Accreditations to Look for When Applying for Engineering Degrees
Engineering is an incredibly broad field and although many universities offer a general Engineering course, it’s worth thinking about your future career plans and considering studying a more specialised course.
For example, you could study:
- Aeronautical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
Subjects such as Architecture and Computer Science also often come under the “engineering” bracket and are often taken alongside Engineering as a joint degree.
There are huge range of specialisations available to Engineering students and an even greater range of career options after graduation. You could work in a variety of fields including robotics, medical technology, aeronautics, and intelligent building design.
Most Engineering degrees give students the opportunity to spend time working in the industry, some offer a placement year, so you’ll leave with work experience already under your belt.
Many Engineering graduates also go on to further study, a Master’s or a PhD, and in some cases this is a requirement for certain roles and higher salaries.
If you choose to study a more general Engineering course you’ll look at everything from electronics to infrastructure projects and gain many highly transferrable skills that will make you stand out to future employers.
Here’s more about studying Engineering and accreditations to look for when applying for Engineering degrees:
Where can I study Engineering?
Many universities across the UK offer some form of Engineering course, so you have plenty of options. Consider carefully the type of engineering you want to study and your future career plans to help narrow down your choices.
Here are some of the best places to study general Engineering in the UK:
- Cambridge
- Durham
- Dundee
- Imperial College London
- Oxford
- Southampton
- Warwick
- Swansea
- Lancaster
- Exeter
- Surrey
- Nottingham Trent
- Brunel University London
- Strathclyde
- Nottingham
Can I study an accredited Engineering degree?
Yes, and if you’re planning on using your degree to become a practising engineer after graduation, you may need to have done.
For example, if you wish to have Chartered Engineer (CEng) or Incorporated Engineer (IEng) status then you’ll need to have gained your degree from an accredited course/university.
Who awards the accreditation for Engineering degrees?
There are a number of professional engineering institutions that are licensed by the Engineering Council to accredit academic programmes for Chartered and Incorporated Engineer status.
The professional engineering institutions join to form the Engineering Accreditation Board (EAB).
Engineering employers, as well as academics, work together to decide whether to award an academic programme accreditation. They also set the standards and review the degrees to ensure that these standards are maintained.
Why should I study an accredited Engineering degree?
“The aim of EAB is to encourage consistent accreditation processes and practices as well as to provide a single point of contact to facilitate joint accreditation visits, where appropriate, for member PEIs. EAB also seeks to disseminate good practice in accreditation.”
This means that by studying an accredited degree you can be sure of a certain standard of teaching and education from the university.
As we said above, you’ll also need to have studied an accredited degree if you want to become a Chartered or Incorporated Engineer.
Here’s more about the roles:
Chartered Engineer
Chartered Engineers (CEng) develop solutions to engineering problems using new or existing technologies, through innovation, creativity and change and/or they may have technical accountability for complex systems with significant levels of risk.
Incorporated Engineer
Incorporated Engineers (IEng) maintain and manage applications of current and developing technology, and may undertake engineering design, development, manufacture, construction and operation.
For both positions you’ll need to demonstrate significant professional competence and commitment. In some cases you might be able to become IEng or CEng without an accredited degree, but the process is more involved.
If you want to become IEng or CEng then studying an accredited degree is certainly the easiest and simpler career path.
Where can I find a list of accredited degree courses?
The Engineering Council has a search engine you can use to find a list of accredited Engineering degree courses.
You can search the Engineering Council database here.
If there is a particular degree course you’re interested in that doesn’t appear on the Engineering Council list, contact the university directly to confirm their accredited status.
