MEng Civil Engineering with Industrial Experience

This program is uniquely built around the transformative experience of a full year in industry, giving you an unparalleled advantage upon graduation. You'll first hone your practical skills using our world-class facilities, like the new Engineering Building A, which houses specialist structures and geotechnics labs, ensuring you are fully prepared to excel on your professional placement. This hands-on philosophy is embedded throughout your degree, from laboratory sessions and design projects using industry-standard software to the ultimate application of your knowledge during your paid industrial year.

Here’s how you will learn by doing:

• The Industrial Placement: The cornerstone of this degree is your third year, spent on a paid placement with a major company like Atkins, Arup, Jacobs, or Network Rail. You'll work on live projects, apply your academic knowledge, and develop crucial professional skills within a real-world engineering context.

• Industry-Standard Software: You'll gain proficiency in the essential tools used by professional engineers, including Tekla for Building Information Modelling (BIM), ANSYS for finite element analysis, and Plaxis for geotechnical design, making you immediately productive on your placement.

• The Manchester Project: In your final year, you'll undertake a major, complex group design project, applying all the technical and professional insight you gained during your industrial experience to a challenging, realistic engineering scenario.

• Specialist Laboratories: You will conduct hands-on experiments in our renowned Structures Laboratory, equipped with strong floors and modern loading frames, and the Geotechnics Laboratory, which includes a geotechnical centrifuge for advanced modelling.

• Field Trips: The curriculum includes relevant site visits to major UK infrastructure projects, providing crucial context for your studies and a deeper understanding of construction practices and ground engineering.

• Dedicated Support: The University's Placement Support Office provides dedicated help to secure your industrial experience, offering application reviews, interview practice, and access to an extensive database of placement opportunities with partner companies.

• Research-Led Facilities: Your studies are informed by the pioneering work of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Civil Engineering (MACE) and its research groups, giving you exposure to the latest challenges in future infrastructure and resilience.

Graduating from this program doesn't just make you a qualified engineer; it makes you an experienced professional, ready to hit the ground running from day one of your career. Your year in industry gives you a powerful advantage, providing real-world experience, a professional network, and a proven track record that is incredibly attractive to top employers. You'll be primed for leadership tracks and graduate schemes in consulting, construction, and design, ready to tackle global infrastructure challenges.

Here’s how this degree specifically accelerates your career:

• Dedicated Careers and Placement Support: You are supported by the university's Placement Support Office and the central Careers Service, which provide exclusive access to industry placement opportunities, specialised engineering career fairs, and one-to-one sessions to help you secure your graduate role with a proven CV.

• Enhanced Employment Prospects: The University reports that graduates with industrial experience are among the most sought-after. They often command higher starting salaries and are frequently fast-tracked into senior positions, with many receiving job offers directly from their placement company.

• Deep Industry Partnerships: Your placement year is facilitated by the department's strong, long-standing relationships with industry leaders like Atkins, Arup, Jacobs, Laing O'Rourke, and Network Rail. These are not just recruiters; they are partners that help shape the curriculum and provide real-world project briefs.

• Direct Path to Chartered Status: This MEng degree is accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM), fully satisfying the educational base for a Chartered Engineer (CEng). Your industrial experience will also count towards the necessary practical experience required for this prestigious professional qualification.

• Typical Graduate Roles: Our graduates move directly into high-impact roles such as Graduate Civil Engineer, Structural Design Engineer, Geotechnical Engineer, and Project Manager, with many securing positions at the very companies where they completed their industrial placement.

Further Academic Progression:
Your MEng with Industrial Experience provides an outstanding foundation for further study. The practical insights you gain often inspire a passion for a specialised field, which you can pursue through an EngD (Engineering Doctorate) or a PhD in areas like advanced structural materials or sustainable infrastructure, frequently right here at Manchester. The university also offers a range of MSc programmes for additional specialisation. Furthermore, the commercial awareness gained on your placement provides excellent grounding for a future MBA, should you wish to progress into executive management.