Metadata
Title
Undergraduate study
Category
undergraduate
UUID
feaeeb2e9b644139b92a45e869cd52c2
Source URL
https://www.gla.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/productdesignengineering/
Parent URL
https://www.gla.ac.uk/undergraduate/how-to-apply-for-an-undergraduate-degree/cho...
Crawl Time
2026-03-24T07:17:27+00:00
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Undergraduate study

Source: https://www.gla.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/productdesignengineering/ Parent: https://www.gla.ac.uk/undergraduate/how-to-apply-for-an-undergraduate-degree/choosingyourdegree/advanced-entry/

Undergraduate

Product Design Engineering BEng/MEng

Product Design Engineering is jointly delivered by the University and The Glasgow School of Art and integrates engineering with design.

You will work closely with industry throughout the programme, which may lead to internship and employment opportunities. You will have the opportunity to go on fieldtrips to industrial centres of excellence and events that are related to your studies.

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Year of entry 2026 2027 2028

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Apply via UCAS

Programme structure

You will study the same courses in the first three years whether on the BEng or MEng degree programme. Both embed creativity to develop world changing engineers.

Year 1

You will take a wide-ranging curriculum which includes courses in product design engineering (delivered by The Glasgow School of Art), mathematics, dynamics, electronics, materials, statics, thermodynamics and engineering skills. These courses are supported by individual and group project work and laboratory work. This interdisciplinary approach, favoured by industry, also makes it easy to switch to most other engineering disciplines at the end of year 1 should you wish to do so.

Years 2 and 3

In year 2 you will continue to study mathematics and fundamental engineering courses together with product design engineering at The Glasgow School of Art.

Year 3 develops and integrates the application of theory through structured projects, with an increased amount of studio time at The Glasgow School of Art. You will study more advanced engineering subjects at the University: materials & manufacture, dynamics, control & fluid power, heat transfer, mathematical modelling & simulation, and mechanics of materials & structures.

Years 4 and 5

In the final year of the BEng, you will propose your own programme of individual product development and prototyping, leading to detailed design proposals. You will also study advanced subjects in engineering, management, manufacture and design. These include advanced materials, mechanics of solids, microelectronics and design studies.

In year 4 of the MEng degree you will follow a similar programme to the BEng, and undertake a group design project with students from across engineering. Studio activities will continue and you will study advanced subjects in design & technology engineering, management and design.

In year 5 you will work on your own programme of product development and prototyping, leading to concept and detailed design proposals. You will also study advanced manufacture, human factors, robotics and mechanics of solids.

Course details

You will study the same courses in the first three years whether you are on the BEng or MEng degree programme. Both embed creativity to develop world changing engineers.

Year 1

In your first year, you will take a wide-ranging curriculum which includes courses in product design engineering (delivered by the Glasgow School of Art), mathematics, dynamics, electronics, materials, statics, thermodynamics and engineering skills. These courses are supported by individual and group project work and laboratory work. This interdisciplinary approach, favoured by industry, also makes it possible to switch to most other engineering disciplines at the end of year 1 should you wish to do so.

Core courses:

Year 2

Core courses:

Year 3

The third year develops and integrates the application of theory through structured projects, with an increased amount of studio time at the Glasgow School of Art. You will study more advanced engineering subjects at the University: materials and manufacture, dynamics, control and fluid power, heat transfer, mathematical modelling and simulation, and mechanics of materials and structures.

Core courses:

Optional courses:

Year 4

In the final year of the BEng, you will propose your own programme of individual product development and prototyping, leading to concept and detailed design proposals. You will also study advanced subjects in engineering, management, manufacture and design. These include advanced materials, mechanics of solids, microelectronics and design studies.

In year 4 of the MEng degree you will follow a similar programme to the BEng, and undertake a group design project, with mechanical engineering and mechanical design engineering students. Studio activities will continue and you will study advanced subjects in design and technology engineering, management and design.

BEng core courses:

MEng core courses:

Year 5

In year 5 you will work on a programme of product development and prototyping proposed by you, leading to concept and detailed design proposals. You will also study advanced manufacture, human factors, robotics and mechanics of solids.

Core courses:

*delivered by the Glasgow School of Art.

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Programme alteration or discontinuation\ The University of Glasgow endeavours to run all programmes as advertised. In exceptional circumstances, however, the University may withdraw or alter a programme. For more information, please see: Student contract.

The programme benefits from excellent collaborations with industry and students have worked on projects with Airbus, Autodesk, BHL, Callum, Chubb, Dyson, Formlabs, HP and Shark Ninja. We also look to support live projects with industry in the final year of study. Students also develop their own range of products for PDE Collection.

PDE is also a recipient of funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering, this industry-into-UK academia initiative aims to utilise the experience of Visiting Professors to enhance teaching & learning, employability and skills of UK engineering degree students whilst strengthening partnerships with industry.

As part of the MEng programme there is the possibility that you may spend the fourth year in Trondheim, Norway. We are establishing links with universities to provide similar possibilities at other levels of study for MEng and BEng students.

Entry requirements

for entry in 2026

Summary of entry requirements for Product Design Engineering

SQA Higher entry requirements

SQA Higher adjusted entry requirements* (by end of S5 or S6)

* See Access Glasgow for eligibility.

A-level standard entry requirements

IB standard entry requirements

Entry requirements for advanced entry to Product Design Engineering

Applicants who achieve exceptional grades in their Advanced Highers, A-levels or International Baccalaureate may be considered for advanced entry, meaning that an Honours degree can be completed in three years instead of the normal four years, or four years for five-year integrated Masters programmes.

Choose point of entry 2nd year on your UCAS application to indicate you wish to be considered for advanced entry.

SQA Higher requirements for advanced entry

A-level requirements for advanced entry

IB requirements for advanced entry

Admissions guidance

Glasgow International College

International students with academic qualifications below those required should contact our partner institution, Glasgow International College, who offer a range of foundation certificates.

English language

For applicants from non-English speaking countries, as defined by the UK Government, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level.

English language requirements

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic and Academic Online (not General Training)

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Common equivalent English language qualifications for entry to this programme

TOEFL (ibt, mybest or athome)

Tests taken up to 20 January 2026

Tests taken from 21 January 2026

Pearsons PTE Academic

Cambridge Proficiency in English (CPE) and Cambridge Advanced English (CAE)

Oxford ELLT

LanguageCert Academic SELT

Password Skills Plus

Trinity College Tests

University of Glasgow Pre-sessional courses

School Qualifications

International School Qualifications

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Alternatives to English Language qualification

For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use these tests to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level programmes. The University is also able to accept UKVI approved Secure English Language Tests (SELT) but we do not require a specific UKVI SELT for degree level programmes. We therefore still accept any of the English tests listed for admission to this programme.

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Pre-sessional courses

We would strongly encourage you to consider the pre-sessional courses at the University of Glasgow's English for Academic Study (EAS) Unit. Our Pre-sessional courses are the best way to bring your English up to entry level for University study. Our courses give you:

For more detail on our pre-sessional courses please see:

We can also consider the pre-sessional courses accredited by the below BALEAP approved institutions to meet the language requirements for admission to our postgraduate taught degrees:

FAQs

What do I do if...

my language qualifications are below the requirements?

The University's School of Modern Languages and Cultures offers a range of Pre-sessional courses to bring you up to entry level. The course is accredited by BALEAP, the UK professional association for academic English teaching.

my language qualifications are not listed here?

Please contact External Relations

If you require a Tier 4 student visa, your qualification must be one of the secure English language tests accepted by UK Border Agency:

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Visa requirements and proof of English language level

It is a visa requirement to provide information on your level of English based on an internationally recognised and secure English language test. All test reports must be no more than 2 years old. A list of these can be found on the UK Border Agency website. If you have never taken one of these tests before, you can get an initial idea of your level by using the Common European Framework self-assessment grid which gives you a level for each skill (e.g. listening B1/writing B2 etc.) However, please note that this is not a secure English language test and it is not sufficient evidence of your level of English for visa requirements.

Further information about English language: School of Modern Languages & Cultures: English for Academic Study

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Career prospects

Students have excellent career prospects, with recent graduates employed by:

Our graduates have established leading design engineering consultancies, including:

Explore our LinkedIn profile for a flavour of where our most recent graduates work.

Degrees and UCAS codes

When applying you will need to know the UCAS code for the subject or subject-combination that you wish to apply to:

BEng

Product Design Engineering: H3W2 (4 years)

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Apply to H3W2

MEng

Product Design Engineering: H3WG (5 years)

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Apply to H3WG

BEng students who perform well may transfer to the MEng programme on completion of years 1, 2 and 3.

Fees and funding

The tuition fees for Product Design Engineering are payable to Glasgow School of Art. Find out more:

How to apply

Full-time students must apply through the Universities & Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

SQA applicants who are eligible for our Widening Participation programmes are encouraged to participate in one or more of these programmes, including Summer School, to support your application and the transition to higher education.

International students to Arts, Engineering, Law, Nursing, Science, and Social Sciencescan also apply using The Common Application: however, if applying to more than one UK university, we recommend using UCAS. Applications to Dentistry, Education, Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine must be made through UCAS.

Application deadlines

We do not usually accept any applications after these deadlines.

It's your responsibility to ensure the accuracy of your application before submission. Requests to correct application content, change degree programme or change college of entry, will not be accepted after these deadlines. This policy is in place to ensure fairness and consistency to all applicants, and no exceptions will be made.

ATAS: Academic Technology Approval Scheme

Please note that this programmes in this subject at Masters level require ATAS. If yours is not one of the exempt nationalities,  then you will need to apply for an ATAS certificate before commencing your programme of study and applying for your visa or extension of stay.

Please apply as early as possible as the process can take a number of months to complete.

The Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) was introduced on 1 November 2007. It is used to help stop the spread of knowledge and skills that could be used in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their means of delivery. This is in common with other governments around the world.

The ATAS is designed to ensure that people who are applying to study certain sensitive subjects in the UK do not have links to WMD programmes.

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How to apply for Advanced Entry

Apply for year 2 (Y2) on your UCAS application. If the specific subject is unavailable for Advanced Entry or your application for year 2 entry is unsuccessful, you will be automatically considered for year 1 entry. You do not have to submit a separate UCAS application.

Apply via UCAS

3rd in UK

Complete University Guide [Art & Design]

Find out more about the programme on the Glasgow School of Art website:

Subject league tables

3rd in UK

Complete University Guide [Art & Design]

UK top 15

Guardian University Guide [Product Design]

3rd in UK

Complete University Guide [Manufacturing & Production Engineering]

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