BEng (Hons) Sustainable and Electric Vehicle Engineering with Industrial Placement Year
Course Overview
With the UK pledging to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2035, the British automotive industry is rapidly adapting to research, develop and manufacture sustainable vehicles. The University of Bolton's BEng (Hons) Sustainable and Electric Vehicle Engineering with industrial placement year combines knowledge from the local and national industry with cutting-edge technology and research to provide you with a holistic understanding of energy storage systems, sustainable powertrains, embedded systems and control, vehicle design, simulation and modelling.Throughout this degree, you'll build up skills as an automotive engineer. From the first year, you'll gain hands-on experience working with sustainable vehicles, expanding into highly specialised skills working with batteries, performing advanced modelling and simulation, and building expertise in the design and development of electric and fuel cell electric vehicles. Our expert team will equip you with the fundamental knowledge required for a career in engineering. You'll learn engineering and project management techniques, giving you the agency and ability to become a leading engineer in the sustainable vehicle sector.
During the industrial placement year, you'll work in the industry, transferring your new knowledge into the workplace. This is supported by University staff, enabling you to gain experience in the workplace.
The University will offer lots of support to help you find a placement with a relevant company in preparation for your year in industry (the industrial placement takes place between the second and final years of your course). Through our relationships with employers, we'll share placement adverts as they become available, and you can also seek your own placement. Our placement team will help with applications and interview skills. Your placement does not have to be in the Bolton area – it could be elsewhere in the UK. Completing a year in industry will give you invaluable skills and experience that will help you in your final year of study with us and boost your CV to help you find an enhanced career afterwards. If you're unsuccessful in securing a placement, you'll be able to transfer directly to the final year of study and complete your degree in three years.
Highlights
- This programme offers the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to gain employment in development and production-focused roles in the electric and fuel cell electric vehicle industry.
- Completing a placement year in the industry will give you experience and skills that are highly relevant for your future career and should significantly enhance your employability.
- Our team of dedicated and experienced academics offers face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support. We have expertise in fields such as data and diagnostics, battery management and embedded systems, energy storage (batteries and fuel cells), manufacturing cell-to-pack, electromechanical systems, engineering for performance, and pack thermal modelling and simulation.
- You'll benefit from opportunities to be involved in various applications engineering themes, such as holistic battery cell-to-pack experience, advanced manufacturing practicals, advanced simulation using finite element analysis (FEA), and topological optimisation with access to industry-standard test methods, and design of experiments (DoE) for predictions and confidence in production processes.
Key Features
- Our teaching and learning approach is always student-centred, so we'll work with you individually, providing tailored help and support throughout your studies.
- You'll participate in a real automotive engineering environment and have the opportunity to work with our industry partners.
- You'll benefit from open access and skills development in CAD, analysis, optimisation, CAM and CAE software.
- We offer direct opportunities to work with sustainable vehicles, batteries, fuel cells, and their assemblies at different scales.
- Course materials are available online in our virtual learning environment (VLE), allowing you to prepare work at home and make the most of the highly interactive in-class tuition.
- By choosing to study with us, you'll have the chance to enjoy Bolton's many shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities. Nearby Manchester is one of the UK's most multicultural and lively cities, and the Northwest of England is renowned for its beautiful countryside, coastline, and heritage.
Entry Requirements
- 104 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T-levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. For most courses, we are also able to consider non-tariffable qualifications.
- Your Level 3 subjects must include mathematics, physics or engineering; for instance, A-level Mathematics or Physics, BTEC Extended Diploma in Engineering, or one of the Engineering and Manufacturing T Level routes (the T Level in Maintenance, Installation and Repair for Engineering and Manufacturing; the T Level in Engineering, Manufacturing, Processing and Control; or the T Level in Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing.)
- You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent) including English, Mathematics and Science.
- We'll be happy to consider your application if you have non-traditional entry qualifications and relevant experience or a suitable portfolio of work that we deem a reasonable substitute for the qualifications we typically accept for this course. If you have an HND/C in an appropriate engineering discipline, then we'll consider you for entry to level HE5 of this programme, depending on the subject area of qualification and the level of maths and science that you have achieved. You may be asked to undertake additional assessment(s) to determine your suitability for the course.
- You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
- If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.
Career Opportunities
The BEng (Hons) in Sustainable and Electric Vehicle Engineering has been developed and informed by industry, employers and academic experts to enable the development of the next generation of engineers with interdisciplinary skills in electrical and mechanical systems required by the sustainable vehicle sector.
In addition to technical knowledge, this programme offers you the opportunity to develop a range of key employability skills. These include abilities in using specialist knowledge creatively and innovatively to solve problems, producing and interpreting technical solutions, and explaining design ideas. You'll also be able to communicate effectively (via speech and writing) and possess good teamwork, project and time management, and strong decision-making skills.
What can I do with this qualification?
You could also pursue further study in a specialist field or research or continue your learning and development with postgraduate-level study.
Alternative career options
Graduates can use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers, bearing in mind that relevant experience and/or further study may be required. Some of these roles include:
- Research and development
- Design engineering
- Test and development engineering
- Manufacturing engineering
- Operations management
- Materials science
- Project management
- Quality management
- Consultancy
- Technical sales
Professional Recognition
The University of Bolton's BEng (Hons) Sustainable and Electric Vehicle Engineering with industrial placement year programme uses the Engineering Council UK-SPEC learning outcomes. It's designed to partially meet the academic requirements for professional registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng). Please see the Engineering Council UK website for further details of UK-SPEC.
We'll be seeking accreditation of the BEng (Hons) Sustainable and Electric Vehicle Engineering with industrial placement year programme for partial Chartered Engineer (CEng) status and full status for Incorporated Engineer (IEng) from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and/or the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
Fees & Funding
Home/EU Fees
Year of study | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Entry Year | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | 2027/28 | 2028/29 | |
2024-25 | £9,250 | £9,250 | £1,850 | £9,250 | - | £29,600 |
2025-26 | - |
International Fees
Year of study | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Entry Year | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | 2027/28 | 2028/29 | |
2024-25 | £15,950 | £15,950 | £2,950 | £15,950 | - | £50,800 |
2025-26 | - |
Bursaries
Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2024-25 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.
The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.
How to apply
Home Applicants
Course application details are unavailable at present
International Applicants
Course application details are unavailable at present
Partner Organisation Applicants
Option currently unavailable.
Teaching & Assessment
Sustainable vehicle engineering is a diverse and highly interdisciplinary field, so we use a wide range of teaching and learning methods. These are designed to fully equip you with the skills to work in this sector. They will help you develop the skills, knowledge, self-awareness, and behaviours essential to becoming an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) and a Chartered Engineer (CEng), with particular reference to working with a wide variety of sustainable vehicles.
You'll be expected to attend formally timetabled classes, including lectures, tutorials, and tutor-led in-class exercises, and engage with case studies, laboratory activities, investigations and assignments, in groups and individually. All these activities are designed to help you acquire and develop appropriate concepts, knowledge and skills. Our personal tutor system underpins all our teaching and provides one-on-one support, peer support and individual care and attention.
Other teaching methods, such as open-ended projects and design, make and test activities, provide opportunities to develop creativity and innovation skills. These are designed to meet the professional body accreditation requirements and help you apply, assimilate, and integrate your understanding of the course material. Personal study time is required, and we'll assess your progress through a strategic blend of project or design reports, examinations, portfolios, presentations, blogs and other assignments. Some assessments contribute to your final module marks, while others are designed to help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, and where you need to seek extra support from course tutors.
While you're away from the University on your industrial placement, our academic team will contact you during the year to check that everything is going well.
Modules
The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.
- Engineering Skills and Practice
- Engineering Mathematics 1
- Engineering Materials
- Engineering Design 1
- Engineering Science 1
- Sustainable Vehicle Engineering Applications
- Engineering Mathematics 2
- Advanced Computer Aided Design
- Sustainable Vehicle Technology
- Engineering Design 2
- Engineering Science 2
- Energy Storage Systems
- Industrial Placement
- Engineering Management
- Embedded Systems and Modelling for Sustainable Vehicles
- Electromechanical Engineering
- Safe Vehicle Design
- Individual Project
Assessment methods
Level | Assessment method |
---|---|
Level 1 | Coursework 63% Practical exams 17% Written exams 20% |
Level 2 | Coursework 71% Practical exams 14% Written exams 15% |
Level 3 | Coursework 57% Practical exams 23% Written exams 20% |
Learning Activities
Level | Activity |
---|---|
Level 1 | Guided independent study 67% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 33% |
Level 2 | Guided independent study 70% Placement/study abroad 100% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 30% |
Level 3 | Guided independent study 70% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 30% |
The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.