architectural engineering

i have gotten accepted into uni of reading and portsmouth for architectural and civil engineering respectively.
which is better and should i go for?

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by laaalala

i have gotten accepted into uni of reading and portsmouth for architectural and civil engineering respectively.
which is better and should i go for?

I'm usually annoyed when people ask whether something is better. In what context? For jobs in civil engineering? For academic research? In terms of cost? Local area? Night life? I would be very specific about what you are looking for.

Whilst you can compare both of the degrees however you like (I don't know what your criteria is), I think when people choose engineering degrees whether the course is accredited would be a factor.
Whilst I prefer Reading as a university over Portsmouth, the degree at Portsmouth seems to be accredited whereas the one at Reading isn't. See:
https://www.reading.ac.uk/ready-to-study/study/subject-area/architectural-engineering-ug/beng-architectural-engineering
https://www.port.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate/beng-meng-civil-engineering

I have looked through professional bodies for anything related to civil engineering, and Reading's degree doesn't appear in any of their databases:
https://www.engc.org.uk/education-skills/course-search/recognised-course-search/?page=1&q=reading+architectural+engineering&s=all
https://www.istructe.org/membership/does-my-degree-fit/ (which will take you to the following: https://www.engineerseurope.com/eeed-database, https://www.jbm.org.uk/accreditation/accreditation-programmes/, https://www.jbm.org.uk/media/szlbelft/jbm151_bengceng-list.pdf)
https://www.ice.org.uk/careers-learning/develop-your-career/advice-for-graduate-engineers/accredited-course-search#search-your-course
It could be the case that the databases of these professional bodies can be out of date as it does happen occasionally, but it's also not likely.
The only accredited degrees at Reading that's related to architectural engineering that I can see is the joint degree with environmental engineering.

Not being an accredited degree doesn't mean you can't get a job with it (it's an engineering degree after all, and you can see the list of jobs graduates of the degree at Reading went onto). However, it can mean you might end up having some difficulty getting jobs in the field without a lot of further training and courses.

For this reason alone, I would rather go for Portsmouth's degree for civil engineering over that of Reading's.

Reply 2

laaalala

OP

2

Original post by MindMax2000

I'm usually annoyed when people ask whether something is better. In what context? For jobs in civil engineering? For academic research? In terms of cost? Local area? Night life? I would be very specific about what you are looking for.

Whilst you can compare both of the degrees however you like (I don't know what your criteria is), I think when people choose engineering degrees whether the course is accredited would be a factor.
Whilst I prefer Reading as a university over Portsmouth, the degree at Portsmouth seems to be accredited whereas the one at Reading isn't. See:
https://www.reading.ac.uk/ready-to-study/study/subject-area/architectural-engineering-ug/beng-architectural-engineering
https://www.port.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate/beng-meng-civil-engineering

I have looked through professional bodies for anything related to civil engineering, and Reading's degree doesn't appear in any of their databases:
https://www.engc.org.uk/education-skills/course-search/recognised-course-search/?page=1&q=reading+architectural+engineering&s=all
https://www.istructe.org/membership/does-my-degree-fit/ (which will take you to the following: https://www.engineerseurope.com/eeed-database, https://www.jbm.org.uk/accreditation/accreditation-programmes/, https://www.jbm.org.uk/media/szlbelft/jbm151_bengceng-list.pdf)
https://www.ice.org.uk/careers-learning/develop-your-career/advice-for-graduate-engineers/accredited-course-search#search-your-course
It could be the case that the databases of these professional bodies can be out of date as it does happen occasionally, but it's also not likely.
The only accredited degrees at Reading that's related to architectural engineering that I can see is the joint degree with environmental engineering.

Not being an accredited degree doesn't mean you can't get a job with it (it's an engineering degree after all, and you can see the list of jobs graduates of the degree at Reading went onto). However, it can mean you might end up having some difficulty getting jobs in the field without a lot of further training and courses.

For this reason alone, I would rather go for Portsmouth's degree for civil engineering over that of Reading's.

thank you for your research, i was more looking into the accredited degrees rather than social life, i was more wondering if the degree in architectural engineering covers a greater range of engineering jobs than civil and i cannot seem to find if this is the case or not.
also it matters quite a bit to me which of these two unis is more respected.
furthermore, i would be completing my masters for four years at reading, would you say this is better than doing a BEng or should i do the bachelors and then complete my degree elsewhere, hopefully sheffield or loughborough?
I apologise for the vagueness of my query

(edited 8 months ago)

Reply 3

University of Portsmouth

Official Rep

11

Hi @laalala, as previously said, our courses are accredited and well connected within the industry, with 95% of BEng graduates in work or further study. This includes with industry leaders such as Sanska and Balfour Beatty. You may also be interested in hearing from one of our recent Civil Engineering graduate Mimi on how she found the course and where it has lead her.

Our students also get to benefit from the location with options to explore underwater engineering and gain PADI diving qualifications and trips to Isle of Wight. You might also be interested in the option with a professional placement year, so you graduate with real industry experience.

In terms of our reputation more generation, you can see how we rank on our rankings web page. In the last week, we've also been placed in the Top 25 for Student Satisfaction by the Times Higher Education based on the results of this year's National Student Survey.

I hope that's helpful. Best of luck with whichever course you choose! Lauren from University of Portsmouth.

Reply 4

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by laaalala

thank you for your research, i was more looking into the accredited degrees rather than social life, i was more wondering if the degree in architectural engineering covers a greater range of engineering jobs than civil and i cannot seem to find if this is the case or not.
also it matters quite a bit to me which of these two unis is more respected.
furthermore, i would be completing my masters for four years at reading, would you say this is better than doing a BEng or should i do the bachelors and then complete my degree elsewhere, hopefully sheffield or loughborough?
I apologise for the vagueness of my query

i was more wondering if the degree in architectural engineering covers a greater range of engineering jobs than civil and i cannot seem to find if this is the case or not.
Then this is very dependent on the specific type of job you're going for. If you're looking for a degree that can get you into any engineering job, then i suppose a degree in general engineering or physics would suffice. If you're asking what types of degrees that would give you the most scope for engineering jobs, it's generally said that mechanical and electrical engineering would pretty much cover most of the engineering jobs out there. If you're looking for something that's specifically related to architecture, civil, or structural engineering, I suppose the civil engineering degree would help you more than an engineering degree in any other subject.
You can transfer to other areas of engineering depending on what skills you have and what the job is looking for. I have come across people who did degrees in electrical engineering and physics who went into computer science. On the other hand, I have come across people who did degrees in civil engineering who went into automobile engineering, as well as people who did chemical engineering who work in mechanical engineering.
I can't answer this question for you.

i would be completing my masters for four years at reading, would you say this is better than doing a BEng or should i do the bachelors and then complete my degree elsewhere, hopefully sheffield or loughborough?
I cannot really give you a firm opinion on this because I don't have an engineering degree myself (yet) or have worked in engineering.
From what I have read elsewhere in the forum, it's said that an MEng is useful should you wish to stay in the UK, as MEngs are recognised. Should you wish to do an MSc, it would be recognised abroad as well. Irrespective, if your degree is accredited by an international body, your degree is recognised wherever the body is recognised. You might want a second opinion on this as well as doing your own research to check.
I am not sure whether I can generalise this, but if you do an MEng, you often get less pressure in your 4th year than if you did a BEng + MSc. The MSc tends to be intensive, but it can also cover some of the material that you already covered in your undergrad, whereas the integrated master's would be less intensive due to not needing to cover as much material in your 4th year. You would need to check on this yourself.
Having said that, if you apply for a MEng, you can generally downgrade it to a BEng should you change your mind; it's generally more difficult to upgrade your degree from BEng to a MEng (due to places available). If you want to be flexible with your study and reserve the option to take a gap year out (or realise later it's not a subject you want to continue studying), then I would likely go for the BEng + MSc.
The thing I would need to point out between a MEng and Beng + MSc is that the 4th year of a MEng is going to be £9250, whereas the cost of a MSc can vary depending on what course you do and where you do it. Whilst student finance is available for both options, I would do a lot of research on the MScs that you are intending to look into.
Other than the above, I can't see you're disadvantaged by much between a MEng vs BEng+MSc.

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