Bachelor of Engineering

The Waikato Bachelor of Engineering (BE) is the degree for inventors and big thinkers who move instinctively from having an idea to making it happen. It is designed as the basis for a professional career in engineering and there is plenty of opportunity for practical application of skills in real work situations.

BE Benefits

• Designed for your accreditation as a professional engineer.
• 800 hours’ work experience found for you.
• Niche engineering programmes.
• Specialised laboratories.
• Opportunity to complete the BE with Honours.

The Waikato BE focuses on how problems can be solved by using design and engineering processes. It appeals to students who are good at mathematics and physics but are also highly creative thinkers. At every stage of your degree, you will be deeply involved in creating, designing and realising sophisticated engineering products.

In the first year, teams of students design and build small projects such as remote-controlled yachts and swamp boats. The final part of the process is race day. By the end of their studies, students will have completed a major design project with potential for commercial application – like the student-built electric car that can cover 400km for just $5.

The BE papers combine high-end design skills with the ability to develop, run and manage companies, whatever their size. The courses in your first and second years prepare you for the work placements that are a major feature of the BE and which we find for you. By the time you are ready to begin your career, you will have the credibility of paid engineering experience to take to your interviews.

BE Career Opportunities

• Automation Engineer
• Biochemical Engineer
• Chemical Process Engineer
• Food Technology Engineer
• Materials Scientist
• Mechanical Engineer
• Mechatronic Designer
• Product Design Engineer
• Software Engineer
• Systems Analyst

Specified Programmes

• Chemical and Biological Engineering
• Electronic Engineering
• Materials and Process Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Software Engineering

All five programmes have full or provisional IPENZ accreditation.

Practical Experience

You will complete 800 hours of relevant work experience during your degree. Our Cooperative Education Unit actively seeks and oversees your industrial work placement, ensuring the quality of your work experience.

Honours

If you achieve good results in your first three years, you may be invited into the BE(Hons) programme for your fourth year.

Entry Requirements

If you have New Zealand University Entrance, you are eligible to apply for this degree. A selection process applies. The areas of study within the BE have individual entry requirements and you are expected to have studied the listed subjects at Level 3 NCEA or CIE AS or A Level.

Electronic Engineering

• Mathematics with Calculus
• Physics

Chemical & Biological, Materials & Process and Mechanical Engineering

• Chemistry
• Mathematics with Calculus
• Physics

Software Engineering

• Mathematics with Calculus
• Two other approved subjects

All other applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Each programme has a set of compulsory papers that you must study. Some papers have specific entry requirements and if you do not have the required background you may be directed to take certain papers in your first year of study.

Scholarships

Bachelor of Engineering Fees Scholarship, Computer Science Scholarship, IPENZ Waikato/BOP Branch Scholarship, Mathematics Scholarship, The Brian Perry Charitable Trust Undergraduate Scholarship, Statistics Scholarship, The Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship.

For more information, visit www.waikato.ac.nz/scholarships

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

The Faculty of Computing and Mathematical Sciences offers challenge exams that give outstanding students credit for 100 level papers in Computer Science, Mathematics and Statistics. By passing the exams, high-achieving students can be given direct access to some 200 level papers.

Degree Structure

4 years - 480 points