Selection for Mechanical Engineering
Our Mechanical Engineering courses are extremely popular, and places are limited – admissions for these courses are selective.
We cannot guarantee you an offer of a place, even if you meet our typical requirements.
Applicable courses
We consider applications to the following courses equally, using the same selection factors:
- Aerospace Engineering BEng (Hons) – 4 years with professional placement
- Aerospace Engineering BEng (Hons) – 3 years
- Aerospace Engineering MEng (Hons) – 5 years with professional placement
- Aerospace Engineering MEng (Hons) – 4 years
- Integrated Design Engineering BEng (Hons) – 4 years with professional placement
- Integrated Design Engineering BEng (Hons) – 3 years
- Integrated Design Engineering MEng (Hons) – 5 years with professional placement
- Integrated Design Engineering MEng (Hons) – 4 years
- Mechanical Engineering BEng (Hons) – 4 years with professional placement
- Mechanical Engineering BEng (Hons) – 3 years
- Mechanical Engineering MEng (Hons) – 5 years with professional placement
- Mechanical Engineering MEng (Hons) – 4 years
- Mechanical Engineering with Manufacturing and Management BEng (Hons) – 4 years with professional placement
- Mechanical Engineering with Manufacturing and Management BEng (Hons) – 3 years
- Mechanical Engineering with Manufacturing and Management MEng (Hons) – 5 years with professional placement
- Mechanical Engineering with Manufacturing and Management MEng (Hons) – 4 years
- Mechanical with Automotive Engineering BEng (Hons) – 4 years with professional placement
- Mechanical with Automotive Engineering BEng (Hons) – 3 years
- Mechanical with Automotive Engineering MEng (Hons) – 5 years with professional placement
- Mechanical with Automotive Engineering MEng (Hons) – 4 years
If you apply to one of these courses you can switch between them at any stage of the application process. There is no benefit to using more than one of your UCAS choices and applying for multiple variants of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bath.
Please note when we use the term Mechanical Engineering, we are referring to any of the applicable courses above.
Selection criteria for A level students
The following are considered for students studying A levels. If you study other qualifications, the same factors will be considered (where relevant) but we will tailor our approach to your specific qualifications.
Your background and any mitigating circumstances will always be considered alongside our standard selection priorities. For example, we will give additional consideration to you if you meet our contextual admissions criteria even if you do not meet all of the standard factors.
The information presented here is a guide to our typical selection factors – we reserve the right to consider other factors where necessary to distinguish between equally qualified applicants. All our entry requirements and selection criteria are informed by academic practice.
The typical factors we consider, with guide weighting, are:
GCSE profile - 40%
Your overall GCSE profile is very important for this course, as achievement across a broad range of subjects and skills will best prepare you for degree study.
When assessing your application, we consider your best eight grades including Mathematics and at least one English Language or Literature subject.
If you have fewer than six GCSE grades (or did not study GCSEs) your overall academic profile will be considered instead based on any current and previous study.
In previous years the strongest applicants in this area have had GCSEs of mostly 9 or A* grades.
Predicted or achieved grades - 20%
The strongest applicants will have predicted grades above our typical offer.
Your predicted or achieved grade in Mathematics and Physics are particularly important.
We are less likely to be able to make an offer if you have predicted or achieved grades that do not meet our offers.
We understand predicted grades vary between schools and teachers and are not an exact measure of final achievement. We will consider students predicted close to our typical requirements in a similar manner to those predicted to meet.
Subjects studied - 20%
A level Mathematics and Physics (or equivalent) are essential.
We prefer students who have studied Further Mathematics. Other subjects we then prefer are Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Design Technology, Electronics, Environmental Science, Physics, Psychology and Statistics.
Personal statement - 20%
We are looking for a personal statement that demonstrates your enthusiasm for Mechanical Engineering and strong engagement and understanding of what studying this degree will involve.
Stronger personal statements will use a scientific writing style and demonstrate logical and analytical thinking, related to Mechanical Engineering. They will reflect on relevant experiences and research beyond the school curriculum.
Examples could include:
- Additional personal study in and/or experience of engineering
- Relevant work experience, volunteering or internships (although relevant work experience is not required or expected).
- Preparation for HE activities such as summer schools or preparatory courses
- A discipline specific project qualification such as the EPQ or Welsh Baccalaureate.
We will not usually consider alternative or supplementary personal statements for this course – your application will be assessed based on the personal statement you submit through UCAS only.
If you are applying to multiple subject areas across your UCAS choices your personal statement will need to be relevant for Mechanical Engineering.