Mechatronic Engineering with Placement Year

BEng Hons

  • UCAS code HH65
  • Entry year 2025
  • A level requirements ABB
  • Duration Full time 4 years

We welcome applications from the United States of America

We've put together information and resources to guide your application journey as a student from the United States of America.

Overview

Top reasons to study with us

  • Get real-world experience with our placement years

  • Practical hands-on courses including lab-based sessions and project work

  • Brand new state-of-the-art facilities

This multidisciplinary, professionally accredited programme will allow you to benefit from hands-on experience and gain specialist knowledge in product design and integrated systems.

Mechatronic engineering is the study of systems that require a combination of mechanical, electronic and computer engineering, such as robotics, digitally controlled engines and self-driving cars. Our programme was the first of its kind in 1984 and continues to be so well regarded that many of our graduates go on to coordinate teams of engineers or move upwards into engineering management.

Your degree will begin with a common first year, where you will be taught a series of modules that are taken by all first-year engineering students. We will introduce you to many of the key features of engineering, equipping you with a well-rounded understanding and skill set and an appreciation for the interdisciplinary nature of the subject.

Following the first year, the mechatronics programme never loses the interdisciplinary focus that modern engineering has become. You will continue with specialist modules in the areas of mechanical and electronic engineering, as well as subjects such as control. You will also have the freedom to pick modules most appropriate to your areas of interest.

During year two, you will gain experience in project management and complete a team project to design, build and test a small mobile robot, aimed at following a guided pathway while completing a set task. Previous examples have included transporting hazardous liquid waste, and dribbling a ball and scoring a goal.
On this programme, you will undertake a year in industry, gaining valuable experience and enhancing your employability. We have extensive links built through our leadership in research and have students undergoing placements with multinational corporate companies through to smaller specialist SMEs. Typically, this is undertaken during your third year, after you have gained a reasonable amount of engineering knowledge. Once you have completed your placement, you will write an extended reflective piece about your time spent with the company.

The BEng course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer and partly meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer. The degree is also professionally accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). Teaching is delivered by world-class academics and shaped by their outstanding research output. You will gain hands-on experience with access to cutting-edge facilities and an array of high-quality equipment in our state-of-the-art engineering building.

MEng Mechatronics

We also offer a MEng Mechatronics (Placement Year) programme, which is accredited as meeting complete fulfilment of the educational requirements to become a Chartered Engineer. This programme provides further skills, knowledge, and experience, with a focus on leadership and management. Students wanting to transfer to this programme must achieve a minimum threshold at the end of year two.

Careers

Mechatronic engineers are experts in bringing together elements from mechanical and electronic engineering, control and automation, and as such, you are at the forefront of innovation in engineering. Your multidisciplinary skill set allows you to see the bigger picture of design and build projects, and your knowledge of engineering combined with technology makes you a highly desirable employee across many sectors. Our graduates have found careers in a range of industries, from automotive and aerospace, to robotics and energy – and some have even gone on to lead in their specialist field as academics. The ability to think creatively to solve problems, alongside experience gained managing projects and applying your practical and technical knowledge will make you a desirable employee for careers even beyond the scope of engineering. Graduates from our Engineering degrees are well-paid too, with a median starting salary of £29,000 (HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey 2023).

Here are just some of the roles that our BEng and MEng Mechatronic Engineering students have progressed into upon graduating:

  • Mechatronic Engineering – Rail-Ability Ltd
  • Electrical Engineer – Aston Martin
  • Graduate Electronics Engineer – JCB
  • Robotics Engineer – Electric Eel
  • Electronic Technician – Laser Quantum
  • Offshore Operations Graduate – Shell
  • Software Engineer – Jaguar Land Rover
  • CERN Doctoral Student – CERN
  • Electronic Control Systems Engineer -– Triumph Motorcycles Ltd
  • Aerospace Engineer – Rolls Royce
  • Motor Controls Engineer - Mercedes

Lancaster University is dedicated to ensuring you not only gain a highly reputable degree, you also graduate with the relevant life and work based skills. We are unique in that every student is eligible to participate in The Lancaster Award which offers you the opportunity to complete key activities such as work experience, employability/career development, campus community and social development. Visit our Employability section for full details.

Entry requirements

These are the typical grades that you will need to study this course. You may need to have qualifications in relevant subjects. In some cases we may also ask you to attend an interview or submit a portfolio. You must also meet our English language requirements.

Find more about these qualifications and others not shown here

Learn about how we will assess your application

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Contact Admissions

If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, please complete our enquiry form and one of our team will get back to you.

International foundation programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored foundation pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Contextual admissions

Contextual admissions could help you gain a place at university if you have faced additional challenges during your education which might have impacted your results. Visit our contextual admissions page to find out about how this works and whether you could be eligible.

Course structure

Lancaster University offers a range of programmes, some of which follow a structured study programme, and some which offer the chance for you to devise a more flexible programme to complement your main specialism.

Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.

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Fees and funding

Our annual tuition fee is set for a 12-month session, starting in the October of your year of study.

Our Undergraduate Tuition Fees for 2025/26 are:

Home International
£9,535 £29,820

Fees and funding information

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Scholarships and bursaries

You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.

You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status:

Unfortunately no scholarships and bursaries match your selection, but there are more listed on scholarships and bursaries page.

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We also have other, more specialised scholarships and bursaries - such as those for students from specific countries.

Browse Lancaster University's scholarships and bursaries.

Important information

The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.

Our Students’ Charter

We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies.

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