How to Apply to Engineering at the University of Strathclyde: Four-Year BEng and Five-Year MEng in Scotland’s Largest Engineering Faculty, with Entry Routes for UK, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

At the University of Strathclyde, undergraduate engineering is taught by the Faculty of Engineering, on a campus in the centre of Glasgow. Strathclyde says it is the largest engineering faculty in Scotland, with more than 6,000 students across eight departments: Architecture; Biomedical Engineering; Chemical & Process Engineering; Civil & Environmental Engineering; Design, Manufacturing & Engineering Management; Electronic & Electrical Engineering; Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering; and Naval Architecture, Ocean & Marine Engineering. Below is what you need to know for September 2027 entry, based on Strathclyde’s official information, for UK applicants, international applicants (including those from China) and students hoping to transfer in. Applications go through UCAS or direct application; this guide does not access UCAS or the application portals, so check the official pages before you submit.

1. Engineering programmes

Most undergraduate engineering programmes in the A-Z list come as a BEng (Honours, four years) and a MEng (five years), each with its own UCAS code.

• Mechanical and aerospace: Mechanical Engineering (BEng H300 / MEng H302; versions with international study H303 / H304), Aero-Mechanical Engineering (H420 / H421), Electrical & Mechanical Engineering (HH63 / HH6H, and an MEng with International Study H3H6).
• Electronic and electrical: Electronic & Electrical Engineering (H600 / H601, plus MEng versions with Business Studies H6N1 and International Study H6L2).
• Civil: Civil Engineering (BEng H200 / MEng H202), Civil & Environmental Engineering (H291 / H290).
• Chemical and biomedical: Chemical Engineering (H800 / H801), Biomedical Engineering (B830 / B831).
• Naval architecture and marine: Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering (JH65 / HJ56), with High Performance Marine Vehicles (H520 / H521), with Ocean Engineering (H512 / H513).
• Manufacturing and design: Manufacturing Engineering with Management (HN73 / HN8F), Product Design Engineering (H771 / H770), Sports Design Engineering (CH64 / HC17).
• Access route: the Engineering Academy (UCAS 0BRT), with a first year at a partner college; see section 7.

Software Engineering is taught in the computing department and has its own guide on this site. Product Design & Innovation (BSc / MSci) is also in the A-Z list but is not an engineering degree, so it is outside this guide.

Professional accreditation, as the course pages state: Mechanical Engineering by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE); Aero-Mechanical Engineering by IMechE and the Royal Aeronautical Society; Electronic & Electrical Engineering by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), which the page says can lead to chartered status; Electrical & Mechanical Engineering by IET and IMechE; Civil Engineering by the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Structural Engineers, Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation and others, with the BEng page noting that a programme of accredited Further Learning is required to complete the educational base for CEng; Chemical Engineering by the Institution of Chemical Engineers; Biomedical Engineering by IPEM, IMechE and IET; Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering by the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology; Manufacturing Engineering with Management, Product Design Engineering and Sports Design Engineering by IET, IMechE and the Institution of Engineering Designers.

2. How admission works: direct to a programme, same pace for two years

• Direct entry to a specific programme: each programme has its own UCAS code, and the course pages do not describe an undeclared-engineering first year.
• BEng and MEng: the Mechanical Engineering page says most students follow the five-year MEng, that all students experience the same learning pace in the first two years, and that BEng students can, and often do, transfer to the MEng. The BEng final-year individual and group project is described as mandatory for professional accreditation. The admissions notes add that in cycles with significant competition, standard BEng offers are typically made only to applicants who would also qualify for an MEng offer.
• Switching between programmes and limits on places: not stated on the course pages; not published. Contact the Faculty’s admissions team (eng-admissions@strath.ac.uk).
• Interviews: the application page says most courses make offers on the UCAS application, though some may ask for an interview or portfolio, stated in the entry requirements; if you are outside the UK, interviews are conducted by telephone where possible. The Mechanical Engineering page says likely offer holders are normally invited to visit the department between January and March.
• Year 2 entry: the application page says that, depending on your qualifications, you might be able to apply directly to Year 2, or even Year 3; speak to the course contact. The Year 2 grades on each programme page are in section 3.

3. Prerequisites and grades

These come from each programme page’s “Entry requirements”. Some pages still label this section 2025/26 or 2026/27, and the pages do not give separate 2027 figures, so check Strathclyde’s latest.

• Mechanical Engineering BEng: Highers standard AAAB (Maths A, Physics A), minimum ABBB (Maths and Physics or Engineering Science); Advanced Higher Maths and Physics recommended. A-levels Year 1 entry ABB–BBB (Maths, Physics), Year 2 entry AAA–ABB; IB Year 1 entry 34–32 (Maths HL5, Physics HL5), Year 2 entry 36–34 (HL6). Higher Applications of Mathematics is not accepted instead of Higher Mathematics, both IB Higher Level Maths pathways are accepted, and deferred entry is not accepted. Aero-Mechanical Engineering has the same requirements.
• Mechanical Engineering MEng: Highers standard AAAAB (Maths A, Physics A), minimum AABB; A-levels Year 1 entry AAB–BBB, Year 2 entry A*AA–AAB (Maths, Physics); IB Year 1 entry 36–32, Year 2 entry 38–34; deferred entry not accepted.
• Electronic & Electrical Engineering BEng: Highers AAAB (Maths A, Physics or Engineering Science), minimum BBBB; A-levels Year 1 ABB–BBB (Maths, Physics), Year 2 AAA–ABB (Maths A, Physics, Computing); IB 34–32, Year 2 36–34 (including Computer Science HL6). Deferred entry accepted.
• Civil Engineering BEng: Highers AAAB or AABBB (Maths A, or Maths B plus one science at A or B), minimum BBBB; A-levels Year 1 ABB–BBB, Year 2 AAA–ABB; IB 34–32, Year 2 36–34 (Maths and one science). Accepted sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Engineering Science, Human Biology, Physics. Deferred entry accepted.
• Chemical Engineering BEng: Highers AAAB (Maths A, Chemistry B), minimum BBBB; A-levels Year 1 ABB–BBB, Year 2 AAA–ABB (Maths plus Chemistry or Physics); IB 34–32, Year 2 36–34 (HL Maths and Chemistry). This page’s requirements are labelled 2025/26.
• Biomedical Engineering BEng: Highers AAAB (Maths, Physics or Engineering Science), minimum BBBB; A-levels Year 1 ABB–BBB (Maths, Physics), Year 2 AAA–ABB (Maths, Physics and Biology); IB 34–32, Year 2 36–34 (including Biology HL6). This page’s requirements are labelled 2025/26.
• Naval architecture, manufacturing, product design, sports design: Highers typically AAAB (the naval architecture page also gives AABBB), minimum BBBB, A-levels Year 1 ABB–BBB; Product Design and Sports Design recommend A-level, Higher or HL Art & Design, Design & Manufacture or Graphic Communication.
• Electrical & Mechanical Engineering BEng: Highers AAAAB (Maths, and Physics or Engineering Science at A), A-levels Year 1 AAB–BBB, Year 2 A*AA–AAB; IB 36–32, Year 2 38–34; this page is labelled 2026/27.
• Contextual or widening-access offers: each page has a “minimum entry requirements” tier (ABBB for Mechanical BEng, mostly BBBB elsewhere) for applicants who qualify under the University’s contextual admissions policy; numbers of places and how it is applied are not published.
• Maths placement tests and AP/IB credit for required engineering courses: not stated on the course pages; not published.

4. UK applicants

• Applying: UK applicants use UCAS; Strathclyde’s UCAS code is S78, and for 2027 entry the application fee is £34.50 for up to five choices. The page says applicants who apply by the “January deadline” will get a decision by the end of March where possible; the exact date is not given, so check UCAS.
• Qualifications: Highers, Advanced Highers, A-levels and IB are in section 3; the engineering pages do not list BTEC or Irish qualifications, so they are not published there.
• Fees: for Scottish students the fee is shown as “to be confirmed” by the Scottish Funding Council (eligible students can apply to SAAS to have tuition fees paid); for England, Wales and Northern Ireland it is £9,790 for 2026/27 and “to be confirmed” for 2027/28.
• Excellence Scholarship: for new undergraduates from England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland or Wales who pay £9,790 a year and achieve AAB at A-level (or equivalent), £1,000 in each year of study, identified automatically, usually notified by the end of October; mechanical, aeronautical, biomedical, chemical, civil, electronic and electrical, and naval architecture and marine engineering are among the eligible subjects.
• Access route: students studying an HNC in Scotland can use the Engineering Academy (section 7).

5. International applicants

• How to apply: the application page says international students can apply through UCAS or by Direct Application, which may not be available for every course; both are under the course page’s Apply tab.
• English: the standard university requirement is IELTS Academic 6.5 (no band under 5.5), but the English language requirements page says Faculty of Engineering undergraduates need 6.0 overall with no band under 5.5. Some programmes differ, so check the course page; Strathclyde also runs English courses to help you reach the level.
• Qualifications: the international entry pages are listed by country. Applicants with IB, A-levels or the American High School Diploma can often enter directly; for other qualifications the pages often say a foundation programme is normally required. International students who do not meet the academic requirements can take the undergraduate foundation programme at the Strathclyde International Study Centre, run by a third party and not accessed for this guide. Strathclyde describes it in two ways: the course page says an “Undergraduate Foundation Programme in Business and Social Sciences”, and the English requirements page says progression to the second year of a business and social sciences or engineering and sciences-related degree; check the Centre’s website.
• Tuition: the course pages give international fees of £30,950 a year for 2026/27 and £31,100 for 2027/28; Biomedical Engineering is £31,900 and £32,100. Strathclyde says fees are revised annually by no more than 10%, with a 6% increase given as the example for 2027/28. Course materials are extra, up to about £400 according to the course pages.
• Scholarships: the course pages say a number of scholarships are available to international students and point to the scholarship search tool. That is a search page, which this guide did not use, so which engineering scholarships international students can get, whether they are automatic and their value are not published in the pages read. The Faculty also lists Engineering Academy scholarships for students on that route.

6. Applicants from China

• What the China entry page says:
  • First-year entry (four years to an Honours degree): an average of 80% in the Huikao and at least 80% in the required subjects; in provinces with no Huikao, an 80% average over six subjects including the required subjects.
  • Second-year entry (three years): the same, plus a Gaokao score of at least 525/750, or at least 70% where the total is not out of 750.
  The page does not break these down by engineering programme or say which subjects are “required”; not published, so contact the Faculty’s admissions team.
• A-level and IB students: apply using the grades in section 3; the programme pages also list Year 2 entry requirements.
• Foundation: applicants who do not meet the requirements can take the foundation programme at the International Study Centre (section 5, where the two descriptions differ).
• English: IELTS 6.0 with no band under 5.5 for engineering undergraduates, as in section 5.
• Interviews and accrediting bodies: the contacts on the China page are for postgraduate study; whether undergraduates from China are interviewed or need an accrediting body is not published.

7. Transfers and Year 2 entry

• Conditions for transferring into the second year from another university are not stated on the course pages; not published. The application page says only that, depending on your qualifications, you might apply directly to Year 2 or Year 3 and should speak to the course contact.
• HNC and HND: programme pages list HNC entry to Year 1 and HND entry to Year 2; for example Electronic & Electrical Engineering asks for an HNC with an A in the Graded Unit for Year 1 and an HND (including Engineering Maths 1–4 and other units) with AA in the Graded Units for Year 2. The Chemical Engineering page lists an HNC/HND or a related degree plus relevant work experience, and says applicants with prior industry experience can enter at the equivalent of Year 3.
• Engineering Academy: your first year is an enhanced HNC at one of seven partner colleges, with practical skills units at Strathclyde. Students who complete it, achieve an A in the Graded Unit and engage with Strathclyde activities are guaranteed progression: HNC Chemical Engineering to Year 2 of Chemical Engineering; HNC Electronics to Year 2 of Electronic & Electrical Engineering; HNC General Engineering to Year 1 of Biomedical Engineering or Year 2 of Civil, Civil and Environmental, Product Design, Manufacturing, Sports Design, Mechanical and the Naval Architecture programmes. Entry: Highers BBBC (including Maths and Physics or Engineering Science at B), minimum BBCC.
• Credit transfer and recognition of calculus and physics courses are not published.

8. Placements and study abroad

• The course pages do not describe a salaried placement year. The Civil, and Civil and Environmental, pages say many companies offer summer placements at the end of Years 3 and 4, some tied to sponsorship; the Chemical Engineering page mentions opportunities for work experience and international placements and field trips in Year 3; Engineering Academy students have paid summer placements between Years 2 and 3 and 3 and 4.
• Study abroad: an option for all mechanical engineering courses, with the “with International Study” versions requiring a full year abroad in Year 3; MEng Year 5 students may apply to do their group project at a university abroad. Students bear some of the cost.

9. Timeline (September 2027 entry)

• UCAS January deadline: the pages give no exact date, so check UCAS; applications in by then are decided by the end of March where possible.
• A separate deadline for international direct applications is not published; apply early and leave time for your visa.
• Mechanical Engineering: likely offer holders are normally invited to visit between January and March.

Checklist

UK applicants:

• Mechanical Engineering: Highers AAAB (Maths and Physics at A) or A-levels ABB–BBB (Maths, Physics); check other programmes’ pages
• Apply through UCAS (code S78) by the January deadline; Mechanical Engineering does not accept deferred entry

International applicants:

• A-level or IB with Maths and the programme’s science subject; IELTS 6.0 (5.5 in each) for engineering undergraduates
• Tuition about £31,100 a year (Biomedical £32,100); look up scholarships on the official search page

Applicants from China:

• First-year entry: Huikao 80% average with 80% in required subjects; second-year entry adds a Gaokao score of 525/750
• If short, consider the International Study Centre foundation programme

Transfer students:

• No stated transfer route; HNC/HND and the Engineering Academy have set entry years; contact the Faculty’s admissions team

Sources: University of Strathclyde, Faculty of Engineering; Courses A-Z; Mechanical Engineering BEng; Mechanical Engineering MEng; Aero-Mechanical Engineering; Electronic & Electrical Engineering; Civil Engineering; Chemical Engineering; Biomedical Engineering; Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering; Engineering Academy; How to apply; Entry requirements by country; English language requirements; Excellence Scholarship. Some entry requirement sections on the course pages are still labelled 2025/26 or 2026/27, while the fee sections show 2027/28; this is noted in the text. Check Strathclyde for the latest details.