Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Electrical and Electronic Engineering provides intellectual challenges and opportunities. Its proponents generate many of the technological changes that characterise modern global society: the innovative use of microelectronic chips; mobile systems, pervasive computers, devices operating with time-critical responses at the highest levels of reliability.

To maintain its rapid technological advance and powerful socio-economic influence, the electronic engineering profession needs dynamic engineers who can absorb and develop new ideas and adapt easily to changing technology.

Subject guide

We will provide you with a broad-based education to give you competence in a wide range of electronic and electrical engineering disciplines. You will begin with the fundamental principles such as digital, analogue electronics, computing, mathematics and project management. Theory is married to practice with extensive laboratory-based practical work fully integrated with the lecture material throughout the course. You will be able to specialise in areas of particular interest or relevance to your future career by selecting from our range of options from digital system design to telecommunications systems, optoelectronics to signal processing before embarking on a final year six-month design project of your own choosing.

Learning, teaching & assessment

You will benefit from a range of teaching methods and learning styles, including formal lectures; laboratory and design classes, and seminars; small groups tutorials with a personal tutor; computer-aided learning and virtual learning environments. You can expect an exciting learning experience with practical work and taught material integrated throughout the degree course.

During the year you will find a sequence of formative assessments to re-enforce and enhance the taught material. The overall assessment is a collation of marks from examination, classroom and laboratory exercises, internet-based practical assessments and oral presentations.

Placement year

You can choose between a 3 year full-time or 4 year sandwich course which incorporates an integrated year of paid industrial or commercial placement. You can delay this choice until the start of your second year. We will help you find a suitable placement and visit you regularly to ensure it is a success.

The placement is a perfect opportunity to gain invaluable professional experience. It will help you make a more informed judgement about your future career and will form an invaluable part of your CV when you seek graduate employment.

Professional accreditation

Our courses have been developed in collaboration with the electronics and telecommunications professions. All courses in the Electronic Engineering Academic Group are accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET, formerly the IEE).

Career prospects

Well-trained graduates with skills in electronics design, software, telecommunications and engineering are in high demand. Some of our recent graduates are currently commanding high salaries working in government, the public sector and private industry, for employers such as: Olympus, Corus, HSBC, Oxford University, Hewlett Packard, Cogent Defence, BAE Systems, Npower, Siemens, Orange, Vodafone, QinetiQ, National Grid, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar Cars and Microsoft.

Other graduates have chosen to study for PhD degrees at Aston or at other universities across the UK and beyond or have started their own businesses.

Areas where our graduates enter include:

• Research & development

• Design & manufacture

• Management and marketing

• Consultancy

• Education

• Innovation