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.
About the Course
The Engineering courses at Oxford are of four years’ duration. The first two years give a broad base in Mathematics and the main branches of Engineering Science, namely Mechanical, Electrical, Information and Civil Engineering, plus Materials and Energy Systems, 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.
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
Please note that the Engineering, Economics and Management (EEM) is to be discontinued and applications will not be considered for entry in 2014 or later.
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 6 November 2013. Candidates are required to register with the Admissions Testing Service, which sets and administers the test. The closing date for registration will be 15 October 2013.
No written work from school or college need be submitted prior to interview.
Interviews will be held at the College in mid-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 one of the branches of Engineering?
At Jesus we consider all Engineering applications together and make a fixed total number of offers. The first two years are common to all courses and you are free to choose the options you prefer in the third and fourth years.
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.
Last updated May 2013