Program Overview

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Overview of the Automotive Engineering BEng (Hons) Degree

The Automotive Engineering BEng (Hons) degree at Loughborough University is designed to equip students with specialized knowledge in areas directly aligned with the dynamic automotive industry and the future of ground transportation. The Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering has been teaching Automotive Engineering and working with major UK industries for over fifty years.

Course Structure

The course is based on the heritage of working alongside industry and uses automotive-specific examples in teaching engineering fundamentals. The ongoing exchange of knowledge with the sector ensures that the taught courses are immediately relevant to the problems faced by industry today.

Key Features

• The course covers topics related to new powertrain architectures and specialist modules, including Battery Technology and Machine Intelligence.
• It also covers more foundational topics such as Aerodynamics, Materials, Structures, and Experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamics.
• These provide students with a comprehensive knowledge of the underlying and unchanging physics of automotive systems essential to modern automotive engineering.

Practical Activities

Practical activities are integral to the course, including activities integrated with assessment that take place at Horiba MIRA proving ground. Here, students learn how to collect and analyze vehicle handling, off-road, noise measurement, braking performance, and wet weather driving data.

Teamwork and Management Skills

Teamwork and management skills are critical, and students have many opportunities to develop these skills, including working as part of a team to design a vehicle of the future. In the final year, students manage their own original research project to solve a real-world engineering problem.

Teaching Staff and Research

The teaching staff are engaged in exciting research into air and ground transport, which helps keep the course up-to-date. The department brings together outstanding facilities, superb teaching, and strong links with industry to make sure students are completely ready for their future careers.

Course Details

• Duration: 4 years full-time with placement year or 3 years full-time
• Typical offer: AAB Entry requirements
• Fees for 2026: UK £9,535, International £30,700
• UCAS codes: 4 years full-time with placement year H341, 3 years full-time H330
• Start date: October 2026
• Institute code: L79
• Subject area: Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering
• Accredited course with placement year available and opportunity to study abroad
• Optional language programme

What You'll Study

The course introduces concepts such as digital engineering, electric propulsion, and autonomous driving using artificial intelligence, alongside the fundamentals underpinning them, from year one.

Year 1

• Mathematics for Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering
• Materials and Structures
• Thermofluids
• Computing
• Engineering Design and Manufacture
• Vehicle Systems and Development
• Engineering Mechanics and Structures

Year 2

• Structural Design Project
• Engineering Mathematics 3
• Dynamics and Vibration
• Systems Reliability Assessment
• Incompressible Aerodynamics
• Mechanics of Materials
• Machine Elements and Automotive Materials
• Vehicle Loading and Suspensions
• Control Engineering
• Advanced Powertrain Systems
• Electrotechnology
• Automotive Sensor Technologies

Final Year

• BEng Project
• Concept Vehicle Definition
• Optional modules including Noise Control, Principles of Composite Materials & Structures, Vehicle Dynamics and Simulation, Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics, Sensor Fusion for Intelligent Vehicles, Finite Element Methods, Ground Vehicle Aerodynamics, Crashworthiness, Machine Intelligence, and Battery Technology.

How You'll Study

The course is taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, group work, and workshops. Students are expected to conduct independent studies to develop their knowledge.

Assessment

You are assessed by a mixture of coursework and written examinations, the percentage of which varies from module to module. Design-orientated work is assessed through group assignments using modern digital techniques, including 3D printing. The individual project is assessed by oral presentations and a written report.

Placement Year

By undertaking a year on professional placement or working in industry, you will gain an additional award alongside your final qualification. If you undertake a professional placement year, you will gain a Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS) or if you complete a year in industry, you will gain a Diploma in Industrial Studies (DIS).

Facilities

Students have access to a wide range of facilities, including wind tunnels, an anechoic chamber, indoor UAV testing, structures testing facilities, gas-turbine engines, eight purpose-built automotive engine test cells, a Hawk aircraft, a 6-axis degree of freedom road and aircraft simulator, a hub dynamometer, battery and fuel cell testing facilities, and numerous instrumented test vehicles.

Entry Requirements

To learn more about the qualifications typically accepted, please select your country from the drop-down menu. The entry requirements for each course should be read alongside the University’s general entry requirements.

General Entry Requirements

• The University’s admissions process uses contextual information to provide insights into the context in which your academic qualifications have been achieved.
• This may influence the typical offers listed below.

Country-Specific Requirements

Requirements vary by country, including:

• Australia: ATAR scores
• Austria: Reifeprüfung (Matura) scores
• Bahrain: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Bangladesh: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Belgium: Certificat d’Enseignement Secondaire Supérieur (CESS) and Diploma van Secundair Onderwijs (DSO) scores
• Brazil: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Brunei: A Level or IB qualifications
• Bulgaria: Diploma za Sredno Obrazovanie scores
• Canada: Grade 12 scores
• China: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year or first year of study at a recognized university
• Croatia: Matura (Svjedodžba o Maturi) scores
• Cyprus: Apolytirion scores
• Czech Republic: Maturita (Vysvědčení o Maturitní Zkoušce) scores
• Denmark: Bevis for Studentereksamen (STX) scores
• Egypt: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Estonia: Gümnaasiumi lõputunnistus with the Riigieksamitunnistus scores
• European Baccalaureate: Overall average mark
• Faroe Islands: Studentsprógv scores
• Finland: Ylioppilastutkinto / Studentexamen scores
• France: French Baccalauréat Général scores
• Germany: Abitur scores
• Ghana: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Greece: Apolytirion of Lykeion scores
• Hong Kong: Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education scores
• Hungary: Érettségi Bizonyítvány scores
• Iceland: Stúdentspróf scores
• India: Standard XII school leaving qualifications
• Indonesia: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Ireland: Leaving Certificate scores
• Israel: Bagrut scores
• Italy: Diploma di Esamo di Stato scores
• Japan: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year or first year of study at a recognized university
• Jordan: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Kazakhstan: Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS) Grade 12 Certificate scores
• Kenya: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Kuwait: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Latvia: Atestāts par Vispārējo Vidējo Izglītību scores
• Lebanon: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Lithuania: Brandos Atestatas scores
• Malaysia: Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) scores
• Malta: Advanced Matriculation Exam scores
• Netherlands: Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs (VWO) scores
• New Zealand: National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 3 scores
• Nigeria: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Norway: Vitnemål for Videregående Opplæring scores
• Oman: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Pakistan: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Poland: New Matura scores
• Portugal: Diploma de Ensino Secundário scores
• Qatar: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Romania: Diploma de Bacalaureat scores
• Russia: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Saudi Arabia: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Singapore: Singapore A Levels scores
• Slovakia: Maturita (Vysvedčenie o maturitnej skúške) scores
• Slovenia: Maturitetno Spričevalo scores
• South Africa: National Senior Certificate (NSC) scores
• South Korea: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Spain: Titulo de Bachillerato scores
• Sri Lanka: A Level or IB qualifications
• Sweden: Avgångsbetyg / Slutbetyg från Gymnasieskola scores
• Switzerland: Certificat de Maturité, Attestato di Maturità, or Eidgenössisch Anerkanntes Maturitätszeugnis scores
• Taiwan: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Tanzania: Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (ACSEE) scores
• Thailand: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• The Caribbean: Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) scores
• The Gulf: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Turkey: Anadolu Lisesi (Anatolian High School Diploma) or Fen Lisesi (Science High School Diploma) scores
• Uganda: A Level or IB qualifications
• Ukraine: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• United Arab Emirates: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• United States of America: High School Graduation Diploma and AP or SAT scores
• Vietnam: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Zambia: Completion of a suitable Foundation Year
• Zimbabwe: A Level or IB qualifications

Tuition Fees for 2026 Entry

• UK fees: £9,535 per annum
• International fees: £30,700 per annum
• Placement year: Approximately 20% of the full-time fee

Your Future Career

With a degree in Automotive Engineering from Loughborough, you can expect to have gained a diverse skill set, including project management, teamwork, leadership, business acumen, and people management, as well as technical expertise. This sets you up for a successful career in the automotive and motorsport industries or other sectors of engineering, finance, and business.

Careers Fair

The university holds its own Engineering Careers Fair, with over 80 companies attending to employ students. This includes major consulting and contracting companies in the UK, as well as more local and specialist firms.

Career Support Services

The award-winning Careers Network team is here to help and support you, offering everything from CV workshops, one-to-one advice sessions, and mock interview practice sessions to high-profile employer events.

Companies Students Have Worked for After Graduating

Recent graduates in the Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering have gone on to take up various graduate and professional-level roles at companies including RAF, Hawk eye, BAE, MBDA, Rolls-Royce, AMG Petronas Motorsport, Aston Martin, Bentley, Caterpillar, Ford, Group Lotus, JCB, Jaguar Land Rover, Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Tesla Motors, Toyota, Triumph, and Williams Martini Racing, among many more.

Roles Include:

• Graduate Engineer
• Design Engineer
• Graduate Mechanical Engineer
• Test Engineer
• Data Analyst
• Aero Systems Engineer
• Mechanical Engineering Support Officer
• Aerospace Engineer
• Aeronautical Engineer

Compare Our Course Stats at Discover Uni

• 67% of students say staff value students' views and opinions about the course.
• 87% of students say teaching staff have supported their learning well.
• 90% are in work or doing further study 15 months after the course.