Course duration

Students undertaking full-time academic enrolment will normally complete the program in eight academic semesters, each containing four subjects, plus two periods of engineering internship in the workplace totalling at least 48 weeks. On this basis the program takes five years, or 10 semesters, to complete. The internships must be interleaved with the academic semesters: an internship would typically be taken in the third or fourth semester and again in the seventh or eighth.

It is possible to complete the program entirely on a part-time attendance basis, with continuous concurrent employment, by enrolling in academic subjects at the rate of two subjects per semester (half the full-time rate). This would require eight years overall and is not recommended. Students wishing to make extensive use of part-time attendance are strongly encouraged to negotiate with their employers at least two full-time semesters somewhere through the program.

Course structure

Programs lead to the combined award of Bachelor of Engineering and Diploma in Engineering Practice. The Bachelor of Engineering cannot be awarded alone; nor can the Diploma in Engineering Practice.

The award may be taken with a designated major. Areas in which majors are currently defined are Civil Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Systems Engineering, Construction Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Software Engineering, and Telecommunications Engineering. Majors in new areas of engineering practice will be introduced as they develop.

Students may select a particular major at entry, or may defer their choice until the end of their first year of study (though this is subject to availability of places and adequate performance). Such deferment need not normally prolong the period needed to complete the program, nor add to the number of subjects required. Students may choose not to take any major, but to take a general program comprising subjects from different areas of engineering (refer to General degree, without major).

The program overall comprises six principal components: the core program; the Engineering Practice Program; the fields of practice subjects; the electives; the Capstone Project; and the portfolio. The core program, the Engineering Practice Program, the Capstone Project and the portfolio are common to all students undertaking the BE DipEngPrac.

The Engineering Practice Program comprises a minimum of two compulsory internships of not less than 48 weeks in industry, plus the associated two Preview and two Review subjects which relate the work experience to the academic program.

The choice of fields of practice subjects determines eligibility to graduate with a designated major. Electives may be chosen from a wide range available across and beyond the University, and certain combinations of electives may lead to a sub-major within Engineering or in another discipline. A total of 204 credit points is required for graduation, distributed in the following way:

• Core program: 60 credit points
• Engineering Practice Program: 12 credit points, plus 48 weeks of approved internship
• Fields of practice: 90, 96 or 102 credit points, depending on major
• Electives: 24 or 30 credit points, depending on major
• Capstone Project: 6 or 12 credit points, depending on major.

Students are expected to develop a personal portfolio over the entire duration of their course, to document, reflect upon, and synthesise their own understanding of engineering internship, drawing from all of their different learning experiences.

All subjects are rated at 6 credit points except for some electives offered by other faculties, and the Engineering Practice Preview and Review subjects. Face-to-face contact hours vary, depending on the nature of the subject and mode of delivery. Students need to spend at least nine learning hours per week, including class contact, for a 6-credit-point subject. Many students will find they need more time than this, particularly to achieve a high standard of performance. Subject outlines are given in the Subject Descriptions section.

Core program

This component provides a framework covering knowledge, skills and attributes that are relevant to all engineers across all fields of practice. It consists of common mathematics and physics subjects, and common engineering subjects which draw on several fields of engineering practice to develop interdisciplinary knowledge and skills within the larger context of professional practice. It also develops awareness of the values debate in engineering, and promotes commitment to the principles of sustainability.

The core program is not a common first year, but runs throughout the course from admission to graduation. Students take differing combinations of subjects in their first year, and in each successive year, depending on their choice of major.

Subjects in the core have the following titles (not necessarily in chronological order):

48210 Engineering for Sustainability
33130 Mathematical Modelling 1
68037 Physical Modelling
or
68042 Physical Modelling A
and
68043 Physical Modelling B
33230 Mathematical Modelling 2
48230 Engineering Communication
48240 Uncertainties and Risks in Engineering
48250 Engineering Economics and Finance
48260 Engineering Management
48270 Technology Assessment

Fields of practice and majors

This component relates theoretical and practical learning from core subjects to applications in specific fields of engineering internship. It develops knowledge of engineering science and technologies relevant to particular branches of engineering, and specialist technical expertise. Particular sets of subjects constitute majors in the respective fields of practice, as set out below. A major provides the essential foundations needed for practice in that field, familiarity with current practice, awareness of likely developments, and knowledge of resources available for future self-directed learning.

All majors emphasise and develop the essential engineering skills of observation and experimentation, analysis and synthesis, modelling, systems thinking, conceptual reasoning and judgment, and problem formulation and solving, using as case studies the technologies and contexts relevant to the particular field of practice. Each major involves substantial laboratory content, designed to integrate theoretical and practical understanding. All are designed to link with the core program and with engineering internship.

The totality of all fields of practice subjects across all majors provides the pool from which students wishing to graduate with a general degree may draw (subject to approval) to make up their field of practice component. The field of practice component requires 96 credit points, except in Computer Systems Engineering where it is 90 credit points, and in Civil Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering where it is 102 credit points. Some fields of practice include subjects taught wholly or partly by other faculties.

Electives

In general, students may devote up to 30 credit points to electives (exceptions below). Electives may be taken from subjects offered by any faculty of the University, or indeed other universities. Students may elect to deepen their knowledge and skills in their own field of practice by taking additional subjects in that field, possibly at graduate level; or to broaden their engineering knowledge by taking fields of practice subjects associated with another major; or to take subjects from another faculty, including part credit for a second degree. Some students may wish to explore two or more introductory engineering subjects before making their choice of major, in which case the additional subject/s may be counted (subject to conditions) as part of the elective component. The elective component also provides a mechanism for crediting prior learning and work-based learning.

Students are not permitted to take as an elective a subject that covers substantially the same material as a required subject or a subject already undertaken. Undergraduate students may enrol in some Faculty of Engineering postgraduate subjects that have been approved for undergraduate enrolment provided they have already completed at least 120 credit points of their undergraduate degree. Undergraduate students may undertake up to four approved postgraduate subjects. A maximum of three approved postgraduate subjects recently undertaken as part of an undergraduate degree may be used to apply for exemptions from a Faculty of Engineering Master's degree provided the subjects fulfil the equivalent subject requirements.

Some courses and/or majors have an elective component of less than 30 credit points. The Civil Engineering and the Civil and Environmental Engineering majors have only 24 credit points of electives. In the case of the Civil and Environmental Engineering major, because of its dual disciplinary nature, students are strongly recommended to take as electives subjects drawn from one of the approved sequences of environmental subjects. In other instances, the elective provision is reduced in order to accommodate a second formal award. The combined degrees have no electives.

Engineering Practice Program

The Engineering Practice Program supports and assesses student learning in workplace and community environments. Its objectives are to prepare students for engineering work experience, to support them during that experience, and to assist them in maximising learning. The program also supports the integration of this experiential learning with the theoretical and practical aspects of the academic curriculum.

A fundamental objective is to develop the ability to learn actively in a wide variety of modes and contexts, and to critique and contribute to those learning environments on a lifelong basis.

The program is administered through a series of subjects offered in flexible mode. Students enrol in the program as a whole and are guided through the respective modules. Students are ultimately responsible for their progression through the program. Academic staff and workplace mentors and supervisors act as facilitators; administrative staff assist in ensuring that students' progress is recorded and validated; and Industry Partnering Unit staff assist students in securing suitable work placements and in establishing cooperative programs with industry and the community (see below).

The Engineering Practice Program comprises:

48121 Engineering Practice Preview 1 3cp
48111 Engineering Experience 1 – 1st Internship (Minimum 22 weeks internship) 0cp
48122 Engineering Practice Review 1 3cp
48141 Engineering Practice Preview 2 3cp
48130 Engineering Experience 2 (Minimum 22 weeks internship) 0cp
48142 Engineering Practice Review 2 3cp

Note: Minimum time in the workplace to satisfy each engineering internship subject is 22 weeks. In total, however, 48 weeks must be gained by the required deadline to meet course requirements and to be eligible to graduate.

In the table displaying standard programs, the internship is shown in a single semester. Students should note that in the semester prior to their internship they should undertake Engineering Practice Preview 1 or 2 (3cp) as appropriate to their internship. During their period of internship, they should enrol in Engineering Experience (0cp). In the semester following their internship, they should enrol in Engineering Practice Review 1 or 2 (3cp) as appropriate to their internship.

While students are encouraged to undertake additional work experience of a high standard, they are only permitted to enrol in Engineering Experience 1 and 2 once, to meet the requirements of the Diploma in Engineering Practice.

Industry Partnering Unit

The Industry Partnering Unit (IPU) assists students in obtaining internships. Its staff maintain contact with industry, register students' intentions of seeking work experience, advise students on the preparation of résumés and presentation at interview, keep students' résumés on file, and advise on the availability of work opportunities in Australia and overseas. Students seeking work experience should register with the IPU in the semester preceding their intended period of work.

Full details of the process and extensive preparation for the internship are given in the prerequisite subject Engineering Practice Preview.

Capstone Project

Late in the degree, each student undertakes a Capstone Project, supervised by a member of academic staff and designed to consolidate and integrate learning in all aspects of the program. Industry-linked projects, under joint supervision, are strongly encouraged.

The project topic must be approved by an academic supervisor and must be relevant to the field of practice concerned. It may be largely technical in emphasis, or it may encompass a range of technical and contextual challenges.

The Capstone Project results in a substantial report, which must be written and produced to professional engineering standards and must demonstrate the student's readiness for professional engineering practice.

Portfolio

An integral requirement of the course is the development of a personal portfolio by each student. The portfolio is used to document academic and workplace experiences, and to provide a personal resource for critical reflection and for educational and professional career planning, as well as personal development. The portfolio development process commences in the first semester of the course and is carried through to graduation, with increasing student autonomy in the content and structure of the documentation.

Honours

The Bachelor of Engineering, Diploma in Engineering Practice may be awarded with First or Second Class Honours for meritorious performance in the course as a whole.

Professional recognition

The Institute of Engineers, Australia (IEAust) accredits Engineering courses and subjects on a five-yearly cycle. The most recent accreditation cycle for UTS and hence confirmation of its programs occurred in 2003. Full details of all accredited programs are available through the IEAust.

The IEAust also manages the National Professional Engineers Register (NPER-3), which is the only Australian register of practising professional engineers with legal recognition. Registration assures the community of the member's professional competence and commitment to ethical practice, may be cited in relation to quality assurance systems, and (particularly in New South Wales) can provide legally established professional limitation of liability. Professional engineers normally join the register concurrently with their recognition as a Chartered Member of the Institution (CPEng).

A candidate for NPER-3 registration must have completed an accredited undergraduate engineering course, have practised as an engineer, and be able to demonstrate competency against the Institution's competency standards. These are detailed under 11 headings: ethics and principles; practice skills; planning and design; business and management; communication; research, development and commercialisation; materials or components; education and training; manufacturing and production; project implementation ; and asset management.

Graduates of full-time engineering degree courses at other universities, without work experience, will typically require three or more years of work experience after graduation to attain NPER-3. UTS Engineering graduates are able to apply to IEAust for recognition of their undergraduate work experience towards professional registration.

Other information

The Faculty publishes a Student Survival Guide at the beginning of each academic year, which is available from the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Office, CB02.7.100. The Faculty's website gives current information on all aspects of the Faculty's operations:

www.eng.uts.edu.au