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BEng (Hons) Product Design Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year

Product Design Engineering is a practical, industry-focused degree that combines engineering, design, and manufacturing. It prepares you to create innovative, functional, and user-centred products using modern digital workflows and advanced manufacturing technologies.

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3D and resin printers in the Additive Manufacturing Lab
UCAS codeH801
Duration4 years
Fee (UK)£9,790
LocationOn campus

Course summary

This course is a practical, industry-focused degree that combines engineering, design, and manufacturing. It prepares you to create innovative, functional, and user-centred products using modern digital workflows and advanced manufacturing technologies.

The course covers the full product development lifecycle, from concept generation and visualisation through to detailed engineering design, prototyping, testing, and preparation for manufacture. Key areas of study include:

  • Computer Aided Design (CAD) and simulation
  • Materials and manufacturing processes
  • Sustainable design
  • Rapid prototyping
  • Design for mass production.

You'll develop both creative and technical skills by applying engineering principles to real-world design challenges. You'll also be equipped with the creativity, technical expertise, and industry insight needed to succeed in modern engineering careers.

Learning is hands-on and project-based. You'll get involved in workshop activities, collaborative design projects, and iterative prototyping that reflect professional practice. You'll benefit from access to our Centre of Excellence for Additive Manufacturing. This includes advanced 3D printers, 3D scanners, and industry-standard SolidWorks design and simulation software.

What makes us stand out is our strong industry links and supportive teaching environment. You'll learn in small groups from experienced academic staff, and the strong emphasis on practical skills means you'll graduate ready for employment.

We also encourage you to apply for an optional year-long industry placement. This will help you gain valuable professional experience and improve your employability. Guest speakers, industry engagement, and applied projects will further enrich your student experience.

After graduation, you can progress into careers such as:

  • Product design engineer
  • Design engineer
  • Manufacturing engineer
  • CAD specialist
  • Development engineer.

These can be across sectors including engineering, manufacturing, consumer products, automotive, and medical devices.

Integrated Foundation Year

This course is available with an Integrated Foundation Year, an extra year of your degree. This route offers a supportive way of transitioning into university study. It may be suitable for you if you:

  • Have valuable work or life experience but no formal qualifications
  • Are returning to education after a break
  • Want to change direction or explore a new career path
  • Have just missed the entry requirements for the three-year course.

We’re enhancing our Integrated Foundation Year to give you an even stronger start to your degree. The updated modules will align more with your chosen subject area. This will help you build the knowledge, confidence, and skills you need for your studies. We'll share full details soon and can't wait to tell you more.

Please note, this route isn’t available to international students.

What you'll study

Many of our courses include a range of modules you can choose from. Some options may only be available if you’ve already studied specific modules. If you’re not sure what you need before picking a module, your course leader can help.

How you'll learn

You’ll learn through a blend of practical and theory-based teaching. This reflects professional engineering practice. Teaching methods include lectures, seminars, studio and workshop sessions, and group-based project work. These sessions allow you to explore key engineering and design concepts while developing practical skills in a supportive, hands-on environment.

We offer small-group teaching where possible. This enables regular interaction with academic staff and your peers. One-to-one and group feedback sessions are part of the course and give you opportunities to discuss your progress, refine your ideas, and improve your technical and design skills. Collaborative projects encourage teamwork, problem-solving, and communication skills that are essential for industry.

Assessments vary and are designed to reflect the types of tasks you’ll encounter in professional practice. Assessment methods include design portfolios, practical project work, presentations, technical reports, and written coursework such as essays. Some modules also include time-constrained assessments.

If you choose the optional placement year, assessment is based on professional performance, reflective reports, and employer feedback. This lets you demonstrate your development in a real engineering environment.

Our balanced approach to teaching and assessment ensures you graduate with strong technical knowledge, practical experience, and the confidence to succeed in product design engineering careers.

Entry requirements

Fees and finance support

UK£9,790

Undergraduate fees are set according to rules from Government in line with forecast inflation. If you're a Home fee-paying student, the fee for your first year of study for 2026/27 will be £9,790. You'll pay tuition fees for every year of study. Fees may increase every year based on the Retail Price Index.

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See all course tuition fees.

Full-time UK/Irish/EU settled/EU pre-settled students may be eligible for financial support. This would cover your fees for the full four years. UK and EU settled students may also be eligible to receive a maintenance loan.

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UK students

Disclaimer

We want to make sure you have clear and accurate information about our courses. Our website always shows the latest updates. If you’ve applied and you're offered a place, we’ll contact you in writing if anything important changes.

For more information, view our programme specifications. These include course content, learning outcomes, and the skills you'll gain.