Automotive Engineering with a Foundation Year

Automotive engineering is the discipline concerned with the design, development, manufacturing, and performance of vehicles. It draws on mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, materials science, thermodynamics, aerodynamics, and electronics, and has evolved dramatically in recent decades as vehicles have become increasingly sophisticated systems integrating advanced software, electrification, autonomous technologies, and connectivity. The automotive industry is undergoing one of its most significant transformations in over a century, making this a discipline where engineering expertise meets rapid technological change.

At Loughborough University, this four-year full-time programme includes a foundation year, designed to support students who have not studied the prerequisite subjects needed for direct first-year entry, including those whose results were affected by adverse circumstances, those returning to education as mature students, and those coming from backgrounds such as elite sport. The foundation year provides a supported transition, building the mathematical and scientific foundations needed to engage fully with the engineering content that follows. Loughborough is one of the UK's leading engineering universities, with strong connections to the automotive industry that enrich the academic programme.

You will study the core engineering disciplines underpinning vehicle design and performance, including structural analysis, powertrain technology, vehicle dynamics, and increasingly the electrical and software systems that define modern vehicles. The degree prepares you for the transition that the industry is navigating, from internal combustion to electrification and autonomous driving.

Graduates work across vehicle design and development, manufacturing engineering, research and development, motorsport, and roles in the supply chain and technology companies that serve the automotive sector. The engineering skills are also transferable to aerospace, defence, and other advanced manufacturing sectors. Postgraduate study and professional engineering accreditation are natural next steps for graduates who wish to develop their practice further.