Intro

Design engineers combine technical expertise with creativity to solve complex challenges that make a real difference to people’s lives. They have the ability to generate innovative, user-centred design solutions that are sustainable, socially responsible, commercially and technically sound.

Our Design Engineering MEng includes a year of masters level study to develop your technical understanding, management and leadership skills to support your career progression.

You’ll learn with a team who are part of the Advanced Engineering Centre and the Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Devices, and take part in exciting and challenging projects arising from and contributing to their research.

Key facts

Location Â鶹AV: Moulsecoomb

UCAS code H151

Full-time 4 years
With placement year 5 years

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

A-levels or BTEC
ABB–BBC. A-levels must include maths.

BTEC Extended Diploma
DDM–DMM. BTEC must include merit in further maths for engineering techs.

UCAS tariff points
128–112 UCAS Tariff points.

International Baccalaureate
28 points, with three subjects at Higher level. Higher level subjects must include maths and physics at grade 5.

GCSE (minimum grade C or grade 4)
At least five GCSEs, subjects must include English language, maths and a science.

ATAS requirements
The JACS code for this course is H390, meaning that students from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland will have to apply for an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate before they apply for a visa. Details can be found on the .

English language requirements
IELTS 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each element. Find out more about the other English qualifications that we accept.

International requirements and visas

International requirements by country
Country name
Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Bermuda
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guyana
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kosovo
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malaysia
Malawi
Malta
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro
Morocco
Myanmar (Burma)
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian National Authority
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Syria
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Tunisia
Türkiye Turkiye Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

View our English language courses

For pre-sessional English preparation courses.

For degree preparation courses.

Visas and immigration advice

Applying for a student visa

Check out our step-by-step guidance.

Course content

Top reasons to choose this course

  • Work alongside others in a friendly, creative and collaborative studio environment.
  • Internationally-recognised research.
  • Project work such as designing and building water rockets, finding solutions to Fixperts challenges, working on the design and development of bike force pedals for Team GB.
  • Specialist facilities including flight and car simulators, wind tunnel, prototyping labs and workshops, CNC machines, robotics and VR labs.
  • Expert staff with excellent industry contacts.
  • Guest lectures from professionals.
  • Gain work experience on placement in industry.
  • Bike Sim Lab – research project developing mechanical and aerodynamic tools for bicycle training and simulators.
Two design students laughing together in studio

Year 1

You’ll be introduced to the fundamental elements of product design and engineering, building your skills in terms of making, thinking and evaluation. Later in the year you’ll be introduced to more complex design issues and skills, including digital prototyping and manufacture, inclusive design and human factors.

You’ll work on projects such as: designing and building water rockets and building an electrical system to measure light. Project work also includes engaging with a global community of design innovators Fixperts, working to find practical solutions to everyday challenges.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through .

Group of students working in the Product Design workshop

Year 2

Year 2 is your opportunity to develop products for a real market. You'll consider the commercial side of product development, including design for manufacture and assembly, costing and fulfilment, and learn how to prototype with a range of technologies.

You’ll engage with challenging global issues, connecting everyday practices to long-term consequences and becoming familiar with frameworks to help guide design decisions and ambitions.

You will also build on the fundamental engineering topics covered in your first year. Project work covers control systems, and includes: building a self-balancing robot, modelling dynamics of vehicles and a project that brings together heat transfer and thermal modelling with fluids and structures.

Product Design student showcasing final year project

Placement year

A placement year gives you the opportunity to gain professional experience either through external work placements with industry partners or working on live projects.

You can also choose to study abroad for the year with one of our partner universities instead of undertaking the professional placement.

Graduating award

If you undertake and pass your placement year, your experience will be reflected in the degree that you graduate with – Design Engineering with Professional Experience MEng.

Students working in the engineering lab

Year 3

Projects at the beginning of year 3 help you define your design engineering specialism by allowing you to focus on your professional ambitions. You’ll develop expertise through an advanced engineering project informed by research, such as working on the design and development of bike force pedal sensors for Team GB.

Later in the year you’ll undertake a project informed by an industry or research brief, integrating the Design Practice and Design Technologies modules, which will incorporate the values, principles, skills and experience you have gained into design outcomes that are well resolved and well communicated.

Three product design students working in workshop

Final year 

There is professional focus in the engineering management module — as part of a multidisciplinary team you will make a proposal for a new business venture.

You will also focus on a specialist area in an emerging field of technologies and work in teams to make a proposal for a new innovation in advanced design. You’ll take part in a major team project that is linked with a real-world industry or research brief for a client. Alongside this you will carry out independent study in an area of your choice.

Student using an advanced 3D printer

Staff profile 

Dr Derek Covill, course leader

I really enjoy empowering students with these tools, to show the impact they can have and how we can do amazing things with them. Also I enjoy working seeing students grow and develop. I try to work with students in ways that help them learn how to be resourceful, how to take on a professional mindset so that they can learn how to learn and develop, but also that this is an exciting, simulating and fun subject to be involved in.

 Find out

Derek Covill 2024 profile picture

Summer shows 2024

Every year our brilliant architecture, interior architecture, product design and design engineering students show their work at the Â鶹AV Summer Shows. The shows are finished for 2024, but you can still take a virtual wander and explore our students’ creative work.

Careers

Preparing for your career 

In your career you need a combination of knowledge, technical ability, communication skills and relevant experiences – and you’ll get all of this from your degree.

The design engineering degree course provides subject knowledge and expertise, opportunities to put what you learn into practice and work-related experience. You’ll also develop transferable personal skills in teamwork and project and time management skills that will be valued wherever your career takes you.

Working and collaborating with students from all years of your course, and with postgraduate and research students, is a big part of your learning experience.

Through your final year project you will demonstrate that you can design and take a product to market and show your work in the graduate show exhibition. Selected students will exhibit their work at the prestigious New Designers show in London.

Product design exhibitions

A stand at New Designers, the London show where graduating students display their work to design educators, professionals and consumers.

Facilities for learning 

On this Design Engineering degree you’ll have access to our specialist facilities for applied learning, including:

  • a Simulation Suite with flight and car simulators that use VR and motion platform technology
  • a wind tunnel
  • prototyping labs and workshops in our advanced engineering building
  • 3D printers and five-axis CNC machines
  • Robotics and VR labs
  • Immersive learning space.
Driving sim 360
Click to view a virtual tour of some of our facilities.

Industry/professional links 

We work closely with industry to make sure that you develop the skills and knowledge needed in the workplace.

  • Guest lectures from industry experts give you a feel for what it’s really like to be a design engineer.
  • You will showcase your individual project to potential employers at the final year project exhibition.
  • Â鶹AV technology company, Paxton, offers our engineering, computing, maths and product design students three scholarships a year worth £10,000 and a three-month paid placement.
Student working on a project

Graduate destinations 

Design engineers play a crucial role in various industries with a sought-after skill set that integrates creativity, technical expertise and problem-solving abilities. 

Design engineers are involved in the entire product development lifecycle, from concept and prototyping to testing and implementation. You can also excel as mechanical, electrical or aerospace engineers, contributing to the design and optimisation of complex systems and structures.

We have an excellent graduate employment record and your CV will be enhanced by Â鶹AV’s reputation in the industry.

Our students have gone from Â鶹AV into both local and internationally renowned companies including:

  • Apple
  • Dyson
  • Hallmark Cards
  • Jaguar
  • Mars
  • Lego
  • Ricardo UK Ltd.
Three people, one a wheelchair user, creating a drawing

The Enayball electronic drawing tool, designed by Â鶹AV graduates Eli Heath and Pete Barr, was one of 150 global projects highlighted at the 2021 Global Grad Show event in Dubai. Artist Alison Lapper MBE using Enayball with Eli and Pete.

Further study

This degree opens up opportunities for further study at postgraduate level.

Supporting your employability 

Beyond your course, our Careers and Employability team are here to support you as you discover (and rediscover) your strengths and what matters to you. We are here for you throughout your university journey as you work towards a fulfilling and rewarding career.

  • Find part-time work that you can combine with your studies.
  • Find, or be, a mentor or get involved with our peer-to-peer support scheme.
  • Develop your business ideas through our entrepreneurial support network.
  • Get professional advice and support with career planning, CV writing and interview top tips.
  • Meet potential employers at our careers fairs.
  • Find rewarding volunteering opportunities to help you discover more about what makes you tick and build your CV.

Whatever your career needs, we are here to help. And that’s not just while you are a student – our support carries on after you’ve graduated.

Find out about careers and employability at Â鶹AV.

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Fees and costs

Course fees

UK (full-time)* 9,535 GBP

International (full-time) 18,108 GBP

This course offers a professional placement (sandwich) year in year 3. If you choose to take this placement you will pay a reduced fee during this year. For students starting their undergraduate degree in the 2026–27 academic year, the fee for the professional placement year is £1,907 for all students. This fee may be subject to small increases in line with inflation.

Location and student life

Campus where this course is taught

Moulsecoomb campus

Two miles north of Â鶹AV seafront, Moulsecoomb is our largest campus and student village. Moulsecoomb has been transformed by a recent development of our estate. On campus you’ll find the Students’ Union events venue, and sports and fitness facilities, alongside the library and student centre.

Over 900 students live here in our Moulsecoomb Place halls and the new Mithras halls – Brunswick, Goldstone, Hanover, Preston and Regency.

Moulsecoomb has easy access to buses and trains so you can access all the exciting things happening in our home city.

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Accommodation

We guarantee an offer of a place in halls of residence to all eligible students. So if you apply for halls by the deadline you are guaranteed a room in our halls of residence. Almost all (98%) of students starting their course with us in 2025 got their first or second room choice. 

Â鶹AV: Moulsecoomb

Halls of residence

We have self-catered halls on all our campuses, within minutes of your classes, and other options that are very nearby.

You can apply for any of our halls, but the options closest to your study location are:

  • Mithras Halls are stylish high-rises in the heart of the student village at our Moulsecoomb campus with en suite rooms for more than 800 students.
  • Varley Park is a popular, dedicated halls site, offering a mix of rooms and bathroom options at different prices. It is around two miles from Moulsecoomb campus and four miles from the city centre, and is easy to get to by bus.

Want to live independently?

We can help – find out more about private renting.

Relaxing in halls

Modern accommodation at Moulsecoomb

Mithras halls room with a view

Relaxing in halls near the campus

Student Union social space

Student Union social space at Moulsecoomb

Local area

One of Time Out's 50 best cities in the world

“Â鶹AV has… all the important parts of a sprawling cosmopolitan metropolis (connections to London in under an hour, an array of properly excellent restaurants, energetic late-night spots) … with the easy-breezy beachy attitude to life that makes you feel welcome in an instant.”
Time Out’s 50 Best Cities in the World, 2025

About Â鶹AV

The city of Â鶹AV & Hove is a forward-thinking place which leads the way in the arts, technology, sustainability and creativity. You'll find living here plays a key role in your learning experience.

Â鶹AV is a leading centre for creative media technology, recently named the startup capital of the UK.

The city is home to a national 5G testbed and over 1,000 tech businesses. The digital sector is worth over £1bn a year to the local economy – as much as tourism.

All of our full-time undergraduate courses involve work-based learning - this could be through placements, live briefs and guest lectures. Many of these opportunities are provided by local businesses and organisations.

It's only 50 minutes by train from Â鶹AV to central London and there are daily direct trains to Bristol, Bedford, Cambridge, Gatwick Airport, Portsmouth and Southampton.

Map showing distance to London from Â鶹AV
Â鶹AV Beach sunset

Maps

Moulsecoomb campus map

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Support and wellbeing

Your course team

Your personal academic tutor, course leader and other tutors are all there to help you with your personal and academic progress. You’ll also have a student support and guidance tutor (SSGT) who can help with everything from homesickness to managing stress and accommodation issues.

Your academic skills

Our Â鶹AV Student Skills Hub gives you extra support and resources to develop the skills you’ll need for university study, whatever your level of experience so far.

Your mental health and wellbeing

As well as being supported to succeed, we want you to feel good too. You’ll be part of a community that builds you up, with lots of ways to connect with one another, as well as having access to dedicated experts if you need them. Find out more about how we support your wellbeing.

Sport at Â鶹AV

Sport Â鶹AV

Sport Â鶹AV brings together our sport and recreation services. As a Â鶹AV student you'll have use of sport and fitness facilities across all our campuses and there are opportunities to play for fun, fitness or take part in serious competition. 

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Sports scholarships

Our sports scholarship scheme is designed to help students develop their full sporting potential to train and compete at the highest level. We offer scholarships for elite athletes, elite disabled athletes and talented sports performers.

Find out more about sport scholarships.

Â鶹AV Cricket Academy

Develop your cricketing skills in the UK’s largest indoor cricket facility alongside studying for a degree. Whether you can already play or you’re new to the game offers the opportunity to train with top coaches in our world-class training environment. 

Find out about the Â鶹AV Cricket Academy.

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Take a tour of sport facilities on our Falmer campus

Stay in touch

Ask a question about this course

If you have a question about this course, our enquiries team will be happy to help.

Tel: 01273 644644

Statistics

Find out more about how the academic year and degree courses are organised and about learning and assessment activities you might get to grips with at Â鶹AV. More specific information about this course is detailed in the programme specification (linked below). You can find out also about the support we offer to help you adjust to university life.

Course and module descriptions on this page were accurate when first published and are the basis of the course. Detailed information on any changes we make to modules and learning and assessment activities will be sent to all students by email before registration so that you have all the information before you come to Â鶹AV.

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Course specification

Course specifications are the approved description of each course. They contain a breakdown of the content and structure of the course, learning outcomes and assessment. Course specs are updated following course changes.

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