Program Overview

Electronic and Electrical Engineering (Top-Up) BEng (Hons)

Overview

This course allows you to top-up your existing qualification to a full honours degree in one year.

On this course you'll complete a major project related to your selected topic of electrical engineering. The project needs to demonstrate the skills expected of degree-level students, including a clear argument, rigorous data, critical analysis and solid conclusions.

Teaching is enriched by our research into areas such as automotive mechatronics, control engineering, materials and structural analysis, manufacturing systems and advanced maintenance.

Sunderland has excellent facilities including laboratories for electronics, robotics and programmable logic controllers. We also have workshops and advanced modelling software that is the latest industry standard.

Why us?

• The course specialises in both light current and heavy current
• Engineering graduates can earn between £20,000 and £30,000 a year
• The course provides a great opportunity for HND students to gain a qualification at honours degree level
• You'll have access to industry-standard software to support your studies

Course structure

Teaching methods include lectures, seminars, group work, laboratory projects and e-learning. We encourage you to develop independent study skills. You will also have opportunities to present ideas to other students and develop concepts within groups.

As well as assessments that count towards your degree, there are also ongoing assessments for feedback and consolidating your learning. Assessment methods include exams, multiple-choice tests and projects.

This course can be studied full-time and part-time. If you study the one-year top-up, full-time, you will be on campus two to three days a week. If you study across two years, part-time, you will be on campus one day per week.

Full and part-time Level 2 top-up options are also available which are likely to include teaching over three days a week.

Course modules

Final year (national level 6):

• Project (40 credits)
  • Undertake a unique engineering project that builds on one or more of the topics you've studied throughout your course. Conduct research and resolve an engineering problem in an area of practice that is interesting to you. Enhance your time-management and research skills.
• Electrical Power (20 credits)
  • Expand your knowledge of the practical applications and performance characteristics of DC machines, AC motors, and generators, their operation, performance, and control. Design, model and analyse the behavior of electrical machines under normal and abnormal conditions. Critically analyse the stability requirements, the load flow and fault capabilities of a power network, including protection interruption requirements.
• Electronic Systems (20 credits)
  • Consider the design of complex multivariable combinational and sequential logic circuits. Directly apply digital design principles to practical problems. Appraise circuit designs and formulate designs to improve them.
• Manufacturing Systems Design (20 credits)
  • Discover a range of tools that can be applied within a manufacturing context to analyse existing performance and aid the development of models and systems which achieve an enhanced level of productivity. Develop your knowledge of modern measurement and control tools.
• Professional Engineering Management Techniques (20 credits)
  • Explore some of the soft skills outlined in the UK-SPEC which are pre-requisites to chartered status. Develop your communication and interpersonal skills alongside the design and development of processes and systems. Discover more about project management, and some of the techniques associated with it.

Facilities

You will be based at the David Goldman Technology Centre. Our specialist labs include:

• Product Development Lab
• Electronics Lab
• Automation Lab
• Project Lab
• Material Characterisation Lab
• Formulation Lab
• Thermofluids Lab
• Mechanical Engineering Lab

You will have access to a range of industry leading technologies at the Industry Centre, the home of the Institute of Automotive and Manufacturing Advanced Practice as well as access to industrial standard software to help prepare you for a future career in a digital context.

Entry requirements

The typical entry requirement is successful completion of one of the following:

• A range of qualifications that would satisfy the entry requirements and we will consider each application individually.

If English is not your first language, please see our English language requirements.

Fees and finance

The annual, full-time fee for this course is:

• £9,535 if you are from the UK/Europe
• £16,500 if you are an international student

Career ready

Recent graduates have secured graduate jobs that pay around £28,000 a year, with companies such as McLaren Automotive, General Motors and Nissan.

Graduate success

Sunderland has a good reputation with employers. Our recent graduates have gone on to work for companies such as McLaren Automotive, General Motors, Jaguar, Perkins Engines and Parametrics Technology. Other graduates conduct research within major automotive manufacturers such as Ford, Vauxhall and Nissan.