BEng (Hons) in Automotive Engineering
Luton, United Kingdom
Bachelor's degree
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
31 Jan 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 16,800 / per year
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Fast-track counseling
By contacting the school, you'll get access to free priority counselling for any study and application questions.
Key Summary
This degree offers the in-depth technical training and hands-on experience you need to build industry-ready skills and thrive in the fast-paced automotive industry. You first gain a broad basis of knowledge before specialising in rapidly developing areas such as automotive systems and electric vehicles, all while benefiting from practical collaboration with industry leaders. In addition, you develop the problem-solving and critical-thinking skills needed to succeed in this progressive field.
Student experience
- Start by learning alongside our other engineering students, benefiting from the sharing of ideas and knowledge, then specialise in rapidly developing topics at the forefront of your field.
- Study under the guidance of academic staff who have worked in the motorsport and automotive industries, and whose active roles in research and consultancy ensure the course is always up-to-date with the latest developments in the industry.
- Collaborate with local companies either on campus or in nearby company workshops.
- Learn from sector-leading enterprises such as Jaguar Land Rover and TWI through industry visits and interactive demonstrations.
- Enter competitions and get involved in opportunities such as the prestigious Formula Student Racing Car project, designed to enhance your analytical, creative thinking and project management skills.
- Benefit from the support of our dedicated academic success tutors.
Industry links
Take on real-world work projects in collaboration with industry partners such as The Welding Institute and Jaguar Land Rover.
Course accreditation
This course has been designed to meet the requirements of the Institution of Mechanical Engineering (IMechE), enabling you to apply your skills in the modern automotive engineering industry, especially in hybrid and electric vehicles.
Why choose the School of Computer Science and Technology
| 100% of our full-time UK graduates in engineering are in employment and/or further study, 15 months after graduating (source: HESA Graduate Outcomes for 2020/21, pub 2023). | The course is designed to meet the requirements of the Institution of Mechanical Engineering (IMechE), preparing you to work in the modern automotive engineering industry. | Study among like-minded students in our modern STEM building, complete with specialist labs and state-of-the-art equipment. |
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Undergraduate Scholarships
You can find all our Undergraduate scholarships listed below.
- International Undergraduate Subject-specific Scholarships
- A level and IB Scholarship for International Students
- Advanced Placement (AP) Merit Scholarship
- Hong Kong Diploma (HKDSE) Merit Scholarship
- Undergraduate EU, EEA and Switzerland Qualifications Scholarship
- International Foundation Year Scholarship
- High Achievers Undergraduate Scholarship for Bangladesh
- High Achievers Undergraduate Scholarship for India
- High Achievers Undergraduate Scholarship for Nepal
- High Achievers Undergraduate Scholarship for Pakistan
Prompt Payment Discount
A discount of £500 is available for prompt payment of each year’s fees in full, before or at the point of registration, for both undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes.
Postgraduate research students who pay their full tuition fee before or at registration will receive a £1,000 discount on that year’s fees.
The tuition fee pre-payment of 65% will be calculated on the full, published tuition fees and will not take into account any scholarships, bursaries or awards. These will be applied to the remaining balance of your fees.
Sport Scholarships
Our sports scholarships are designed to develop and support talented students at the University of Bedfordshire.
Our sports scholarships on offer provide financial and performance support services that utilise the University’s outstanding facilities.
Please contact us for more information.
What will you study?
Studying our Automotive Engineering BEng (Hons) course will equip you with in-depth knowledge and skills in the combined areas of engineering design, vehicle development and new technologies. Upon starting the course, you will discover the Fundamentals of Engineering where you will develop an understanding of scientific principles in maths, physics and chemistry in relation to engineering while also being introduced to an engineering lab environment. Moreover, you will examine materials and their properties in our Engineering Structure, Materials and Analysis unit. This will enable you to select the right materials for a particular design that meets engineering requirements. Using your knowledge from this unit, you will relate it to our unit in Engineering Design and Manufacture where you will develop the skills to use relevant software for engineering design. Another relevant area of study involves the function of vehicles within engineering. This is where our unit in Vehicle Dynamics and Chassis Technology will introduce you to the components of an automobile, as well as its advantages and disadvantages.
Similarly, you will explore the role of vehicle communications and how those systems work in our Vehicle Electronics and Control unit. You will also get the opportunity to produce preliminary designs for an entire power system or subsystem in our Vehicle Powertrain Technology unit that examines various vehicle powertrain technologies such as the electric powertrain. In other areas of study, you will be provided with in-depth theory on the principles, design and performance for automotive systems such as those used in racing cars or electric vehicles in our Automotive Systems and Design unit. This theory is closely linked to our Fluid Dynamics, Thermofluids and Modelling unit where you will grasp an understanding of thermodynamic processes, thermofluid systems and the principles of fluid and flows. This can also be applied to our Mechanics and Heat Transfer unit where you will develop skills for the design and application of heat transfer systems. Among other core topics, our Engineering Mathematics unit will help you establish mathematical knowledge and concepts.
Using case studies, you will perform mathematical calculations to solve real-world problems within the field of engineering. Additionally, as a student in the field of computer science, you will also be given an Introduction to Software Development where you will learn the fundamentals on how to develop software using teamwork, identify, analyse and model problems, test programs and distinguish between forms of programming and modelling. Finally, you will complete an Undergraduate Project in an area of interest that is relevant to your field of study. You will decide on your proposal topic based on current or emerging technologies with help from our Research Methodologies and Project Management unit. By conducting market research and analysing academic publications, you will be able to choose from a range of ideas relevant to your career aspirations. Some possible areas for research include Computer Science, Electronic Engineering and Computer Games Development.
How will you be assessed?
A wide variety of teaching styles will be used throughout this course. The most important aspect will be that of a student-centred approach and the University will encourage students through relevant guidance to become an independent thinker who can take responsibility for their own learning and adapt to a wide variety of different situations within the context of Automotive Engineering.
The Automotive Engineering Lab suite includes a range of experimental facilities such as an engine test bed with full instrumentation two advanced automotive engine demonstrators various test rigs for vehicle aerodynamics materials and engineering structure machining workshop etc. 3D printers and a CAE lab. These form an important part of the course allowing the exploration of many practical aspects of automotive engineering and to further developing hands-on skills.
The course will make use of traditional lectures and practical sessions as well as encouraging students to engage in various scenarios such as managing students own projects and achieving professional output through teamwork.
Unit content such as lecture slides or practical sheets are made available electronically through the University’s virtual learning environment.
Career opportunities for graduates of this course can include automotive industry for development and manufacture of automotive components systems and whole vehicles motor-sport sector engineering consultant companies for vehicle testing and relevant technology development.