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Product Design Engineering BSc

Course code

BSc: W2H1

BSc: W2HP with placement

Start date

September

Placement available

Mode of study

3 years full-time

4 years full-time with placement

Fees

2024/25

UK £9,250

International £23,615

Entry requirements

2024/25

AAA - ABB (A-level)

DDM (BTEC)

31 (IB)

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Overview

Design at Brunel is ranked 8th in the UK by QS World University Rankings by subject 2022. Our graduates are high earners - The Guardian University Guide 2024 ranks Brunel design graduates top in the UK for earnings after 15 months, while government figures also show Brunel design graduates rank no.1 for graduate earnings in the UK.*

Design at Brunel is all about realising fantastic ideas in the real world. Our Product Design Engineering BSc degree is for creative thinkers who are also comfortable with logical reasoning and who enjoy deeper analysis of functional and technical design challenges, principally focused on industrially-manufactured products. The course spans design and engineering, meaning you can develop products and systems with good form and function. 

There is a lot of project-based learning to test your skills and you’ll see the outcome of your design from concept to making the actual product. This means you’ll be able to build a great portfolio of your best-quality projects, academic and industry briefs, and case studies, during your studies.

You’ll have workshop training and will use industry-standard equipment and software to develop quality hands-on skills to become a maker. You'll have access to modern facilities that include dedicated design studios, digital sketching, extensive prototyping workshops, and electronics and digital fabrication labs. The practical knowledge you gain is transferable to industry and provides a head start for your future career as a designer and design engineer in the modern world.

Watch this video to find out more about the course.

Our design course can be studied 3 years full-time or 4 years full-time with placement, starting in September. The placement year helps you to prepare for the world of work and you’ll have a year’s worth of invaluable professional experience when you graduate. Our students have worked in both small innovation start-ups and multinational organisations such as Dyson, Jaguar Land Rover, Philips, Procter & Gamble, and Reckitt Benckiser. This short video features a student on placement as a toy inventor.

Our students have the opportunity to study abroad. You could spend a term or a year in one of our partner universities via our exchange programme: Politecnico di Milano in Italy; Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, San Francisco State University in the USA and Institut Superieur de Design, ISD Bubika in France. New exchange opportunities are being developed with India, Canada and China.

Made in Brunel is a unique, student-led initiative that showcases our design talent at its finest. Each year our students run a series of industry and community events leading up to the Made in Brunel exhibition. This annual showcase is a highlight of the London design calendar and promotes the incredible work our students produce to the creative community, and is a great way for our students to network with design professionals and potential employers.

If you are interested in turning a product or technology idea into a business after you graduate, we are in partnership with the Central Research Laboratory (CRL), a design incubator for start-ups. You’ll have access to meeting rooms and workspace as well as prototyping facilities. A team of in-house professionals will guide and support you at each stage and a number of our previous entrepreneurial students have successfully commercialised their products.

The BSc Product Design Engineering course option is fully accredited and recognised by the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED), the premier professional body representing engineering and product designers.

* Longitudinal Employment Outcomes (LEO) 2022

You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.

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Course content

The first two years contain a balanced blend of creative and technical subjects and mechanics and electronics are taught at a theoretical level. In your final year, you move on to more specialised areas and you’ll become familiar with computer aided design, engineering and manufacturing software, applying these methods and tools to design practice. Your major project is likely to include a functional prototype incorporating mechanics and/or electronics. The MDes year features further specialisation and research-led design.

This course can be studied 3 years full-time or 4 years full-time with placement, starting in September.

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

This course has a placement option. Find out more about work placements available.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

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Careers and your future

To help you prepare for the world of work, we’ll encourage you to take the placement option, incorporating a year spent in industry. This means you’ll have a year’s worth of invaluable professional experience and networks when you graduate. Our students have worked on placement for both small innovation start-ups and multinational organisations.

Graduates of Brunel Design School have gone on to work for well-known companies, including Disney, Dyson, JCB, Jaguar Land Rover, Philips and Cambridge Consultants. 

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UK entry requirements

2024/25 entry

  • GCE A Level AAA-ABB, including Maths or Physics (General Studies not accepted).
  • BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma DDM in Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering with Distinction in Further Maths or Further Mechanical Principles modules.
  • BTEC Level 3 Diploma DD in any subject and an A Level at grade B in Maths or Physics.
  • BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma D in any subject with A Levels grade BB including A level Maths or Physics.
  • International Baccalaureate Diploma 31 points, including 5 in Higher level Maths or Physics.
  • Obtain a minimum of 128 UCAS tariff points in the Access to HE Diploma in Engineering with 45 credits at Level 3. All Maths units must be passed with Distinctions at level 3.
  • T levels : Merit overall

Five GCSEs at grade C or grade 4 and above are also required, to include Maths and English Language.

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants as well as our full GCSE requirements and accepted equivalencies in place of GCSEs.

All applicants are required to attend an interview including a portfolio review as part of the selection process before a formal offer is made.

Brunel University London is committed to raising the aspirations of our applicants and students. We will fully review your UCAS application and, where we’re able to offer a place, this will be personalised to you based on your application and education journey.

*Progression to the MDes year will be following the successful completion of 3rd year and based on the current university entry requirement of a 2:2

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EU and International entry requirements

If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.

You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.

Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.

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Fees and funding

2024/25 entry

UK

£9,250 full-time

£1,385 placement year

International

£23,615 full-time

£1,385 placement year

Fees quoted are per year and may be subject to an annual increase. Home undergraduate student fees are regulated and are currently capped at £9,250 per year; any changes will be subject to changes in government policy. International fees will increase annually, by no more than 5% or RPI (Retail Price Index), whichever is the greater.

More information on any additional course-related costs.

See our fees and funding page for full details of undergraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.

Please refer to the scholarships pages to view discounts available to eligible EU undergraduate applicants.

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Teaching and Learning

How the course will be delivered

Required Equipment

How you'll learn on your course

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Assessment and feedback

Your progress will be assessed via assignments, coursework, presentations, individual and group design projects, lab reports and case studies, exams, and the final year major design project.

Marked work and feedback will be returned to students within three weeks of submission.

Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.

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