Automotive Engineering - integrated with Placement Year

Automotive engineering is the discipline concerned with the design, development, manufacture and testing of vehicles, encompassing the mechanical, electrical, electronic and software systems that determine how a car or truck performs, handles, consumes energy and keeps its occupants safe. The automotive industry is in the midst of its most significant transformation in over a century, as electrification, autonomy, connectivity and shared mobility reshape what vehicles are and how they are developed. Engineers who can work across these changes, combining traditional mechanical engineering knowledge with expertise in electrification and embedded software, are in high demand.

At Brunel University London this five-year integrated MEng programme, which includes a placement year embedded within the structure, gives you both a BEng-equivalent grounding in automotive engineering and an additional year of advanced study and training at MEng level. You will study vehicle dynamics, powertrain engineering, structural analysis, aerodynamics, electronics and embedded systems, manufacturing processes and the engineering management skills that automotive companies expect from senior engineers. The placement year gives you substantial professional experience within an automotive or related engineering organisation, developing your practical skills and professional context in an industry where direct experience is highly valued.

Brunel's automotive engineering programme has long-established connections with vehicle manufacturers and suppliers.

Graduates of the MEng programme are well positioned for chartered engineer status through the Institution of Mechanical Engineers or the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and the integrated five-year programme provides a particularly strong academic foundation for that pathway. Roles in vehicle design, powertrain development, chassis engineering, NVH analysis, manufacturing engineering and engineering project management are among the professional destinations. Electric vehicle development, autonomous systems, software-defined vehicles and motorsport engineering are among the more specialist areas where automotive engineers build careers.

Some graduates go on to doctoral research, particularly in areas such as vehicle electrification, energy storage or autonomous driving systems.