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BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering with International foundation year

Award

BEng (Hons)

Start Date

20/09/2027

Duration

4 years

Mode

Full-time

Location

University of Greater Manchester

UCAS Points

48

UCAS Code

H219

Civil engineers build the world according to people’s constantly evolving needs and to increasingly demanding specifications. The University of Greater Manchester's BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering with international foundation year is an exciting opportunity to develop a deep understanding of civil engineering’s key principles and applications, helping you build a rewarding career in the sector.

Please note:
This course is 'Subject to Approval' and has not yet completed the University’s approvals process. Whilst we are confident that the course will be approved, there is the possibility that the course may not run or may be subject to alterations. This course is due to be validated by October 2026 after which we will write to all applicants who have applied for the course to let them know the outcome and of any changes. In the event that a course is not approved the University will make reasonable efforts to offer an alternative course at the University.

Course Overview

This course includes an integrated foundation year specifically designed for international students, allowing you to use a single visa throughout your undergraduate studies. The foundation year will help you become familiar with the teaching and assessment methods used in UK higher education while developing your English language skills to the level required for advanced undergraduate research and academic writing. Successfully completing the foundation year with the required grades will enable you to progress directly to the first year of your undergraduate degree, without the need to reapply.

Civil engineering underpins the fabric of society, from roads, railways and airports, to glittering steel and glass skyscrapers and hotels, and life-saving water-management systems such as dams, flood defences and even sewers. If your goal is to innovate and improve infrastructure and amenities for communities, this course is designed to be an excellent preparation for a range of civil engineering careers.

Our BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering with international foundation year allows you to study and acquire the technological, vocational and personal skills you’ll need for a civil engineering career. It also serves as a comprehensive professional development programme for those already working in the profession. Our expert team will support you to build the theoretical understanding and practical knowledge needed for a civil engineering role. You'll also be able to learn and apply the principles of analysis and evaluation to civil engineering and construction-related problems.

To support the development of your practical skills, we’ll give you ample opportunity to use our well-equipped materials, hydraulics, geotechnical and structures laboratories, plus access to an extensive range of the latest surveying equipment. We also have unique design studio facilities for you to use, featuring up-to-date CAD software and hardware.
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Highlights

  • This is a vocational programme that can significantly boost your employment opportunities in civil engineering.
  • You’ll study the same content as UK students, developing your subject knowledge and academic skills. During the foundation year, you’ll also take a specialist English for Academic Purposes module designed to strengthen your academic language and study skills, supporting your progression and achievement.
  • You can learn from guest speakers and lecturers from diverse construction project management backgrounds.
  • The course is designed to fully satisfy the educational basis for an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) and to partially satisfy the educational basis for Chartered Engineer (CEng) status.
  • You can benefit from our strong links with industry, including many key structural engineering, consultancy and contracting companies in the North West.
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Key Features

  • Our friendly department of construction experts ensures your needs are in encouraging and supportive hands.
  • You’ll have access to the University’s unique design studio space, which has the latest CAD software and hardware and an impressive range of other specialist facilities.
  • We offer a flexible and hands-on education designed to provide valuable context to your studies and prime you for career progression.
  • By choosing to study with us, you'll have the chance to enjoy Bolton's many shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities. Manchester, one of the UK's most multicultural and lively cities, is less than 20 minutes away by train. Not forgetting, the North West of England is renowned for its beautiful countryside, coastline and heritage. This makes the University of Greater Manchester an ideal base from which to explore some of the best cultural and outdoor activities the UK offers.
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Entry Requirements
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Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

Career Opportunities

The course is designed to help you achieve the technical knowledge to support a career as a civil, structural, geotechnical, hydraulic, or highway and transportation engineer – pretty much anywhere in the world. You have the chance to develop your understanding of designing, creating and building structures efficiently and for making the best use of available resources and techniques.

In addition to subject-specific knowledge and skills, you’ll have the opportunity to develop employability skills that include problem-solving, analytical and research skills, critical thinking, creativity, communication, teamwork, commercial awareness, and health and safety.

What can I do with this qualification?

Completing our BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering degree will prepare you for a career in the construction industry as well as in the wider business, management and financial sectors. Recent graduates have been employed by civil and structural engineering practices, local authorities, government agencies and civil engineering contractors.

Civil and structural engineers work on buildings of all kinds and transport and communication infrastructures. This can include bridges, roads, tunnels, canals and other large constructions. They also work for employers involved in the production, storage and distribution of electricity, gas and water. Opportunities are available with employers both in the UK and overseas.

Most new graduates who enter professional training with a civil engineering company continue to study part-time whilst working to achieve professional standards to become either a Chartered (CEng) or Incorporated (IEng) Engineer. It’s also possible to study a postgraduate master’s degree in civil engineering, which further develops general skills and knowledge or specialist knowledge in a particular area, such as water management, earthquake engineering, maritime civil engineering and environmental engineering.

Alternative career options

Graduates can use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles, relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. Potential roles include:

  • Building services engineering
  • Geology
  • Environmental consultancy
  • Quantity surveying
  • Logistics
  • Operation management
  • Patent law and intellectual property
  • Teaching
  • Research and development
  • Procurement, purchasing and buying
  • Supply chain management
  • Technical sales and consultancy
Professional Recognition

The University of Greater Manchester's BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering course degree is accredited as:
1) fully satisfying the educational base for an Incorporated Engineer (IEng), and
2) partially satisfying the educational base for a Chartered Engineer (CEng). A programme of accredited further learning will be required to complete the educational base for CEng.
See www.jbm.org.uk for further information and details of further learning programmes for CEng.

BEng (Hons) graduates can apply for Incorporated Engineer (IEng) professional status after the necessary practice in industry.

You’ll be encouraged to become a student member of the relevant Institution(s) and participate in local and regional activities, enabling you to network with potential employers.

Fees & Funding

Funding your studies: From January 2027, eligible students may be able to use the new Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) to access tuition fee loan funding for this course. The LLE is designed to make student finance more flexible and support people to study, retrain or develop their skills at different stages of life. Find out more about the LLE and eligibility Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) | Skills for Careers

Home/EU Fees

No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Greater Manchester’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@greatermanchester.ac.uk for more information.

International Fees

No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Greater Manchester’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@greatermanchester.ac.uk for more information.

Important note regarding tuition fees: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

Home Undergraduate Tuition Fee Adjustment

The tuition fee applicable to the first year of your programme of study is confirmed in your offer letter. The tuition fee set is based on the regulations and guidance in force at the time of offer but remains subject to adjustment in accordance with any government-approved inflationary increase. The University reserves the right to amend tuition fees for all years of study, including the first year, by no more than the maximum increase permitted under legislation and regulatory guidance issued by the UK Government and the Office for Students.

Where such increases are approved, they will not exceed the rate of inflation, as measured by an appropriate index such as the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), or any successor measure specified by government. The University will apply any adjustment consistently across affected student cohorts and will give reasonable notice to students of any confirmed change to the published fee before the start of the relevant academic year.

This approach ensures that tuition fees remain compliant with applicable legislation, proportionate to inflationary changes, and consistent with government policy linking permitted fee uplifts to the maintenance of high-quality education and outcomes. For more information, please refer to the government guidance at: gov.uk – Universities to deliver better outcomes in return for full fees.

Postgraduate and International Tuition Fee Adjustment

The tuition fee applicable to the first year of your programme of study is confirmed in your offer letter. The University reserves the right to amend tuition fees for subsequent years of study in accordance with its Course Fees Policy. Where such increases are approved, they will not exceed the rate of inflation, as measured by an appropriate index such as the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), or any successor measure specified by government. The University will apply any adjustment consistently across affected student cohorts and will give reasonable notice to students of any confirmed change to the published fee before the start of the relevant academic year.

How to apply

Home Applicants

Unfortunately, due to the limited number of places available for this course, we cannot accept direct applications from home students at this time. Please visit www.ucas.com to see details of the next available start date and learn how to apply for a place. We encourage you to apply as soon as applications open.

International Applicants

Thank you for your interest

In order to determine your suitability for this course as an international student and also to confirm you meet any initial eligibility criteria, we need you to answer a few short questions.

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Teaching & Assessment

A significant proportion of your study experiences will mirror industry scenarios and conditions. For example, you’ll take on an interdisciplinary group project in your final year, designed to simulate a construction project from inception to completion. Throughout the project, you’ll effectively be a civil engineer, working within a team of other construction specialists.

Civil engineering is a diverse and multi-faceted industry, so we’ve made sure we use a wide range of teaching and learning methods to help you acquire the appropriate concepts, knowledge and skills for success. While you’ll have plenty of opportunities to learn directly from tutors and technicians during timetabled classes, practical work and tutorials, you’ll also be expected to allocate significant time to independent and self-directed studies. For example, we recommend you plan and commit to background reading, revisiting practical work, attending lectures and technical reviews provided by professional bodies, preparing for seminars, working on assignments and revising for exams. That said, we’re here to guide and support you, so we’ll gladly help you devise an independent study regime to aid your success.

The course offers site visits, which provide an excellent opportunity to view state-of-the-art projects and see how your newly discovered insights and knowledge can be applied in practice. You'll also benefit from individual and small-group tutorials and group study sessions, where you can share and develop ideas and consolidate your learning.

We assess your individual performance through a strategic blend of practical work, exams, essays, presentations, laboratory write-ups and other assignments. Course assessments are formative and summative. Formative assessments comprise tailored feedback to support your individual learning and development needs. They do not contribute directly to your marks for each module in the way that summative assessments do. However, they do help you build on your strengths, overcome any weaknesses, and contribute to your overall success.

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.

Programme Contacts

Disclaimer: The “Greater Manchester Way” represents our preferred teaching and learning approach; however, not all courses follow a block-teaching model. While course structures and delivery patterns may vary to meet Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body (PSRB) requirements, all courses benefit from the GM Way approach to curriculum design and assessment. Applicants and students should refer to individual course specifications for the most accurate and up-to-date information.