Doctorate-level study

If your inclination is more towards research, you might consider a PhD or the relatively new UK-based engineering doctorate (EngD).

 

PhD

A PhD normally takes three years and should involve groundbreaking research. It’s a good option if you want to develop expertise in a particular field of interest with a view to becoming an academic. You will be allocated a supervisor to guide and oversee your research, and you will also benefit from working alongside other PhD students and researchers in the department.

 

EngD

The four-year full-time engineering doctorate known as EngD was created in the UK in 1992. This programme focuses on commercially relevant research: typically a project that presents a research challenge while simultaneously solving a genuine problem faced by an industrial sponsor. EngD students spend 75% of their time working on site with an industrial supervisor. The remaining time is spent at the university studying specialist technical and professional development subjects to prepare the ‘research engineer’ for industry management roles. The EngD qualification is taught at 19 universities in the UK but has yet to migrate to other countries.