Electronic and Electrical Engineering

Overview

The Electronic and Electrical Engineering MSc course offered by Durham University covers the key areas of electronic and electrical engineering. In addition to the technical background provided in these subjects, hands-on experience is gained through a major individual Research and Development project, a group design project and a supporting laboratory programme.

Course Structure

The course consists of five core modules to provide an advanced engineering education in Electrical (List A) or Electronic (List B) Engineering alongside an optional module that allows students to increase their understanding in an area suited to their interests and needs.  Students choose to follow List A or List B as described below.  In addition to these taught modules, you will also complete a group design project and a major, individual research and development project working closely with an academic in your chosen subject area.

This is a 12-month full-time degree course that runs from October to the end of August the following year.

For the Group Design Module, each group is supervised by one or more members of staff, and guided through the various stages of design. The principal learning outcome from this module is for you to understand the stages in the design of electronic and electrical systems. You should expect to have around 20 hours of contact time with their academic supervisors over the course of the design module.

A major individual research and development project is also undertaken on the course. This provides an open-ended challenge to each individual student, in collaboration with a staff supervisor. Regular meetings are held with the supervisor to discuss project progress and planning issues. A mid-term assessment is carried out to ensure project is on track. At the end of the project you are required to submit a final report on their work, in the style of a research paper. You are also required to prepare and to present a poster to allow an assessment to be made of your understanding and ability to present your work, plus an oral examination is held to allow detailed questions to be put to you regarding the technical aspects of your project. You should expect to have around 25 hours of contact time with your supervisors plus 500 hours of practical work, supported by the Department’s technicians and other research workers, over the course of the research project.