Core modules
We offer flexible degree programmes that enable you to experience a range of different engineering disciplines before you decide to specialise.
All first year students study a general engineering programme, which is much favoured by industry. In the second year, you will continue to study the same core modules as all other students until the end of term one. You can then specialise, or continue on the general Engineering pathway.
If you specialise in Systems Engineering, you will develop the tools required to model problems across different areas, synthesising their knowledge and highlighting analogies.
You can also switch from the three-year BEng to the four-year MEng if academic requirements and regulations are met. Alternatively, you can switch from the MEng to the BEng if you prefer to graduate earlier.
Year One
Introduction to Engineering: Professionalism and Practice
What does it mean to be an engineer? Whether you have already decided to pursue a particular discipline, or are still wondering which engineering avenue to take, completion of this module will see you better informed on your direction of study, and equipped with essential tools for studying engineering, such as good communication skills, professionalism and ethical integrity. With a practical focus on demonstrating your skills, you will have time to prepare for internships, future employment and induction to the community of engineers, which embraces those working in academic, industrial and commercial environments.
Dynamics and Thermodynamics
You will gain a thorough understanding of the fundamental concepts of thermodynamics and the dynamics of mechanical systems. You will study the motion of an object and its causes in one and two dimensions and learn to solve a range of problems using appropriate coordinate systems. You will learn how to use quantities such as impulse, momentum, work and energy conservation to solve problems in dynamics. You will develop an understanding of engineering thermodynamics, considering the properties of working fluids and mechanisms of heat transfer. You will develop and apply an understanding of the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics, and learn to make appropriate assumptions to model real-life engineering situations, including engine cycles.
Electrical and Electronic Circuits
You will gain a secure foundation in the fundamental concepts of circuits, devices and systems that underpin all branches of engineering. This will include study of the mathematical operations of AC quantities, including phasors, vectors and complex numbers. You will study the electronic components that comprise complex electrical and electronic circuitry, and control systems theory. You will be encouraged to develop your problem-solving and modelling skills to prepare you for more advanced material in later years.
Engineering Design
Design is a major activity within all branches of engineering. This module aims to introduce students to the complexities of the design task and equip them with some of the techniques and experience required to design for a function and manufacturing/construction process within their discipline. You will learn the ability to generate innovative designs and solutions to problems, to design for a particular manufacturing process, to collaborate effectively across teams and deliver compelling presentations of designs.
Engineering Mathematics
Through the practical problem-solving tasks provided in this module, you will gain the skills needed to apply the fundamental mathematical concepts that underpin all engineering disciplines, and prepare yourself for more advanced study. You will apply mathematical, probabilistic and statistical tools and techniques to real-life engineering problems, make appropriate, informed assumptions and examine models using analytical, statistical and numerical techniques.
Introduction to Engineering Business Management
Most professional engineers apply their skills in a business organisation, and so are required to appreciate the industrial and commercial environment in which they operate. You will use a systems approach to understand and work within the economic constraints affecting performance across a range and variety of businesses. By studying key aspects of business management including strategic marketing, accounting and costing, and product lifecycle you will develop your communication skills using different media, and gain the business acumen required to work in a competitive environment.
Materials for Engineering
As an Engineer, you will be required to evaluate and select appropriate materials and manufacturing processes, whilst taking due account of performance, cost and sustainability. During this module you will learn to distinguish the main classes of materials, explain how their structure affects their properties, and describe how their structure can be manipulated to enhance those properties. You will make decisions on the appropriateness of materials for a particular design and justify your choices, as well as being able to evaluate their environmental impact.
Statics and Structures
Statics and the behaviour of structures underpin civil engineering and many other branches of engineering science. You will acquire the knowledge required for further study in the design and analysis of structures, from buildings to infrastructures, and motor vehicles to wind turbines. There is a focus on increasing your competence in mathematical analysis and applying this to solve real-life problems in structures. You will develop practical knowledge of experimental work and the ability to observe and record hands-on experiments, including raising your awareness of health and safety issues in the laboratory.
Systems Modelling, Simulation and Computation
Systems modelling is an essential skill that underpins all engineering disciplines, allowing complex engineering problems to be approximated using mathematical models. Systems modelling provides necessary information to make decisions in the design and development of engineering solutions or to investigate systems that are too costly, difficult or unethical to investigate physically. This module focuses on the design and programming of models from first principles by the application of mathematical techniques and avoidance of modelling errors. You will learn how to: represent multi-domain systems graphically, derive models from data, construct a simulation model to predict system responses, and consider design principles that ensure robust model development (covering verification and validation techniques).
Year Two
- Dynamics and Fluid Mechanics
- Electromechanical System Design
- Engineering Mathematics and Data Analytics
- Technical Operations Management
- Analogue Electronic Design
- Systems and Software Engineering Principles
Year Three
- Automation and Robotics
- Dynamics of Vibrating Systems
- Intelligent System Design
- Advanced Systems and Software Engineering
- Signal Processing
- Systems Modelling and Control
- Individual Project
Year Four
Mathematical and Computer Modelling
This module will provide the necessary theoretical background to the basic and advanced modelling techniques and computational methods used in engineering. By the end of the course, you will have had experience of building, designing or selecting mathematical models for a range of applications and be able to make an informed selection of suitable computational methods and software systems for industrial tasks. You will also learn to implement, evaluate and use key computational methods in a Matlab environment.
Group project
MEng students participate in a large group project worth 25% of the year, which simulates the multidisciplinary working practices you will experience in your career. Students from all specialist courses work together on these projects allowing you to develop more advanced skills for the workplace and form new friendships and professional networks.
Popular projects include the IMechE Formula Student racing car competition, Warwick University satellite project (WUSAT), Severn Trent reservoir design, ICE shaping the world infrastructure design for poor communities, building search-and-rescue robots with Warwick Mobile Robotics, or creating a human-powered submarine.
The MEng final-year multidisciplinary group project is unique to the four-year degree and is not something that you would normally find as part of a one year standalone Master’s.
Optional modules
Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:
- Technology in International Development
- Motor Vehicle Technology
- Advanced Robotics
- Automobile Systems, Dynamics and Control
- Computer Architecture and Systems
- Biomedical Systems Modelling
- Affective Computing
- Modern Foreign Language module
