General Engineering, BEng (Hons)

5th in UK career prospects

Guardian University Guide 2026

Geomechanics lab

Course Overview

Engineers are the skilled problem solvers who develop the products and systems in response to the evolving needs of future generations. Ongoing advances in computing power and the increasing use of integrated systems that link mechanical, electrical and other engineering systems together is creating new industrial sectors that need a sophisticated skillset.

Our BEng Engineering degree is an interdisciplinary General Engineering programme, and you will learn mechatronics, digital design, mechanical design and control systems, equipping you to design and build complex automated systems.

You will develop expertise in robotics, smart manufacture and systems engineering, and learn to apply your new skills to contemporary engineering challenges.

As more industrial and home devices start using sophisticated intelligent systems, people with a general engineering skillset are in increasing demand due to their ability to integrate these different systems.

Watch our course overview video by Dr Mike Clee and Dr Patricia Xavier

Why General Engineering at Swansea?

  • 11th in the UK (Guardian University guide 2026)
  • 5th in the UK for Career Prospects (Guardian University Guide 2026) 
  • In the UK top 10 for Student Satisfaction (Complete University Guide 2026)

This course offers the opportunity for a Foundation Year, a Year in Industry or a Year Abroad.

If you do not have the required subjects or grades to enrol on BEng Engineering, you can apply for our BEng Engineering with a Foundation Year. On completion of your Foundation Year, you can progress onto BEng Engineering.

Your General Engineering Experience

This is a high-tech, highly practical degree with a strong theme of hands-on lab-based design and development.

You might be building your own sun-tracking solar-powered device charger, designing an assistive limb device for rehabilitating patients with weakened muscles, or developing the control system and building and testing a prototype of an autonomous car that can route find and navigate obstacles automatically.

All these tasks require you to integrate knowledge from different sectors, meaning you will find it easy to communicate and work with the tools from a variety of engineering and management professions.

Technological advances must be considered alongside the challenges of climate crisis, social unrest and resource depletion.

You will learn to consider technical requirements alongside ethics, for example, how the control systems you design for a driverless car makes decisions when multiple human lives are at stake in a potential crash, or how automated processes impacts job security for workers.

Change and innovation are permanent features of the mechatronics sector as device power grows. Therefore, you will also learn about managing and supporting colleagues through change processes, and what organisational conditions optimise for innovation.

Swansea has strong connections with industry, and you will be taught by individuals from companies such as Fujitsu and Siemens who have successfully led technological organisational change.

General Engineering Employment Opportunities

There are a range of careers available to graduates with an BEng Engineering degree, including advanced manufacture, robotics, automation engineers, data scientist, software engineering. Demand for this advanced and integrated skillset continues to grow as technology advances.

The degree is a fantastic launchpad for creating a start-up business and launching innovative smart products. We’ll develop your entrepreneurial mindset, and if you are interested in commercialising any of your ideas, we’ll give you support to start your own device-led business targeting industrial or home customers.

Modules

We're currently reviewing our curriculum to enhance your learning experience and embed skills that will benefit your future career. This means that some modules may be subject to change.

Entry Requirements

The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications.

Typical A level Offer

ABB-BCC

General Engineering, BEng (Hons)

General Engineering with a Year Abroad, BEng (Hons)

General Engineering with a Year in Industry, BEng (Hons)