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Design vs Mechanical Engineering

I am currently in year 13 doing Maths, Physics, DT and an EPQ and predicted A,A,A. I really love creating things such as building computers, laptops, 3d printing, bikes etc. I have lots of experience in this and know how to weld, use CAD, solder etc. In short, I really like building things!!!

However, I don't know if mechanical or design engineering is right for me. I think I will enjoy them both, but may find that there is not enough creativity in Mechanical engineering. The universities I am looking at for design engineering are Bristol, Bath and Loughborough, and the universities I am looking at for mechanical engineering are Southhampton (especially as they said they focus a lot on design within their course) and Exeter. I live in Bristol and go to a school with "low progression rates" so I get a contextual offer to Bristol with each grade reduced by 1. Do you guys have any advice? I'm really stuck and don't know which course/uni to pick. So far Southhampton is my favourite but it doesn't offer design engineering, and I feel like I may want to move out of Bristol after A levels and not stay for Uni there.

Any answers would be really appreciated, thanks :smile:

Reply 1

h4nn4h08

hii, i think that if you can, try and get some workexperience asap: that’ll probably tell you where youwant to go, as you can’t know something until youexperience it. if that still doesn’t help, make sure thatyour personal statement is diverse enough to applyfor both courses, and apply for both! between thenand offer holder days, try and make a decision, and ifyou still haven’t reached one, then go to the offerholder days and learn more about the course. hopethis helps 🤗

Reply 2

AGrizzlyBearo

There's no right or wrong answer. Have a close look at the course content/modules for the different courses. You can reach out to the different universities, and see if you can find out more information & and talk to current students for their experience on the respective courss.

For Bath specifically, last time I checked the Design and Mechanical engineering courses share the same first 2 years, then they differ. So you were able to swap courses before your 3rd year. Would be good to double check this is still the case yourself.

Since you live in Bristol, have a think about if you would want to live in you home city potentially for another 3-5 years. If you do, you'd already know the area, know whats good, probably be more comfortable with an existing social group & and you could save a lot of money if you lived at home .
However, going to uni in a different city can be a great opportunity for new experiences and growth, independance and just exploring what else is out there, and it can be a fresh start meeting - meeting new people and not being tempted to just stick with your old social group.
You'll likely have a different experience depending what you choose - but again, neither is necessarily the right or wrong choice, it depends on whats right for you.

It's can be very difficult choosing what course and which uni. Wish you best of luck, and I'm sure you'll be happy with whichever you decide! : )

Reply 3

Muttley79

Original post

by dfgdgfdgdffg

I am currently in year 13 doing Maths, Physics, DT and an EPQ and predicted A,A,A. I really love creating things such as building computers, laptops, 3d printing, bikes etc. I have lots of experience in this and know how to weld, use CAD, solder etc. In short, I really like building things!!!
However, I don't know if mechanical or design engineering is right for me. I think I will enjoy them both, but may find that there is not enough creativity in Mechanical engineering. The universities I am looking at for design engineering are Bristol, Bath and Loughborough, and the universities I am looking at for mechanical engineering are Southhampton (especially as they said they focus a lot on design within their course) and Exeter. I live in Bristol and go to a school with "low progression rates" so I get a contextual offer to Bristol with each grade reduced by 1. Do you guys have any advice? I'm really stuck and don't know which course/uni to pick. So far Southhampton is my favourite but it doesn't offer design engineering, and I feel like I may want to move out of Bristol after A levels and not stay for Uni there.
Any answers would be really appreciated, thanks :smile:

Some Mech Eng degree invove more design than others so maybe look at a few more unis? One of my students did additional design modules within their Automotive Engineering degree and is now a Design Engineer.
He did Maths, Physics and 3D Product Design A level and AS Chemistry [when A levels were modular].

Reply 4

Tamera Frank

Long term, do you want more hands-on building or more creative product design?

Reply 5

Smack

If you do mechanical engineering, you can work as a (mechanical) design engineer - that is probably the most common position to take after the degree. I'm not sure what a design engineering degree gives you that mechanical doesn't.

Reply 6

Uni of Southampton Students

Official Rep

Hi,

It sounds like you're definitely on the right track with design or mechanical engineering due to your interests! I'm a third year civil engineer at Southampton and although Civil is slightly different to Mechanical, I'm aware of the course and projects.

Similarly to you, I enjoyed the creative side of engineering at sixth form - particularly DT. In the first year at Southampton on all of the engineering courses, we participate in design workshops and workshop training sessions. These teach you to think like a designer - from skills such as engineering drawing to 3D printing, laser cutting, milling, lathing etc (all of which you receive training for) Additionally, you are part of group design projects in every year of the mechanical engineering degree where you get to design and build prototypes. I'd recommend taking a look at this website, it is the engineering design show 2025 and showcases some of the projects we get up to during our degree. As you can see, they're all designed and manufactured by students!

University of Southampton Engineering Design Show 2025

I'm not sure about other universities but I can confidently say Southampton engineering courses heavily focus on design elements alongside the theoretical engineering. Alongside the degree itself if you have an interest in design, some of our societies such as Formula Student (creating F1 style cars to race) always need students with design skills and manufacturing skills such as those you mentioned you had!

With regards to the city itself, it is a good distance from Bristol for a university choice - with a direct train! It is a lovely city to live in, a little smaller than Bristol, but with a brilliant atmosphere. There is lots of greenspace as well as plenty of shops, pubs etc. As an engineering student, it's a good hub as it has lots of engineering companies located nearby.

I hope this helps a little, let me know if there's any other questions I can help you with

Katie (third year civil engineer)

Reply 7

going-tooth

Original post

by dfgdgfdgdffg

I am currently in year 13 doing Maths, Physics, DT and an EPQ and predicted A,A,A. I really love creating things such as building computers, laptops, 3d printing, bikes etc. I have lots of experience in this and know how to weld, use CAD, solder etc. In short, I really like building things!!!
However, I don't know if mechanical or design engineering is right for me. I think I will enjoy them both, but may find that there is not enough creativity in Mechanical engineering. The universities I am looking at for design engineering are Bristol, Bath and Loughborough, and the universities I am looking at for mechanical engineering are Southhampton (especially as they said they focus a lot on design within their course) and Exeter. I live in Bristol and go to a school with "low progression rates" so I get a contextual offer to Bristol with each grade reduced by 1. Do you guys have any advice? I'm really stuck and don't know which course/uni to pick. So far Southhampton is my favourite but it doesn't offer design engineering, and I feel like I may want to move out of Bristol after A levels and not stay for Uni there.
Any answers would be really appreciated, thanks :smile:

I also study maths DT and physics (predicted A*A*A) applied to these unis for mechanical engineering: UCL- waiting, Bristol- on hold, Durham-waiting, Leeds-offer, Warwick-waiting (only sent off my application a week ago) - would recommend you apply to Southampton, but considering A*A*A is on hold for Bristol maybe look at a different option. I also thought maybe I would go for design or architecture, but decided against it as extra years were needed after your degree to get qualified for architecture, and for design the job opportunities were difficult to find, I would say go for engineering as the employment opportunities after are much better