Engineering
Academic Staff
Fellows
Dr Will Moore is a Fellow and Tutor in Engineering, who teaches Mathematics, Electricity, Electronics and Control. His research interests include the testing of integrated circuits.
Dr Peter McFadden is a Fellow and Tutor in Engineering, who teaches Dynamics, Structures, Materials, Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics. His research interests include the early detection of incipient failure in machines and structures.
Lecturer
Dr David Clifton took a top first in engineering mathematics at the University of Bristol, and then a DPhil in information engineering at the University of Oxford. He is currently a Junior Research Fellow in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, in the Department of Engineering Science, and is funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EPSRC.
About the Course
The Engineering courses at Oxford are of four years’ duration. There is a common first year which gives a broad base in Mathematics and the main branches of Engineering Science, namely Mechanical, Electrical, Information and Civil Engineering, plus Materials and Energy Systems. Usually on application, but certainly before the second year, you must decide between the Honours Courses in Engineering Science and that in Engineering, Economics and Management. Even so, there are relatively small differences between the second years of the courses and it is not until the third year that you begin to have a real freedom of choice. At this point the Engineering Science degree divides into Mechanical, Civil, Electrical, Chemical, Biomedical and Information options. The fourth year of the course is entirely specialised and you have a wide choice of specialised subjects.
Practical work in the first two years consists of a mixture of set experiments, designed to develop practical techniques and to illustrate key aspects of the lecture courses, and open-ended “design-build-test” projects, giving you more freedom to explore the nature of Engineering. The second year culminates with a series of “coursework modules” where you choose from a wide range of subjects and explore them in detail for a whole week at a time. In the third year of the course, you undertake a group design project, co-operating with a group of other students to look at all aspects of a realistic Engineering design project. In the final year you will have an even more demanding but deeply interesting individual project, which counts for 50% of the year.
Compared with most Engineering courses in the country, you will find that the number of timetabled lectures is rather small. Do not be deceived by this! A key feature of Oxford education is the demand on the students to prepare work by themselves in their own time. You are aided in this by College tutorials in the first two years of the course. These are normally held twice a week in small groups of two or three students, or even one student at a time when this is appropriate. Tutorials have three main roles. The obvious one is to check that you are tackling the problem sheets handed out by lecturers in the Department, but if you experience difficulties the tutorials can act as specific remedial sessions. The tutorials also act as a stimulant to encourage you to think more widely about your subject. Most of your tutorials will be taken by one or other of the two Engineering tutors at Jesus, but they will be supplemented by experts from outside the College when necessary. In the third and fourth years of the course, when the subjects are more specialised, the Department organises problems classes in place of College tutorials. For the joint course in Engineering, Economics and Management, tutorials in the non-Engineering subjects are taken either by the appropriate tutors at Jesus, or arranged for you with tutors at other colleges.
Following a recent course revision, there are now University examinations at the end of each year. In addition, colleges maintain a more even pressure by setting their own examinations called Collections. Be assured that success in Engineering comes from a steady and sustained effort throughout the course: last minute cramming can never substitute for this!
Joint Schools
Engineering, Economics and Management (EEM)
EEM is primarily an Engineering course, but with about one third devoted to the study of Economics and Management in place of some of the Engineering subjects. It is normal to apply for direct admission to the course, but it is possible to leave the decision to study EEM until late in the first year. The flexible structure of the course allows students to choose either a broad-based degree or one with more specialist work in Economics or Management. The course is recognised as being extremely demanding and many employers value the course highly.
The first year of Engineering, Economics and Management (EEM) and Engineering Science are identical. To proceed with EEM in the second year, students must pass all their Prelims papers at the first attempt. (Applicants may note that the College has academic discipline rules that give it power, in any event, not to allow students to continue with their courses where they have failed to achieve a satisfactory standard in their first-year examinations.)
In the second and third years a similar pattern of study exists, but courses in Economics and Management replace some of the Engineering subjects. After the third year, students normally embark on a 24-week Management or Engineering project. This takes the form of an industrial placement, during which students undertake a project of value to the firm in which they are placed. While in industry, they are supervised by an academic tutor and an industrial supervisor. At the end of the placement, a report is submitted for consideration in the examinations and counts for half of the final year assessment.
Admissions
Of the 100 or so undergraduates admitted to Jesus College each year, about five or six will be reading Engineering. Candidates must take Physics and Mathematics at A Level (or an equivalent qualification such as the International Baccalaureate). At Jesus College we do not mind what the third subject is (or in the case of some A Level candidates, the fourth subject). We are always pleased to see candidates with a broad range of interests, although a second Mathematics subject is the most directly relevant to the course. If candidates have a choice, applied maths (Mechanics) modules are particularly recommended. Please contact us if you have any queries about the subjects you are taking. Whatever these subjects are, it is important that you achieve a high standard.
The standard offer will be A*AA to include Mathematics and Physics. The A* must be obtained in Mathematics, Physics or Further Mathematics. Applications from students taking the IB or other equivalent examinations are also welcome.
Candidates for all Engineering courses will be required to sit the Physics Aptitude Test in schools on 2 November 2011. The test is administered by Cambridge Assessment, and the registration deadline is 14 October 2011. For further details please see Physics Aptitude Test web page (available from August 2011).
No written work from school or college need be submitted prior to interview.
Interviews will be held at the College early in December. You will have one interview with the Engineering tutors at Jesus College and another on the same day at another college chosen automatically for you by the Engineering admissions computer. The interview at Jesus is quite informal, the purpose being to assess your ability to succeed on our courses and your motivation to do so. We will expect you to understand the particular nature of our courses at Oxford and we will question you on a mathematics and a physics topic that you have studied. We will guide you to reveal your creative, scientific or engineering interests.
Deferred Entry: Applications for deferred entry to Jesus College are welcomed. However, you must apply for deferred entry at the time of application to Oxford: you cannot change your mind after an offer has been made. Please refer to departmental web sites for subject-specific advice. You should be aware that applicants who are offered places for deferred entry will generally be among the strongest of the cohort for their subject. We would not usually offer more than one or two deferred places per subject in order not to disadvantage the following year's candidates. In some cases, an applicant for deferred entry may be offered a place for non-deferred entry instead. If you require any further advice, please contact the Admissions Officer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What A Levels do I need?
To read Engineering you normally need Maths and Physics (with an A* in one of these) and a third A Level at grade A. The most relevant third (or fourth) A Level is a second maths, and the most popular is Chemistry, but other subjects are equally welcome.
Does it make any difference if I apply for straight Engineering Science or Engineering, Economics and Management?
At Jesus we consider all Engineering applications together and make a fixed total number of offers. The first year is common to both courses and successful applicants are invited to confirm their choice (or to apply for the other course) at the end of the first year. Students wishing to proceed with Engineering, Economics and Management into the second year must pass all the first year exams at the first attempt. Otherwise Jesus imposes no restrictions on your choice.
What about sponsorship?
We are always pleased for candidates to apply for industrial sponsorship, or to consider requests to take a year out between school and university for any other sound reason. However, a consequence of our operating with a small quota is that we must know the year for which you are applying at the time of the interview. This poses very little problem in practice, because we find that candidates who are offered a place at Jesus nearly always obtain some sponsorship if they try, and if you do not obtain sponsorship at the first attempt we may be able to help with further suggestions.
Postgraduate Studies and Careers
The study of all branches of Engineering in Oxford is encompassed in a single, unitary Department of Engineering Science. The opportunities in the Department for postgraduate study and research include the conventional disciplines of Engineering such as Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Mechanical, as well as Information Engineering and Biomedical Engineering.
The combination of rigour and practicality in their training makes our Engineering graduates attractive to a wide range of employers in Engineering, commerce and other areas.
Further Information
Full details of the Engineering courses at Oxford can be obtained from the departmental prospectus and you are advised to obtain a copy from the Department. Further information can be obtained from the Department of Engineering Science website. Information about admissions is available on the University's Undergraduate Courses pages.