Electrical Automotive Engineering MSc
Coventry, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Aug 2025
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
Our postgraduate course in electrical automotive engineering aims to provide the expertise required to meet the modern transportation market demands. Carefully planned, it consists of a balanced mix between electric power, electronics and communications.
Course overview
Our vision is to create experienced and specialised engineers who will be highly sought after by the electrical automotive engineering market.
The overall aims of the course are to:
- Provide a deep and comprehensive understanding of the current electric/hybrid electric vehicles technology, concepts and challenges.
- Develop academic and practical skills in electric power-related areas such as electrical machines and drives, power electronics and batteries, covering all aspects of the vehicle’s powertrain.
- Develop a solid background in vehicle electronics, signal processing and communications needs and challenges.
- Educate graduates, typically from a mechanical/automotive engineering background, in the modern area of electrical automotive engineering and provide a valuable qualification for this growing and expanding market.
You will also have the option to apply for a ‘professional work placement’ opportunity, designed to further develop your skills and knowledge with the aim of maximising your employability prospects. See modules for more information.
Why you should study this course
- Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles constitute a modern and timely area in engineering, one expected to expand very quickly in the next few years.
- Electric vehicles minimise pollution whilst increasing power efficiency. Moreover, areas such as autonomous vehicles and smart transportation grids are beginning to become reality.
- Coventry has a long history in the automotive and transport industries. Coventry University plays a significant role in shaping the future of modern transportation and has been a valuable participant in various projects and collaborations with industry and academia in the area of transportation, with significant experience and technical know-how. Furthermore, the Institute for Future Transport and Cities research centre has been established by Coventry University to organise and promote research activities in the technological field of clean transportation.
- The delivery of this course will consist of a balance between theory, simulations and laboratory testing, creating an ideal teaching and learning environment. The aim is to cultivate not only a strong foundation in electrical automotive engineering, but also critical and original thinking.
- You will have the opportunity to benefit from our modern teaching environment and infrastructure4, practical hands on laboratory equipment and specialised modern simulation tools adopted by industry. The teaching activities are partially industry and research focused with the aim of motivating and promoting engineering development and originality among our students.
Half of your study will focus on electrical machines, power semiconductors, automotive sensors and automotive electronics. The other half concentrates on automotive cybersecurity, automotive networking, energy storage and entrepreneurship.
Ultimately you will be asked to perform a detailed research project or design study in a technical aspect of the course with the help of an experienced supervisor. You may choose a project topic to suit your interests and career aspirations as agreed with your tutor.
Modules
- Power Semiconductors and Converters
- Advanced Control Engineering and Instrumentation
- Automotive Electronics and Embedded Systems
- Automotive Cybersecurity
- Automotive Networking and Signal Processing
- Energy Storage and High Voltage Systems
- Electrical Machines
- Individual Project
- Entrepreneurial Practice
With work placement pathway
The ‘With work placement’ opportunity2 enables you to apply in semester 1 for an optional work placement of up to 12 months, extending the duration of your master’s to 24 months. The placement provides an opportunity for you to develop expertise and experience in your chosen field with the aim of enhancing your employability upon graduation. The work placement would take place in semesters 3, 4 and 5.
Please note that the optional placement modules will incur an additional tuition fee of £4,000. Placement opportunities may also be subject to additional costs, visa requirements being met, subject to availability and/or competitive application. Work placements are not guaranteed but you will benefit from the support of the Talent Team in trying to find and secure an opportunity. Find out more about the work placement option.
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
Upon successful completion, you will be able to:
- Develop learn and apply new theories, concepts and methods.
- Critically evaluate, model and test the operation of electrical systems and components for automotive applications.
- Demonstrate a thorough understanding of electrical power conversion and power flow.
- Analyse the degradation mechanisms and ageing process of the automotive electrical and electronics systems.
- Gain an awareness of current standard and specifications of the on-board electronics and networking system to design and assess systems and components.
- Develop extensive knowledge and understanding of a wide range of computer modelling and simulation software.
- Conduct rigorous and ethical research/formal enquiry into related issues that require familiarity with a range of research sources and appropriate methodologies.
- Demonstrate awareness and ability to critically evaluate risks, including health and safety when conducting design and tests.
We currently have strong links with local industry collaborators including JLR, HORIBA MIRA Ltd, FEV UK, ZF, BOSCH, Ford Motor, Schneider Electric Systems UK Limited, Industratech Limited and National Grid. Coventry University also runs Microcab and the Centre for Advanced Low Carbon Propulsion Systems (C-ALPS) lab. They are dedicated to developing hydrogen fuel vehicles and EVs.