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Newcastle University

UCAS Code: H101 | Foundation Certificate - Fd cert

Entry requirements

A level

A,B,B

ABB in any subjects excluding General Studies and Critical Thinking. GCSE grade B or 6 in Mathematics and either Physics or Chemistry (or Dual Award Science) required. If you already have, or are currently studying A level Maths, you should apply for one of our degrees without a foundation year.

Access to HE Diploma

D:30,M:15

In engineering or physical science. Must include at least 30 level 3 credits at Distinction and 15 level 3 credits at Merit or higher. Grade B or 6 in GCSE Maths and either Physics or Chemistry (or Dual Award Science) required if not offered at a higher level

We welcome applications from students offering an Extended Project and value the skills of research and independent learning that it is designed to develop. If you offer an Extended Project, it will be taken into account as part of your application profile, but we will not usually include it in offer conditions for this degree programme.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

32 points overall with Standard Level Maths grade 5. If you already have, or are currently studying Higher Level Maths, you should apply for one of our degrees without a foundation year.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H1,H1,H2,H2,H3

H1H1H2H2H3 at Higher Level. Mathematics and either Physics or Chemistry preferred at Higher Level but accepted at Ordinary Level Grade O3 if not offered at Higher Level.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDD

Overall DDD in an engineering discipline, to include Distinction in Mathematical units and a minimum of Merit in analytical science units.

Scottish Higher

A,A,B,B,B,B

ABB in any subject at Advanced Higher. Mathematics and either Physics or Chemistry required at National 5, minimum grade B (or grade 2 Standard Grade or Intermediate 2 equivalent) if not offered at Higher Grade. Where a candidate bypasses the assessment for National 5 qualifications, a minimum of grade C in the Higher in Mathematics and Physics or Chemistry is required. If you already have, or are currently studying Advanced Higher Maths, you should apply for one of our degrees without a foundation year. Two Highers at the required grade (in different subjects to those offered at Advanced Higher) may replace a third Advanced Higher. Scottish qualifications can be taken in more than one sitting.

T Level

D

This course accepts the following T Levels on a case by case basis. Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction T Level Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing T Level

UCAS Tariff

128-174

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course

Course option

1year

Full-time | 2026

Subject

General or integrated engineering

Want to study engineering at Newcastle but don't meet the entry requirements?Take a foundation year to develop the knowledge you need to progress to one of our three-year engineering BEng degrees. You will study topics such as foundation mathematics, applied mechanics and material science.

The Uni

Course location:

Main Site (Newcastle)

Department:

School of Engineering (Civil)

Read full university profile

What students say

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Engineering (non-specific)

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

87%
UK students
13%
International students
78%
Male students
22%
Female students
75%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
A

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Engineering (non-specific)

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£30,000
med
Average annual salary
87%
med
Employed or in further education
91%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

62%
Engineering professionals
5%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
4%
Architects, town planners and surveyors

As a mixed subject within engineering where students get a chance to learn from a range of disciplines, this course isn't taken by as many people as some of the more specialist disciplines. Demand for engineering skills is high, though, and so unemployment rates are low and the average starting salary was a very healthy £26,400 for 2015 graduates. Graduates are able to specialise enough to be working in jobs in engineering — especially in design and development - as well as engineering project management. IT and management consultancy were some of the more common jobs outside engineering. Bear in mind that a lot of courses are four years long, and lead to a MEng qualification — this is necessary if you want to become a Chartered Engineer.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Engineering (non-specific)

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£27k

£27k

£34k

£34k

£38k

£38k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here