Civil Engineering Uni decision HELP

I'm looking at Civil Engineering courses starting this Sep '18 through an access course(Mature Student of 26) and I'm really struggling to decide what would be my best options.

Certain Uni's wouldn't accept me from this course, I realise my chosen places may not be the best ranked but any opinions on what I do have on offer would be much appreciated.

I have offers from;

South Bank and UeL for a Beng 3/4 year course.
Anglia Ruskin for a Msc 3/4 course.
Newcastle starting with a foundation year.
All Civil Engineering.

I don't have many contacts in the academic world so I'm a total outsider regarding everything but from what I have researched Newcastle is the much better ranked Uni but it would mean another year in education, meaning another years worth of debt, year further from starting my career. Is this worth it compared to going to one of the much lower ranked Uni's where I would be able to complete the same course but a year sooner?
Anglia Ruskin only offered me an Bsc with potential to move to the Beng dependent on 1st year results(60% and over I believe). Is this something which could cause me problems in the future regarding jobs? Is it a lesser degree as such or just slightly different modules?

Also what is the general opinion on degrees from these particular Universities? Any opinions are welcomed!

Reply 1

Doones

Original post by sambo8

I think the Newcastle option is best. The money factor isn't really an issue, the higher debt doesn't increase your monthly repayments (just the time it might take to pay it off). And it's all written off if necessary anyway.

But have you visited your choices?

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Reply 2

sambo8

I suppose another year of fees isn’t a problem in the grand scheme of things..

I have been to Southbank & Uel but the open days for the other two choices aren’t until June.
UCAS has given me a deadline of May 2nd for decisions so it doesn’t look like I will have the luxury of visiting before them!

Reply 3

Doones

Original post by sambo8

You will be potentially spending 4 or 5 years in Newcastle (foundation plus 4 for MEng) it's probably worth a visit. You aren't limited to just Open Days and if necessary you could contact the department and ask if someone can take you for a quick tour.

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/about/visit/

Reply 4

AngliaRuskinU

Hi @sambo8

You don’t need to wait until our June Open Day to see our civil engineering labs and equipment, we’d love to show you around and can also have one of our lecturers available to talk you through any aspects of the course you would like to know more about e.g. the transition from BSc to BEng and its impact on your chartership.

It’s important to visit your universities, as a key benefit is finding out about the industry links. As these ARU courses are based at our Chelmsford campus in Essex, we have superb links regionally and within London, if you are considering gaining employment in these areas after completing your course. Our 1-year work placement provides an opportunity to work for a year in paid employment, setting you up for graduate roles straight from university. As over 50% of our students are in fact part-time in industry already, you’ll benefit from a vibrant community of professionals. Please email us at [email protected] and we’ll set up an appropriate time for you to visit, or at least time for a call from a lecturer.

Thanks
Emma

Reply 5

Student-95

Employers don't really care about university rankings, especially in engineering, and all of your choices are accredited so I wouldn't waste an extra year unless you prefer Newcastle (location, uni, course content etc) notably more than the others since you'll be there a while.

Edit: Aru's BSc is accredited for IEng status but not CEng although the BEng is.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 6

Doones

Original post by Student-95

The ARU BSc isn't accredited by ICE.

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Reply 7

Student-95

Original post by Doonesbury

The ARU BSc isn't accredited by ICE.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Good point it's only accredited for IEng, although the BEng is accredited for CEng and if OP only needs 60% in first year to switch to it then that should be a safe swap. Assuming that swapping after first year doesn't invalidate the BEng accreditation.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 8

Doones

Original post by Student-95

No that would be fine. :yy:

Reply 9

AngliaRuskinU

Hi @sambo8

We just wanted to clarify specifics as to your enquiry so you can consider all the information regarding your degree options appropriately.

All of our Civil Engineering courses are accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators (ICE, IStructE etc) https://www.ice.org.uk/careers-and-training/graduate-civil-engineers/course-search-tool, both the BSc and the BEng require further learning to become a Chartered Engineer. In the case of the BSc this must be an accredited technical MSc in Civil Engineering or Structural Engineering for example. In the case of the BEng the masters can be non-technical and unaccredited so something like Project Management or Construction Law. The MEng degree (also accredited) combines the undergraduate course with the postgraduate course over 4 years, which fully satisfies the education basis for a Chartered Engineer.

The difference between the M/BEng and BSc is that the M/BEng courses are more technical in content and have more maths, they are more directed towards the consultant and the design office. The BSc has less maths and is more production based, so directed towards the contractor and site work.

Students who apply for our BEng course but do not have the required A Level in Maths will automatically be considered for the BSc course, and there is the opportunity to move over to the BEng degree course after the first year, subject to meeting the required academic level on your first attempt.

I hope this helps,
Emma