BEng (Honours) Materials Engineering
Four years full-time (including one year work placement) or three years full-time
UCAS code • J51C
This course is subject to reapproval
Location • City Campus
Subject area • Engineering
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View a 360 degree tour of our precision workshop.
Watch a video of Mark Thompson, head of undergraduate recruitment for engineering, talking about our engineering courses.
Find out about our engineering teaching team.
Our Digital Design Centre can print medium to large format high quality outputs on a range of different media. The laboratories have software supporting 2D and 3D engineering and creative design applications. Find out more.
One of the most valuable resources available for you to access is our highly experienced technical support team. Find out how they can help support your development.
At a glance
Gain the knowledge and skills needed to develop new and innovative materials vital for advancement in aerospace technology, healthcare and environmental engineering. You train in labs equipped with the latest industry standard equipment and gain valuable experience with one our 2,000 national and international placement providers, such as TATA Steel or Rolls -Royce.
Key points
• Learn about metals, polymers, ceramics and composites from fundamentals to state of the art advanced design and applications.
• Gain the best possible professional experience with help from our placements team.
• Qualify for a career in a market where graduates currently command high salaries.
• Train on excellent industry standard facilities.
What is materials engineering?
Materials lie at the heart of engineering design and increasingly they control its advancement and its environmental responsibility. There is a continuous demand for new and improved engineering materials and in an increasingly technological world, there are endless opportunities to refine and improve materials for a range of industries including automotive, aerospace and healthcare.
This course
Materials science and engineering influences our lives each time we use any device, machine or structure. This course gives you the knowledge and skills to equip you to tackle engineering challenges such as • developing energy efficient and environmentally friendly machines and structures • more efficient engines • more powerful computers • lighter civil engineering structures • safer materials for the home • more durable medical implants.
Study for a career as a materials engineer in an employment market where materials graduates enjoy exciting career prospects in both the UK and internationally. It is widely recognised that there is a significant shortage of qualified materials engineering graduates in the UK. Successfully completing this course will enable you to enter a buoyant employment market where our graduates currently command high salaries.
Learn about the structure, properties, processing and performance of materials used in industry, including the development of new or improved materials and advanced processing methods. Then gain a practical understanding of the critical links between the design and realisation of new products, processes and structures through design, testing and analysis in the lab. All of your studies are based around our excellent materials testing and analysis facilities.
We make sure that what you study is relevant to your future career through our longstanding relationships with industries, nationally and internationally. We work with these partners to ensure that course content meets current and specific industrial needs. Our links and partnerships include major organisations such as • TATA Steel • Rolls-Royce • Network Rail • Kimberley Clark.
In year three, you have the opportunity to apply what you’ve learnt in the lab with a one year paid work placement in industry. Our dedicated placement team supports you through the process and has contacts with over 2,000 national and international placement providers. Students typically earn between £12,000 to £15,000 a year.
Key areas of study
Key areas include
• materials and manufacturing processes
• engineering science and practice
• materials testing, analysis and microstructural engineering
• metals, ceramics, polymers and composite materials
• management, business, societal and environmental aspects of materials
This course provides a route to incorporated engineer and then chartered engineer registration with the Engineering Council.
Find out more about BEng (Honours) Materials Engineering
Related courses
- BEng (Honours) Automotive Engineering (Full-time)
- BEng (Honours) Mechanical Engineering (Full-time)
- BEng (Honours) Engineering (Mechanical) (Full-time)
- BEng (Honours) Energy Engineering (Full-time)
- MEng Mechanical Engineering (Full-time)
- Extended Degree Programme Engineering and Mathematics (Full-time)
You apply for this course through UCAS.
2013/14 academic year
For 2013 entry, membership of professional bodies is included in the course fee.
The course fee may be subject to annual inflationary increase. For further information on fees and funding see www.shu.ac.uk/study/ug/fees-and-funding
2013/14 academic year
Typically £10,680 a year.
2014/15 academic year
Typically £11,250 a year.
The course fee may be subject to annual inflationary increase. For further information on fees, scholarships and bursaries see www.shu.ac.uk/international/fees
• coursework • examinations
Find out about work placements and how we can support your placement experience.
Optional year-long work placements are normally gained by competitive interview and are not a guaranteed part of a course.
Subject to continuing accreditation, this course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology. This accreditation meets the academic requirements for you to register with the Engineering Council as an incorporated engineer after you graduate. You must also have completed the whole course with us.
Subject to continuing accreditation, this course is also accredited by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
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Key Information Set 
Engineering precision workshop
The workshop is supported by technicians who are there to provide you with help and guidance. You can use the facilities for individual projects outside timetabled classes.
About our courses (1:19)
Mark Thompson, head of undergraduate recruitment for engineering, talks about studying engineering courses at Sheffield Hallam. Mark covers topics including employability, practical-skills building, specialist facilities and student support.
Dr Mark Thompson
Principal lecturer
I gained an upper second degree in BEng Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from Humberside University in1994.
I then studied for a PhD at York University, applying artificial intelligence techniques to the control of antenna systems, resulting in the development of a software package and the publication of a number of international papers.
After gaining my doctorate in 1997, I worked as a research associate for a number of years, first at Hull University, developing fault monitoring and diagnosis systems. I then worked at the University of Sheffield developing an artificial intelligent control system for a chemical processing plant. In 2000 I became a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam.
I am currently head of undergraduate admissions for engineering and have designed courses for a number employers including Rolls-Royce, Bombardier and Kimberly-Clark in collaboration with Derby College, Rotherham College of Arts and Technology and North Lindsey College. This has helped to ensure that our courses are relevant to the needs of industry.
Chris Short
Principal lecturer
I trained as an apprentice engineer in the hand tools industry, during which time I completed a degree in mechanical and production engineering.
After graduating I worked in the design departments of a number of companies designing special purpose machine tools before beginning a postgraduate teaching qualification. I subsequently taught a range of engineering subjects in the further education sector for eight years before joining Sheffield Hallam in 1990.
My role is a Portfolio Director with responsibility for all the BSc technology degrees, and I teach on several design modules at all years of the courses.
I am a chartered mechanical engineer and a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
My areas of interest and research are design, design management, the implementation of new technology and engineering education. I have completed a range of research and consultancy work with companies implementing new technology or developing new products and have written around 30 publications.
The most recent development in my portfolio has been the addition of an aerospace technology degree and this has proved very exciting for me.
David Legge
Senior lecturer, engineering and mathematics
I am a senior lecturer in the engineering design subject group. I am a time served engineer with professional experience in design, manufacturing, logistics and organisational development.
I teach on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules, with a bias towards design and manufacture. I am particularly keen on developing the formal and informal formative experiences of undergraduate engineers; especially within the aerospace degrees, which are a relatively new group of degrees at Sheffield Hallam. I feel well placed to do this as I am a qualified gliding instructor and own my own glider.
My education was in manufacturing systems engineering. I also have a postgraduate degree (Technical Licentiate) from Lulea University of Technology, Sweden. This was for research into off-line programming of coordinate measuring machines (CMM's) and standards for data transfer between CMM's and computer aided design (CAD) software.
My previous academic role was as a senior lecturer in the Department of Manufacturing Development at Lulea University of Technology (LTU). For the last few years I have been a freelance consultant in logistics and LEAN. I divide my time between Sweden, where I have lived for the past 20 years, and the UK.
I have some 20 research publications to my name. Areas in which I have carried out research or have particular skills include CAD/CAM, CNC machining, metal cutting, metrology, robotics, organisational development, LEAN, workspace design and pedagogy.
Dr Andy Young
Principal lecturer
On leaving school I became a craft apprentice in a defence company manufacturing naval artillery, where I was trained as a precision miller-turner-fitter. In 1989 I was awarded a Whitworth Scholarship from the IMechE to encourage practical engineers to seek higher education, which led to my enrolment on a Manufacturing Systems Engineering degree at The University of Leeds.
In my first year I transferred onto mechanical engineering to get a more general education, and by the third year I developed an interest in computer modelling of how fluids behave. I was awarded prizes from the IMechE and Sun Microcomputers for project work, a Parkinson scholarship for continued study from the University, and sponsorship from International Paper to embark on a PhD research degree into thin film generation for the printing industry.
I was then employed as a Research Fellow in the Industrial Coating Research Group, where I focused on the transference of academic research to industrial problems, working with companies such as Kodak, 3M, and Ilford.
I moved to a leading industrial consultancy company called Fluent in 1998, and became focused on thermo-fluids and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). I worked in materials processing industries, helping manufacturers apply technology to understand how to make better glass, polymer, and metals products.
In 2005 I began teaching engineering fundamentals and their industrial applications to students. I joined engineering at Sheffield Hallam leading the teaching for thermo-fluids and CFD, and supervising PhD students.
In 2009 I recognised an opportunity to start-up a new venture in the University called Hallam Energy which works directly with industry to reduce their energy costs and carbon emissions by the application of technology.
Dr Qinling Li
Senior lecturer in thermo-fluids
I am a senior lecturer in thermo-fluids. I am interested in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology and applications. Before moving to Sheffield Hallam, I was a research associate in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP), University of Cambridge.
I also spent part time in the CFD Lab, which is part of the Acoustics, Fluid Mechanics, Turbomachinery and Thermodynamics Division, Engineering Department, University of Cambridge.
From 2003-2006, I worked as a research associate in the Aeronautical and Automatics Engineering Department, Loughborough University.
I studied for a PhD degree in the Aerodynamic Flight Mechanics Research Group, Southampton University, in 2003. And I obtained my first and master degrees, and used to be a lecture at Xi'an Jiaotong University, China.
Research interests
• fundamentals of turbulence
• direct numerical simulation (DNS) of compressibility effects in wall-bounded channel flow
• large eddy simulation (LES) of fan/outlet guide vane (OGV) broadband noise prediction
• les for short take-off and vertical landing aircraft (STOVL)
• turbine blade cooling
• biomechanical
• fluid-structure interaction (FSI)
Dr Karen Vernon-Parry
Course leader for the Extended Degree in Engineering
Phone 0114 225 4852
E-mail k.vernon-parry@shu.ac.uk
I studied materials science at Oxford University, and also completed my DPhil there, which was on the microstructure and properties of superconducting thin films. After a post-doctoral position at Oxford, I moved to the University of Manchester and then to UMIST. In 2004 I came to Sheffield Hallam University, becoming a senior lecturer in 2006. I have been course leader for the Extended Degree in Engineering (prep year) since January 2009.
I am interested in the correlation between the structure and the physical properties of materials at the atomic scale. In the past 10 years this has concentrated on the development and evolution of process-induced defects in semiconductors, initially ion implantation damage in silicon and silicon-germanium alloys, and more recently defects such as grain boundaries in multicrystalline semiconducting diamond. Such studies are in support of electronic device development. I also collaborate with the electroceramics group at Manchester University to investigate the role of specific dopant species in varistor formulations.
I have recently become involved in a multi-disciplinary research program developing 'intelligent' materials, particularly for healthcare applications.
I am a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College and am a Member of the Institute of Physics
Profiles
Dr Mark Thompson
Principal lecturer
Chris Short
Principal lecturer
David Legge
Senior lecturer, engineering and mathematics
Dr Andy Young
Principal lecturer
Dr Qinling Li
Senior lecturer in thermo-fluids
Dr Karen Vernon-Parry
Course leader for the Extended Degree in Engineering
The Digital Design Centre
The Digital Design Centre comprises a suite of 6 IT laboratories (4 PC and 2 MAC) together with the Print Output room, an area for printing medium to large format high quality output on a range of different media. The laboratories have a wide range of software supporting 2D and 3D engineering and creative design applications.
The Digital Design Centre runs a high quality computer printing facility and has the ability to print sizes between A4 and A0 and wide format banners. A3, A2, A1, A0 and Banner photo quality printing is available on a range of papers, as well as AutoCAD type plans ( B & W ) on standard paper.
Technical support team
While you will find excellent facilities throughout, the most valuable resource you will have at your disposal is access to our extremely dedicated, highly experienced technical staff.
All the staff are there to support you during your time in the workshops. The technical team with its professionally qualified staff and practicing professionals, has a wealth of knowledge and expertise across all areas of our provision and comprises engineers, designers, silversmiths and jewellers, fine artists, media arts specialists and IT experts.
The team are committed to using their diverse range of skills and knowledge to support practical aspects of your
course work, whether solving a simple software problem, producing a complex engineering project or creating design work for an international exhibition. There are currently 50 technical staff directly supporting the Technical Resource Centres and the research institutes of the faculty.
