general engineering

i want to do a general engineering course, but i don't know what universities do them apart from cambridge (and oxford but i can't apply for both) and durham.
some questions i have:
-what other uni's do general engineering courses?
-to anyone who's at durham, do you like the course there?
-which branch of engineering do you think is the most mathematical?

i'm sure i'll come up with millions more strange questions, but i'd appreciate any answers to these ones.
thanks! :smile:

Reply 1

db

17

Warwick have a General Engineering course too. Don't know much about it, though I've heard their dept isn't that great and that it's very business orientated.

Reply 2

Ads.

7

In answer to your last question, from my research electrical engineering is the most mathematical (particulalry with respect to pure maths), followed by aeronautical.

I'm sure others will give more comprehensive opinions.

Reply 3

~style

Also you could apply for biomedical engineering at Imperial, I know its mostly biomedical and all but you get to do almost eveything at Imperial, its a highly demanding course I hear.

You could atleast research it, I mean The Times does define it as General Engineering for some reason!

Reply 4

-Matt-

Other than Warwick as mentioned, there's also a general course at Strathclyde (supposedly the top for engineering in Scotland). There is also the 'Engineering Design' course at Bristol ( http://www.edes.bris.ac.uk/programme_overview.htm ) which seems kind of 'general'.

Reply 5

*titanium*

12

daydreaming

-which branch of engineering do you think is the most mathematical?

There is a course at Bristol a freind of mine applied to which is maths for engineering. Rather then all the practical stuff in a typical engineering course, as far as i am aware this one is purely theoreticle. Its all maths and stuff that other courses do not teach, such as that thing about modeling the probability of ranodm events what ever it is called. Almost bought a book about it.

Reply 6

shiny

12

daydreaming

-what other uni's do general engineering courses?

Southampton used to do something called "integrated engineering" or something like that. That might suit you.

daydreaming

-which branch of engineering do you think is the most mathematical?

It's hard to say. Most branches of engineering are based on a lot of mathematics but whether engineers actually do any maths on a day to day basis varies quite considerably.

Reply 7

CityMonkey

11

daydreaming

i want to do a general engineering course, but i don't know what universities do them apart from cambridge (and oxford but i can't apply for both) and durham.
some questions i have:
-what other uni's do general engineering courses?

With the ones said here, Southampton does one and thinking back to the hazy days of UCAS, I think Edinburgh has one too.

-to anyone who's at durham, do you like the course there?

I don't study at Durham, but I did study it at Cambridge and I found it boring, however a general engineering course can leave your employment prospects a bit more open. Personally I don't think it's worth the time sweating over other engineering subjects you'll have no interest in if you already know which area of engineering you want to do, but having said that engineering is more and more of a multi-disciplined area.

-which branch of engineering do you think is the most mathematical?

I would personally say aeronautical engineering, but electronic/communications engineering are probably just as mathematical, at advanced levels both these subjects include study of quantum mechanics, which of course is very very mathematical.

Reply 8

Arminius

14

*titanium*

There is a course at Bristol a freind of mine applied to which is maths for engineering. Rather then all the practical stuff in a typical engineering course, as far as i am aware this one is purely theoreticle. Its all maths and stuff that other courses do not teach, such as that thing about modeling the probability of ranodm events what ever it is called. Almost bought a book about it.

Yeh, there is a course called engineering mathematics, Looks as boring as hell imo.... but if you like maths with no application then i guess it could be for you. I can understand pure maths to an extent because its beautifull, like an art. But engineering maths is applied maths (i.e ugly), but you don't do any of the apllication... which i find odd. hey ho.

Engineering design at bristol on the other hand looks pretty cool, they do all the different types of engineering but you can choose to specialise in certain areas later on. I know soem first years that made hovercrafts in their first term, which is fun.

Reply 9

daydreaming

OP

1

thanks for all the replies, they're all really useful :biggrin:

i've had a look at the engineering mathematics course at bristol, but i feel that if i'm going to apply for that i may as well apply for maths. the reason i've chosen engineering over maths is because i like the applications of maths and the practical bits. however, i'm fairly good at maths which is why i asked about which branches are mathematical as i might find those interesting.
the main branches i'm interested in are civil or electrical, so any information on those would be great.
thanks again!

Reply 10

Arminius

14

Well if you want to know something specific about civil i can help you, but i'm not sure where to begin.

Reply 11

daydreaming

OP

1

Zebedee

Well if you want to know something specific about civil i can help you, but i'm not sure where to begin.

do you think civil would be enjoyable for someone mathematically minded?
apart from structures, what do you learn?
does it deal with design at all, or is that architecture?

:smile:

Reply 12

andyj72

2

if general engineering is like mechanical engineering you are best choosing that cos thats what it is to my knowledge.

Reply 13

daydreaming

OP

1

andyj72

if general engineering is like mechanical engineering you are best choosing that cos thats what it is to my knowledge.

that's my problem. most places do general-ish courses based on mechanical engineering. the only places that do the really general ones (the ones i want) are cambridge, oxford, durham and possibly warwick.

Reply 14

PurpleO

I'm in the same boat as the OP. Exeter seem to do a generalish course, in that its a broad first year and then you specialise but it doens't seem to go into much detail in some branches. Apart from the other places you mention, I can't find anywhere that does a truely general course.

Reply 15

Arminius

14

daydreaming

do you think civil would be enjoyable for someone mathematically minded?

Uh... a bit vaque for eme i'm afraid. The course involves a lot of maths. Its up to you whether that is a good thing or not. A non-mathematically minded engineer probably wouldn't last very long!

apart from structures, what do you learn?

Look up the course details at the various department websites. For starters,

Structures - forces in beams, bridge cables, piers, you name it.
Geotechnics - forces to do with groundwater and soil
Fluid Mechanics - forces to do with stationary and moving bodies of water.
Surveying - learn how to use a theodolite etc
Maths - uh, maths.
Bit of computing. etc
many more!

does it deal with design at all, or is that architecture?

Yes definiately, theres alot of time spent on design and the process of design. however the process is more of a problem solving exercise with room for creativity rather than in architecture its all about art and aesthetics rather than the main focus being to solve an engineering problem.

Reply 16

daydreaming

OP

1

thanks for the answers zebedee :smile:

Reply 17

Reverieuk

db

Warwick have a General Engineering course too. Don't know much about it, though I've heard their dept isn't that great and that it's very business orientated.

Sorry to revive such an old thread, but is this still true in today's world?

Reply 18

moosemanskate

they certainly do still do general engineering and i can speak with certain authority as i have applied for it this yr, been to an interview yesterday and got an offer!

they are extreeemely flexible in that the 1st 2 years u decided what optional module you want to do, which is 1/4 of your years marks worth. also they give u electives in ur 4th yr to choose from like robotics and sustainibility to seperate you from others.

as far as the dept goes, i was under the impression it was amazing till yesterday. i visited it for the 1st time yesterday and im thinking that its a bit sketchy! dont get me wrong, its still in the top 10 engineering unis on the country bt they seemed a bit out of touch. and when you ask questions to different staff, you get different answers for simple questions like are all applicants interviewed or just a chosen few!

also, i dont think engineering is too competitive down at warwick and if you meet the requirements you are probably gona get in even if ur not amazingly outstanding. i dont think they are gona bother lookin at the ucas form at all cos wen i wasinterviewed the guy hadnt seen my form and he told me he was gona give me an offer jst based on 15mins discussion!

sorry this post was a bit longer than anticipated but i hope it helps

general engineering

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