Power Systems Engineering - MSc

The Power Systems Engineering MSc is designed to provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills to work at a professional level in industries involved in the production, distribution and consumption of energy and power. This wide range of industries includes transport, conventional and renewable power generation.

Degree information

Students study analysis and design of conventional and renewable machinery systems and the use of computers in their advanced engineering analysis. Students gain knowledge of electrical and mechanical engineering principles, quantitative methods, and mathematical and computer modelling alongside an awareness of the codes of practice, standards and quality issues within the modern industrial world. They also take modules in project management.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of six core modules (90 credits), one optional module (15 credits) and a research project (75 credits).

Core modules
-Power Transmission and Auxiliary Machinery Systems
-Electrical Machines and Power Electronic Drives
-Electrical Power Systems and Electrical Propulsion
-New and Renewable Energy Systems
-Project Management
-Group Project

Optional modules
-Applied Thermodynamics and Turbomachinery
-Vibrations, Acoustics and Control
-Advanced Computer Applications in Engineering

Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a project report and oral presentation. In many cases the work has some input from industry.

Teaching and learning
This dynamic programme is delivered through lectures, tutorials, individual and group projects, practical laboratory work and coursework assignments, (including computational analysis). Assessment is through written, oral and viva voce examinations and coursework (including the evaluation of laboratory reports, technical and project reports, problem-solving exercises, computational and modelling skills and oral presentations).

Careers

The Power Systems Engineering MSc has been accredited by the Engineering Council as meeting the further learning requirements, in full, for registration as a Chartered Engineer for a period of five years, from the 2012 student cohort intake onwards.

Top career destinations for this degree:
-Junior Project Manager, Pinnacle Developments Ltd
-Electrical Engineer, BP
-Traction Power Specialist, Mott MacDonald
-PhD High Power Engineering, University of Leicester
-Power Engineer, General Electric (GE)

Employability
Delivered by leading research and academic staff from across UCL, you will definitely have plenty of opportunities to network and keep abreast of emerging ideas through cross-fertilisation with collaborating companies and governmental bodies such as BAE Systems, Rolls Royce, Lloyds Register and TfL who provide specialised lectures and are key to our research success. We will encourage you to develop networks through the programme itself and via the department’s careers programme which includes employer-led events and individual coaching. We equip our graduates with the skills and confidence needed to play a creative and leading role in the professional and research community.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The department has an international reputation for the excellence of its research which is funded by numerous bodies including: EPSRC, EU, Wellcome Trust, the Royal Society, the Leverhulme Trust, UK Ministry of Defence, BAe Systems, Cosworth Technology, Ebara, Jaguar Cars, Shell, and BP.

The Power Systems Engineering MSc is accredited under UK-SPEC by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), and the Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology (IMarEST). This programme also constitutes in part the requirement to obtain Chartered Engineering status.

UCL Mechanical Engineering has seen, in recent years, unprecedented activity in refurbishing and re-equipping our laboratories. Highlights of this include an extensive workshop, four engine test cells of the highest specification, a fuel cell laboratory, an electrical power laboratory and a new fluid mechanics laboratory.