Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering (Optional Placement)

at University of Plymouth United Kingdom

 With full fee sponsorship for Year 2 and two years Band 7 NHS employment upon completion of the Physician Associate National exam on offer, this full-time 2 year course is ideal for life sciences graduates wanting the opportunity to train for a new healthcare role, or for healthcare practitioners who would like to develop and expand their skills and scope of practice.

As a Physician Associate you’ll work in the NHS under the supervision of doctors and alongside healthcare professionals, delivering care to patients. You’ll be equipped for a career that’ll be both rewarding and challenging.

Key features

• 100% graduate pass rate at National Certification Examination
• Experience an integrated curriculum designed to prepare you for clinical practice
• Sharpen your skills on this intensive programme which uses multiple forms of teaching and learning methods to support your personal and professional development
• Benefit from early patient contact from the first weeks, continuing and increasing throughout the programme, ensuring that your personal, practical and professional development is patient-centred
• Clinical placements with key NHS partners across the South West
• Access highly-developed teaching resources
• Learn and practice clinical skills in our advanced and dedicated clinical skills centre, including using high-fidelity simulation
• Advance your understanding with fully integrated clinical skill development and clinical placements throughout the programme
• Spend time learning with medical students and other allied healthcare professions
• Join one of England’s top four medical schools and make a difference to patient care

Are you a future tourism and hospitality industry leader? With a strong managerial focus, this programme will furnish you with a combination of tourism and hospitality theory, operational skills and practical methods of analysis. Take the opportunity to study the related areas of tourism and hospitality within a single programme to ensure you have the tools to become a confident and high executive-level manager in the international tourism and hospitality sector.

Key Features

Take your skills to the next level with MA Game Design. Refine 3D modelling, 2D art and animation skills, level design and gameplay coding. Games industry experts will guide you through aspects of game design and development, game theory, and industrial contexts. You will develop your portfolio, and in the final module, work as a team to produce and ship a fully-fledged game

MA Game Design provides an explorative insight into creating videogames. Not only will students hone the craft of developing their own videogames, but also learn more about the dynamic medium itself. Combining practice and theory to result in a balanced approach to foster imaginative and creative experiences.

Key Features

Are you fascinated by technology and design? Primarily problem solvers, mechanical engineers design, create and use tools and methods in every industry from atomic physics to space exploration. They play a vital role in tackling problems that affect us all such as energy security; efficient manufacturing and smart cities. Our engineering students are taught by enthusiastic staff with strong industry links who use laboratory sessions and physical demonstrations to reinforce academic learning.

Our accredited BEng Mechanical Engineering is designed to start your journey to becoming a qualified professional mechanical engineer. Our engineering programmes rely strongly on practical work and you will develop your design skills throughout the programme. We offer the opportunity to undertake a paid placement year to help consolidate and develop your engineering knowledge and many students receive job offers as a result of their time in industry.

Key Features

• Open the door to a successful future. With starting salaries from £23,000, our graduates have gone on to work for Hoare Lea, Babcock Marine, Becton Dickinson, e2v, Edwards, the Shaw Group and the Ministry of Defence.
• Distinguish yourself professionally with a degree accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). The course has been designed to fully satisfy the educational base for an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) and partially satisfy the educational base for a Chartered Engineer (CEng). A programme of accredited Further Learning will be required to complete the educational base for CEng.
• Choose specialist modules in control systems engineering or thermo-fluid mechanics, and learn from engineering failures.
• Benefit from an optional 48 week paid work placement. Employment may lead to sponsorship and future employment opportunities.
• Engage in experimental work in excellent laboratories and workshops.
• Take advantage of a flexible course. The first two years are common with BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering with Composites and the first year is common with BEng (Hons) Marine Technology, allowing you to swap courses.
• Progress onto the MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering at the end of the second year if you are doing well on the BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering.

Geography explores the relationships between people, places and the environment. Our Geography with Ocean Science course allows you to focus on the physical side of this and also spend time studying ocean science. Plymouth is the ideal setting for this, giving you hands-on experience of the physical geography of a dynamic estuary and coast within walking distance of campus.

Our geography degrees make the most of geography’s strengths in tackling head on the biggest global challenges we face. Modules have been designed to address many of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals – developed by the UN as the 'blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all' – all of our degrees are fully accredited by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG).

Key Features

• Our newly designed Geography curriculum places sustainability challenges at the centre, with modules designed to help address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
• Choose from an exciting range of physical geography and ocean science modules. Establish a sound knowledge base across all areas of ocean science, with options to study physical oceanography and meteorology, biological and chemical oceanography, and coastal oceanography.
• Our supportive staff are expert researchers and many are world leaders in their field.
• Teaching is innovative and student-centred. You will learn through lectures, seminars, practicals, national and international residential fieldwork, tutorials and one-to-one dissertation support.
• Learn to use Geographical Information Systems to analyse and communicate complex spatial data.
• Take advantage of a wide range of study abroad possibilities in Europe, North America and Australia.
• Experience a valuable work placement programme, opening up a range of career opportunities such as consultancy, policy development and management, teaching, planning and conservation.
• LABplus is a unique open access laboratory and resource centre designed for students studying science and engineering courses. The lab provides a flexible workspace, computing facilities, specialist software, access to microscopes, microscope cameras and bespoke resources.  
• Benefit from our unique location, in the heart of the historical city of Plymouth, bordered by Dartmoor National Park as well as the Tamar Valley and South Hams Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Devon and Cornwall have glorious beaches, coasts, rivers and estuaries.

Bring your creativity to the world of computer games. Learn 3D modelling, 2D art and animation, level design and gameplay coding. Games industry experts will guide you through all aspects of game design and development, building a full understanding of the game creation process and allowing you to specialise in the areas you find most engaging.

Key Features

• Learn 3D modelling with industry-standard software like Maya, Blender, ZBrush and Substance Painter.
• Hone your 2D art and animation skills, using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Animate and After Effects.
• Create epic level designs in Unity and Unreal Engine.
• Develop your coding skills with C# and Blueprints.
• Taught by industry experts, with a focus on preparing you for a career in the games industry.
• Amazing national and international field trips to gaming expos and festivals, such as meeting professionals from top games studios at EGX Rezzed in London and exploring immersive gameplay Amsterdam.
• Explore sound design, narrative and game design theory, and study the psychology of games and gamification.
• Access to the latest hardware, including high-spec gaming PCs and VR headsets.
• Get a head-start in the industry with an optional placement year (for example, one of our students has secured a placement at Criterion Games).
• Get ready for a career as a game artist, 3D modeler, game designer, level designer or gameplay coder, joining Plymouth graduates who have gone on to work at the world's top games companies including Electronic Arts, Frontier Developments and Bossa Studios.
• We annually review the skills, software and hardware we teach, to ensure the course is always up to date.
• Our dedicated lab space is open until 10pm, other amazing facilities, include our 35-seat, 360° immersive vision theatre, VR kits, graphics tablets, game controllers, 3D printers and even an extensive collection of boardgames.
• Teaching and learning are practical and project-based - sometimes working individually, and sometimes in teams.
• Your assessments are 100 per cent coursework – no exams.
• No prior knowledge requirements – we teach everything from the ground up (but if you do already have art and coding skills, we can’t wait to see how much further you can take them with our help!).

Are you ready to make the difference? Discover the formula to teaching mathematics with our expert staff and world leading researchers. You’ll gain a solid foundation in mathematical and statistical modules, while the final year combines educational theory and school experience. Time spent in the classroom will give you the skills, knowledge and confidence to progress to a teacher training course such as a PGCE, or move into one of many careers where high-level mathematical skills are essential.

Key Features

• Gain classroom experience in a placement module, supporting mathematics teaching in a secondary or primary school for one morning a week throughout your final year. This will help you become an effective communicator.
• Dr Jenny Sharp who leads the Education modules has worked with schools in many different capacities, and is regularly invited to run workshops and masterclasses all around the country, including at the Royal Institution, other universities and in schools.
• An in-depth individual project gives you an introduction to mathematical educational theory, an ideal preparation for teacher training courses.
• Help others and gain hands on expertise by taking part in our Mathematics Enrichment Programme activities. You can gradually develop a workshop for a Mathematics masterclass.
• Gain high level understanding of modern pure and applied mathematics, and statistics; this knowledge base opens up many mathematical careers to you.

Digital Media Design will teach you high level industry production skills including coding, 3D modelling, UI/UX (user interface and user experience) design, creative practice and design skills. You’ll get a chance to make games, websites, apps, interactive and virtual reality experiences. At the cutting edge of art and design for 28 years the Institute of Digital Art and Technology has graduates across in digital creative industries worldwide – including Apple, Nintendo, Spotify and Sony.

Key Features

• Stay one step ahead with a programme designed in close collaboration with industry leaders to ensure technologies, skills and techniques are bang up to date.
• Access all areas – keep working into the evening in our dedicated lab space open until 10.00pm, and take advantage of our other amazing facilities, including a 35 seat, 360° immersive vision theatre.
• Your assessments are 100% coursework – no exams!
• Be inspired by lecturers who are experts in their field, with backgrounds in both industry and research. The exciting work going on in our research groups, i-DAT and Transtech, feeds back into the teaching on this course.
• Get ready for work - take the optional Placement Year (after your second year) and secure a paid placement in industry. You’ll gain invaluable professional experience.
• Our graduates have gone on to work in some of the biggest tech, design and games companies worldwide including: Electronic Arts, IBM, Yahoo and Reddit!
• Broaden your horizons with great enrichment activities including overseas field trips in Amsterdam, Berlin and Barcelona to attend conferences and visit galleries.
• Professional networking is vital within the creative industries – we embed our students within local, national and international networks, conferences and festivals such as Digital Plymouth, Art Futura, CodeMotion and Transmediale
• Get exclusive insights with talks from guest speakers from the creative arts and technology industries.

Do you want to understand how a computer really works? You'll gain technical skills in computational theory, software development on a variety of devices and platforms, database development, computer hardware and networking. In addition to the technical content, you'll acquire an awareness of social, legal and ethical aspects of the IT industry.

This degree has a strong emphasis on practical skills which are extremely useful in the workplace. This provides an opportunity to accelerate your career. An optional, but strongly recommended, placement year is an opportunity to gain industrial experience and enhance your CV. Recent placement providers for our students include: the BBC, the Met Office, Microsoft, the National Physical Laboratory and Nestlé.

Have you Considered

• BSc (Hons) Computing and Software Development
• BSc (Hons) Cyber Security
• BSc (Hons) Games Development Technologies

Key Features

• We have strong connections with industry, including links with Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Cisco, Intel, Apple, Nvidia and many more. We are a member of Microsoft Imagine (formerly DreamSpark) which enable our students to acquire free software to support their studies.
• Distinguish yourself with a degree that’s accredited by and entitles membership of the BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT (Subject to approval). You may also gain registration as a Chartered IT Professional (CITP) and will partially meet the educational requirements for Chartered Engineering (CEng) registration.
• Be inspired by the creativity that our practical, hands-on course nurtures. Our ‘learning through doing’ ethos means you’ll quickly achieve expertise.
• Learn from dedicated teaching staff, who are engaged in internationally significant research, are actively creating and developing applications, and have a wealth of industry contacts.
• Lay strong foundations for a successful career, using our extensive industry links to secure a one-year work placement – giving you the vital industry experience and connections you’ll need when you graduate.
• Discover the many collaboration opportunities, which mirror the teamwork at the heart of the industry. In the second year, you’ll work in a team of developers on our integrating project, to create a complete system from concept to delivery – honing your professional and communication skills.
• Immerse yourself in our modern and well equipped labs, which run industry standard developer tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio, NetBeans, Android Studio, Apple X-Code (Apple labs only) and much more. The labs are regularly updated and refurbished and they all have free, unlimited and very fast Internet access.
• Benefit from our focused and relevant research, we work closely with our Big Data Group and our Centre for Robotics and Neural Systems, which conducts leading research reputation in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, big data and robotics.  You will be offered practical and theoretical modules ranging from Machine Learning, computational theory and AI through to computer vision and parallel computing. You will have access to current AI and robotics platforms for final year projects on topics such as deep learning, cognitive robotics and big data.
• Ensure you have the business, communication and personal skills employers are looking for, with our teaching programme that reflects the strong entrepreneurial spirit driving the computer industry.

Education is a driving force for a better and more just world. BA (Hons) Education informs, supports and promotes those looking to become innovators, pioneers and leaders of societal change. Educators can have a lasting impact on people’s lives. Whether you want to become a teacher, work in the social or care industries, as an educator in business, the environment or community development, BA (Hons) Education offers a flexible path to challenging and rewarding careers.

Explore social and political issues, consider diversity in education and discover how the environment shapes learning. This degree will help you make a difference to adults' and children's wellbeing and our global future.

Key Features

• We are about exploration: we love Plymouth but we also love to explore. Within the course there is the opportunity to broaden your understanding of Education in different environments and cultures: residential trips; an option to study for the second semester in the USA; work based learning placements, and more.
• Learning and working with others: students are given space and tools to develop your individual voice, critical insight, and knowledge over a wide range of the education field. We encourage you to engage with different views and ideas about what a meaningful, inclusive and socially just form of education is.
• Enriched student experience: there are many additional opportunities to nourish a thriving student experience, such as benefitting from visiting speakers; wide ranging free public lectures/performances; Makaton training; teaching English as a second language fully certified course; and a range of volunteering experiences and placements in schools and the community.
• Developing confidence and critical thinking: we encourage and foster students’ knowledge and understanding of yourself and others, to develop confidence and conviction in personal opinions and beliefs and to have these challenged, as well as to build the courage to step outside of your comfort zones and to embrace new things.
• Becoming a researcher: students arrive imagining they might enter teaching, or social work, etc, at the end. Often, however, as you develop as an academic researcher, it opens up new opportunities and you catch the research bug! Doing research also helps to build confidence and skills which are useful for many work disciplines in the years ahead.
• Individual journeys and development: one of the things we particularly prize is the way we work to nurture, challenge and encourage personal growth and development. The course has the journey of 'you' at its heart: the person you wish to be, providing you with the enthusiasm and knowledge you need change the world around us.
• Early Childhood options: You can dip your toe into another program; as well as the BA (Hons) Education course, you will have the opportunity in your second year to take one or two modules in Early Childhood Studies.
• Other learning opportunities: Take advantage of paid or unpaid work-based learning module/s to help you stand out when it comes to starting your career. You can also participate in education-related volunteering, or pursue the opportunities presented in our International Students Exchange Programme.