Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering

The aim of this course is to give high quality academic training in mechanical engineering and to produce graduates with the core skills, knowledge and attributes required to practise as professional engineers. These required graduate skills/attributes are transferable to a wide range of careers and include:

• ability to formulate and solve problems
• a creative approach to design and synthesis
• excellent oral and written communication skills
• ability to work effectively in teams
• appreciation of the environmental, social and business contexts of Mechanical Engineering
• independent and self motivated approach
• understanding and commitment to lifelong learning
• in-depth technical competence in the Mechanical Engineering discipline.
  

The normal period of study for the BE degree is 4 years (8 semesters) full-time. The course also can be taken on a part-time basis subject to timetabling restrictions over a period of six or more years. Students are trained through a range of learning experiences that include laboratory experiments, problem-based learning, computer simulations, teamwork assignments, industrial case studies and site visits to industry.

Mechanical Engineering has the broadest scope of all the branches of engineering and graduates in this field have the core skills to adapt to other fields of engineering. It includes many exciting fields such as advanced manufacturing, metal forming technology, robotics, control of systems, computer aided design and manufacturing, air conditioning, bio-mechanics, powder technology and bearing dynamics. The degree covers a wide range of technical subjects including engineering computing and instrumentation and workshop practice, mechanical engineering design, control of machines and processes, process design and analysis, manufacturing process analysis, manufacturing systems, sustainable transport and engine technologies, dynamics of engineering systems, bulk solids handling technology, fluid power, heat transfer and gas dynamics. Design innovation and project management are important aspects of mechanical engineering. The final year thesis subject requires each student to complete a major engineering project in a field of their choice or in research projects funded by government and industry.

Students can select electives from a number of specialisations in their final year including, Sustainable Energy and Engineering Systems, Manufacturing Engineering, Applied Mechanics and Bulk Materials Handling. The list of electives on offer in any one year varies somewhat.

Each student also completes out a major thesis project chosen from a wide range of topics.

The course is fully recognised by the Institution of Engineers, Australia, which is the professional accrediting body. The course is recognised as meeting the examination requirements for admission to graduate and corporate membership of the Institution.

The Professional Option subjects allow part-time students to count their industrial experience towards their degree. Each of these subjects is taken over a year of appropriate and approved full-time industrial employment. Professional Option subjects may be counted in lieu of electives up to a maximum of 3 and completion of one or more gives a student an exemption in ENGG454 Professional Experience.

Students entering the University with a Mechanical Engineering Certificate or Associate Diploma from the New South Wales Department of Technical and Further Education (or an approved equivalent) are entitled to exemptions as approved by the Director of Studies of Mechanical Engineering.

All study programs are subject to approval by the Director of Studies. In general, students must satisfy pre- and co-requisites and are not permitted to enrol in subjects spanning more than two years of the full-time course. In particular, a candidate who has not satisfactorily completed all subjects in the first year of the prescribed four year course will not be permitted to proceed to study third year subjects; under exceptional circumstances approval to proceed may be given by the Director of Studies.

All students must take particular note of the regulations regarding Minimum Rate of Progress - refer to the University of Wollongong Course Rules. Honours are awarded at the end of the course on the basis of overall performance throughout the course.

Students should attend all classes including lectures, tutorials and laboratory classes. The Director of Studies may refuse to certify that students have satisfactorily completed a subject unless they have attended at least 80 per cent of the classes scheduled.

THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS MUST BE COMPLETED TO QUALIFY FOR THE MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SPECIALISATION.