charge for UK based students on undergraduate courses in 2025/26 will be £9,535 per year for full-time students (subject to parliamentary approval). We review and revise fee levels in line with inflation (RPI-X) and regulatory permissions.

Tuition fees will cover the cost of your study at the University as well as charges for registration, tuition, supervision and examinations. For more information about funding, fees and finance for UK students, including what your tuition fee covers, please see Fees and finance.

If you are an EU or international student coming to study at the University of Huddersfield, please visit the International Fees and Finance pages for full details of tuition fees and support available.

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

Fees and Finance

Tuition Fees - full-time

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

Important information

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

Changes to option modules:

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes:

We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment, or pandemics.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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View more courses

Start date

Duration

Places available (subject to change)

About the course

Reasons to study

Why study Mechanical Engineering (Top-up) BEng(Hons) at Huddersfield?

Course detail

Design Analysis

Dynamic Analysis and Control

Eco Design and IPR

Final Year Project

Project Quality and Production Management

Aerodynamics and Computational Fluid Dynamics

Entry requirements

Engineering

Facilities

Your career

Career support

Student support

Research excellence

Fees and Finance

Fees and Finance

Important information

Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

Changes to option modules:

Major changes:

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