MEng Mechanical and Electrical Engineering with a Year in Industry

2026 entry

Course summary

There is a strong industrial demand for skilled engineers capable of spanning mechanical and electrical engineering disciplines with a view to effective and informed design of systems that interchange and manage electrical and mechanical energy. This degree gives you the fundamental knowledge and tools to satisfy this demand.

This course provides the opportunity to spend your third year applying the knowledge gained in your first two years of study in an industrial environment. There's no direct entry onto this course but you can transfer from MEng Mechanical and Electrical Engineering after year two if you reach a high academic standard and are successful at interview with industry.

You will study units from the mechanical and electrical disciplines along the following themes:

  • design and integration of electro-mechanical systems;
  • energy conversion and actuation systems;
  • embedded systems and control;
  • power electronics and electric drives;
  • energy management.

Years one and two offer a grounding in mathematics, thermal management, dynamics and control, computing, electrical energy technologies, and electronics. Laboratory work and case studies will draw together these interdisciplinary foundations.

Your third year will be spent in industry, and in your fourth year, you will return to year three of the MEng in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering programme.

In this fourth year, as well as classroom-based subjects, you will engage in a research project. This will give you the freedom to apply the knowledge and skills that you have developed focusing on a specific topic area from actuation and sensor systems and intelligent adaptable power systems to efficient, clean propulsion technologies.

Your final year (year five) will see you working as part of a larger team of students, often with an industrial partner. Here you will solve an engineering problem related to your programme subject matter. You will also have some choice of modules offering more in-depth engineering topics.

Mechanical and electrical engineering graduates will be able to innovate technologies in a range of areas. These might include:

  • the power flow of renewable energy microgrids, from the wind to the electric generator and the power network to the user in the home;
  • actuation systems for motion control or robotics used in healthcare and manufacturing;
  • the power train of future electric vehicles, from the energy storage system, through to the electric motors, to the mechanical drivetrain and traction system.

Yasmin completed a year in industry and found that it boosted her confidence, improved her career prospects and helped her develop a deeper appreciation for university life. Watch her story here.

Accreditations

Our Mechanical and Electrical Engineering with a Year in Industry MEng is accredited by IET.

Course structure

First-year students on a number of engineering programmes including students on the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering programme all start their degree with a broad knowledge of the fundamentals and a command of the skills that underpin modern engineering. This gives you plenty more opportunities to broaden your social circle and long-term professional network. Interdisciplinary working is now the norm in industry, and a good understanding of disciplines other than your own will serve you well when you enter the workplace.

In year one you will focus on:

  • study and practice of the fundamental mathematics engineers need to describe and analyse physical processes efficiently;
  • learn how to generate and communicate designs and use these skills to work on an interdisciplinary design project, based on global challenges;
  • bring these skills together to tackle a lab-based electro-mechanical design problem.

As you progress through the course you will move from structured teaching exercises based upon fundamental theory in the areas of energy conversion in the mechanical and electrical domains towards more research-driven, creative and open-ended project-based units.

This skills-based approach will provide you with technical and practical abilities, confidence, adaptability and understanding of social/industrial context that will enable you to be successful in your degree and your career.

Full details about the course structure and units for this course can be viewed in the programme catalogue.

Go to programme catalogue

Entry requirements

We accept a wide variety of qualifications and welcome applications from students of all backgrounds. Below is a guide to the typical offers for this course.

The University of Bristol welcomes applications from international students, and we accept a wide range of qualifications for undergraduate and postgraduate study.

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This course is available by transfer only. View the MEng Mechanical and Electrical Engineering entry requirements information.
More about UK qualifications.