Materials Science and Engineering with a Year Abroad

Successful innovation depends on the selection and performance of key materials. From cars, aeroplanes and cruise ships, to sports equipment and musical instruments, the right materials can help to define technological progress.

Materials Science and Engineering explores how the properties of matter can be controlled. It includes elements of physics and chemistry, connecting closely with most other areas of engineering.

This degree will prepare you for a rewarding career across engineering sectors including aerospace, automotive, manufacturing, sports, and energy generation.

As you progress, your developing analytical abilities will combine with hands-on experience of advanced equipment, establishing skills which are vital to securing employment in the wider industry.

This course offers you the opportunity to spend a Year Abroad at a partner university which enriches the degree, giving you a valuable cultural experience which can broaden your horizons when seeking employment.

Engineering at Swansea University has a strong reputation and attracts students from across the world.
• 1st for Student Experience (The Times Good University Guide 2025)
• 3rd in the UK for Learning Resources* (NSS 2024)
• 3rd in the UK for Student Satisfaction (Complete University Guide 2025)
• 5th in the UK Materials Technology (Daily Mail University Guide 2025)
• 8th in the UK for Graduate Prospects (Complete University Guide 2025)
• Top 131 in the World (QS World University Rankings 2025)

Our state-of-the-art facilities include world-leading equipment for the characterisation of mechanical properties of metallic, ceramic, polymeric and composite materials.

We also have an extensive range of laboratories housing scanning electron microscopes with full microanalysis and electron backscatter diffraction capabilities.

Visits to Tata Steel, Timet, Ensinger and Airbus will give you real industrial world insights. Our graduates also go on to have interesting and varied careers at companies such as, Tata Steel, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar Land Rover, Atkins, GE Aviation, Mott MacDonald and Babcock International Group.

In Year 1, you will typically study areas including:
Introduction to Materials Engineering, Materials Resources, Engineering Analysis for Materials, Mechanical Properties of Materials, Instrumental and Analytical Chemistry, Data analysis and simulation

In Year 2, you will typically study areas including:
Software Engineering, AI, Machine Learning and Data Analysis, Research Project Preparation, Functional and Smart Materials, Microstructure Evolution and Control in Metallic Materials, Order and Disorder in Materials, Polymers: Structure and Processing

As part of this programme, you will spend a year abroad between your second and final year, broadening your skills and experience. Our partner institutions span the globe, with opportunities varying each year.

In Year 4, you will typically study areas including:
Advanced Optical Materials and Devices, Fracture and Fatigue, Individual Engineering Project, Microstructure and Characterisation, Propulsion, Composite Materials, Ceramics

In your final year, you will typically study areas including:
Nanoscale Structures and Devices, Structural Integrity of Aerospace Metals, Sustainability and Environmental Assessment, Power Generation Systems, Socio-Technical Engineering, Additive Manufacturing, Simulation Based Product Design, Aerospace Materials Engineering

Practical skills sessions, lab work seminars, and workshops predominantly take place in person, allowing for group working and demonstrations. We also operate virtual labs and Simulated Learning Environments which will facilitate greater access to training opportunities in the future. However, our approach also includes the use of some online learning to support and enhance traditional face-to-face teaching.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• Materials, Minerals and Mining, Institute of