MSc Mechanical Engineering Design

• Structural Integrity: After completing this unit you will have developed a professional competence and critical awareness of selecting appropriate methods for designing and analysing structural components. You'll be able to independently apply structural integrity theories for solving a range of engineering problems and have the ability to diagnose the causes of structural failure and propose methods of avoiding them in the future
• Materials Failure and Prevention: You will gain a deep understanding of common failures that occur in materials during a process and the ability to design against their occurrence. Additionally, you’ll learn skills to better predict the residual life of components in service.
• Group Project A: Gain professional management skills for working in a team to produce a solution to a technical problem. Develop the ability to determine basic personality characteristics in self and others, undertaking a rationale analysis of how personality characteristics affect group dynamics and understanding strategies for managing self and others when working in a team.
• Advanced Materials: By thoroughly teaching the properties of materials and performance at the nano level, this unit will educate students on the concept of self-healing in materials and how it can be used to extend the life of components in a design setting. Through lectures, case studies and workshops, students will gain the knowledge of advanced materials, their properties and their applications.
• Life Cycle Management: In reference to issues within the field of design, life cycle techniques are crucial for impacts on the environment, legislation and economy. You’ll develop the skills to apply these techniques to product designs and the application of a positive ethical professional conduct underpinning design practice.
• Research Methods: This unit will adequately prepare you for writing a project proposal and for conducting and disseminating the Individual Master's Project. You will use key research skills in areas such as literature reviews, critical analysis of research findings, project proposals, planning, experiment design and analysis, and dissemination.
• Individual Engineering Masters Project: Using real-life problems you will use your knowledge gained from the programme, research findings and industrial experiences to produce an independently conducted piece of work. Your project may be linked to your workplace or to research being undertaken within one of BU's research themes. This project will develop your knowledge of philosophy, methodologies and techniques of research provide you with an opportunity to critically investigate and report on a particular issue in depth and enable you to engage in complex issues and present an analytically rigorous and well-argued case.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry.

If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

The normal requirements for embarking upon this course are:

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in a required subject. If you want to apply for Chartered Engineer status (standard route), you will need to have an IEng accredited Honours degree or academic qualifications that have been approved at IEng level, to meet the Engineering Council's registration requirements.

If you lack the formal academic qualifications needed to enter a postgraduate or post-experience degree, there are several alternative routes to follow - some based on experience. Contact the Future Students Enquiry Team for more information.

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

• India: Bachelor’s degree (4 years) from a recognised HE institution with a minimum overall result of 55%
• Nigeria:  Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution with a minimum classification of 2:2
• Thailand:  Thai Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution with a minimum GPA of 2.5/4.0
• Turkey: Bachelor’s degree (Lisans Diplomasi - four years) with a minimum overall GPA of 2.3/4.0
• Vietnam:  Bachelor's degree/Bang tot nghiep dai hoc with an average score of 6.5/10, or a Master’s degree/Thac si.

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with minimum 5.5 in each component, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level. 

Applicants who wish to meet the Engineering Council registration requirements (standard route applicants) for the Masters programme Mechanical Engineering Design require a degree accredited to partial CEng level.

All applicants to the programme will be interviewed to determine if they are standard or non-standard route applicants. It will be ensured that non-standard route applicants will be made fully aware that they will not be entitled to use the MSc Mechanical Engineering Design qualification to meet the academic requirements for professional registration.

Once re-accredited the MSc Mechanical Engineering Design will meet in part, the exemplifying academic benchmark requirements for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Accredited MSc graduates who also have a BEng (Hons) accredited for CEng will be able to show that they have satisfied the educational base for CEng registration. 

It should be noted that graduates from an accredited MSc programme who do not also have an appropriately accredited Honours degree will not be regarded as having the exemplifying qualifications for professional registration as a Chartered Engineer with the Engineering Council; they will need to have their first qualification individually assessed through the Individual Case Procedure if they wish to progress to CEng.

The course is currently seking re-accreditation by the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer. 

For MSc Mechanical Engineering Design we are looking for applicants who:

• Have an interest in applying mathematical and computer-based models for solving problems in engineering design
• Wish to gain comprehensive knowledge and understanding of a wide range of materials, manufacturing processes and failure criteria
• Wish to become fully aware of the enterprise and business driven aspects of design
• Wish to gain the ability and confidence to apply their knowledge and skills to specific design problems individually or in a group
• Wish to communicate effectively with both those working in the field of design engineering and with the wider public.

It is generally accepted that professionals holding CEng status benefit from significantly improved careers prospects than their peers. Applicants may be recently qualified graduates or those who completed their degrees some time ago.

Please see our website for the application deadlines. You should apply as early as possible to be considered for your course of choice. If you require a student visa, apply for the visa as soon as you have an unconditional offer and receive your CAS. There may be delays in visa processing in your country and you need to be in Bournemouth ready to study for the start of term.

December and January is one of our busiest application periods and therefore it may take us a little longer to process incoming applications. For courses with a January start date, we recommend submitting your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to submit your application free of charge online through myHub, our application portal. You will create your own myHub account so that you can track the progress of your application. Don’t forget to save your application as you go; you can return to it at as many times as you want before you submit it. For more information visit our How to apply section.

Some of our Mechanical Engineering Design graduates are now undertaking roles such as:

• Chartered Engineer
• Mechanical Engineering Designer
• Project Manager.

• Mechanical engineering design
• Engineering
• Project management
• Business.

​If you want to continue your studies after achieving your Master’s, you can look at our range of doctoral programmes.

What's included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study.A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service.
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, intregrated social media and advanced video features.
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces.
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow.
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances.
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills.
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.
• Loan of lab coats and safety glasses.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of text books and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies.
• Accommodation and living costs. Please visit our website for more information.
• Travel costs, for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable).
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchases separately.
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. Placement year funding can be found on our website.
•  Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.
• SportsBU membership.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

If you need to repeat one or more units during the course of your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full time fee.

International (not Rep. of Ireland) students need to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure their place on a postgraduate course. For September 2024 and January 2025 entry, a £5,000 deposit is required. You will need to pay your deposit by the date stated in your offer letter. The remainder of your fee will be payable on registration/enrolment/ There are two exceptions to the non-refundable rule on the deposit.

• You fail to meet the academic or English requirements of your offer
• You are refused a visa to enter the UK, provided the reason for the refusal is not a fraudulent application.

We offer a range of scholarships and bursaries to eligible students who are beginning their studies at BU. Please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/funding for details on living costs, budgeting and paying your tuition fees.

Mehran has many years’ experience as a designer and has interests in design methods, manufacturing, material selection and applied technology. He is an active member of the Design Simulation Research Centre. He has been involved with PhD research supervision for many years.