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Mechanical Engineering

MSc

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Start dates: September 2025 / September 2026

Full time: 12 months

Part time: 24 months

Location: Headington

Department(s): School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Overview
Course details
Careers
Entry requirements
How to apply
Tuition fees

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Overview

By combining theory and hands-on learning, our postgraduate Mechanical Engineering master’s degree helps you get ready for a career in the field. Our facilities, which include our High Voltage Energy Storage lab and Joining Technology Research Centre, double as teaching and research spaces. 

Use your dissertation and extra-curricular activities to explore your passion and sharpen your skills. And let visiting professionals from the industry show you what a career in this discipline has to offer. 

You’ll analyse and test your designs using industry standard CAD and simulation packages, before moving onto design implementation. Our tutors are experts in their fields, and their collective research spans design and simulation, sustainable engineering, materials and joining technology. This course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). 

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Hands working on car parts

Why Oxford Brookes University?

  • Taught by experts

    Teaching staff are industry professionals, with specialist knowledge in topics including design, risk and reliability and composite materials.

  • Brand new facilities

    All Engineering and Motorsport courses are moving from the Wheatley Campus to brand new, custom designed buildings at our main Headington site. These buildings will open in the 2024/25 academic year. You'll benefit from state-of-the-art facilities and equipment including a VR cave and material science labs, composite lab, autodynamics workshop and wind tunnel, as well as social learning spaces, teaching rooms and cafe space.

  • Hands-on research

    Labs double as our teaching spaces, so you’ll get practical experience and expand your research knowledge in the same places.

  • Meet recruiters

    Employers visit the University as part of our Industrial Lecture Series, and attend our careers fair letting you see what your career options are.

  • Dive into your passion

    Join Formula Student as part of Oxford Brookes Racing, or the Formula Student Autonomous Vehicle project. You could also become a STEM outreach ambassador at events run by the University.

  • Accreditation(s)

    This course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) for the purpose of meeting the further learning requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer. This course is also accredited by The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

    • Engineering Council
    • Institution of Engineering and Technology
    • Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Course details

Course structure

You’ll study specialist mechanical engineering subjects, including Composite Design and Impact Modelling, Advanced Strength of Components and Advanced Mechanical Engineering Design. You’ll learn to improve component durability, predict fatigue and fractures, and apply the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). Also you’ll gain and build knowledge of business management as you progress your own enterprise.

For your dissertation, you’ll get to study an area of mechanical engineering that fascinates you at a deep level. And you’ll develop research, planning and project management skills in doing so. 

Previously there have been industry-sponsored projects from companies such as Far-Axon, Tranquillity Aerospace and Norbar. Or you can undertake your own project and work closely with the commercial or research organisation of your choice.

Hands operating a machine

Learning and teaching

Teaching methods include:

  • lectures and seminars to provide a sound theoretical base
  • practical work designed to demonstrate important aspects of theory or systems operation.

Most of our teaching staff are from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. However, we invite visiting speakers from business and industry to provide further input to your learning.

Assessment

Assessment is continuous and includes:

  • coursework exercise
  • essays
  • presentations
  • laboratory exercises
  • examinations.

Study modules

Taught modules

Compulsory modules

  • Engineering Business Management (20 credits)

    This module provides you with an understanding of the management skills and knowledge that are important in engineering industries.

  • Composite Design and Impact Modelling (20 credits)

    This module will give you an understanding of materials, components and their structural behaviour when subjected to medium to high impact events. This includes the design, testing and modelling of motorsport components and vehicles.

  • Advanced Strength of Components (20 credits)

    This module develops knowledge and skills in fatigue and fracture analysis which are used to predict the conditions for fatigue failure and fracture and the life of mechanical components.

  • Advanced Mechanical Engineering Design (20 credits)

    This module consolidates and refines your ability to tackle advanced and complex interdisciplinary design projects based on the principle of "Theory of Inventive Problem Solving" or known as the TRIZ principle.

  • Noise, Vibration and Harshness (20 credits)

    This module looks at the analysis, quantification, characterization and diagnosis of the noise, vibration and harshness of automotive components and assemblies.

  • Real-time Embedded Systems (20 credits)

    This module addresses the low-level embedded systems aspects of robotic development. Embedded systems are based on small scale controller boards with a variety of input/output mechanisms. The integration of low-level control with actuators and sensors requires the specific understanding of the commonly used controllers and their interfaces.

Final project

Compulsory modules

  • Msc Dissertation (60 credits)

    The Dissertation (core, triple credit) is an individual project on a topic from mechanical engineering, offering an opportunity to specialise in a particular area of your choice. In addition to developing a high level of expertise in a particular area of mechanical engineering, including use of industry-standard software and/or experimental work, the module will also provide you with research skills, planning techniques, project management. Whilst a wide range of industry-sponsored projects are available (e.g. Far-Axon, Clayex/Dymola, Tranquillity Aerospace, Norbar, etc.), students are also able undertake their own projects in the UK and abroad, to work in close co-operation with a research, industrial or commercial organisation.

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Research

Our research groups produce high-quality research for the real world. Staff have close links with industry through research projects and consultancies.

You can find out more on our department research pages.

The results of the most recent REF (2014) exercise showed that 96% of research in the department is internationally recognised. 57% was judged to be of world leading quality or internationally excellent, compared with 45% in 2008. More specifically, 50% of the impact case studies returned were judged to be internationally excellent, and 72% of the research outputs were judged to be internationally excellent or world leading.

Careers

You’ll find your mechanical engineering knowledge is useful for many other disciplines outside of engineering. We’ve seen students go to work across the aerospace, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and finance sectors. 

Graduates work for companies such as:

  • Lentus Composites,
  • Dyson,
  • Capgemini Engineering,
  • Airbus,
  • PRF Gas Solutions,
  • MHI Vestas Offshore Wind,
  • Caterpillar.

For careers advice and support, you can use our careers support system.

Entry requirements

International qualifications and equivalences

How to apply

Application process


Apply now

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
Home (UK) full time
£10,300
Home (UK) part time
£5,150
International full time
£18,050
Home (UK) full time
£10,800
Home (UK) part time
£5,400
International full time
£18,950

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Tuition fees

2024 / 25
Home (UK) full time
£10,300
Home (UK) part time
£5,150
International full time
£18,050
2025 / 26
Home (UK) full time
£10,800
Home (UK) part time
£5,400
International full time
£18,950

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year.

The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

  • For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
  • For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Funding your studies

Financial support and scholarships

Featured funding opportunities available for this course.

Part-Time UK Faculty Scholarship Postgraduate Master's Loan - England

All financial support and scholarships

View all funding opportunities for this course

Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our changes to programmes page.