Nuclear Engineering with Placement Year

BEng Hons

  • UCAS code H824
  • Entry year 2025
  • A level requirements ABB
  • Duration Full time 4 years

Overview

Top reasons to study with us

  • Get real-world experience with our placement years

  • Brand new state-of-the-art facilities

  • Practical hands-on courses including lab-based sessions and project work

Nuclear engineers design, build and operate equipment and processes that benefit humanity. Our programme focuses on creativity and ingenuity to develop your design and implementation skills and prepare you for your chosen career.

Nuclear applications cover a broad range of sectors from healthcare and cancer treatment through to power generation, national security and decommissioning activity. The industry is set to expand over the next ten years. With an estimated international spend of around £930 billion for building new reactors and £250 billion for decommissioning those coming offline, there is potential for the generation of 40,000 jobs in the UK nuclear sector alone.

Your degree will begin with a common first year, where you will be taught a series of modules that are taken by all first-year engineering students. We will introduce you to many of the key features of engineering, equipping you with a well-rounded understanding and skill set. Following the first year, you will have the opportunity to consider and plan your academic progression. At this stage, you may choose to begin your nuclear engineering study, or move onto any of our other specialist programmes.

Specialist modules in nuclear engineering begin in the second year, where you will also continue to develop your core skills as an engineer. This year you will study modules covering topics such as nuclear chemistry, nuclear engineering systems and nuclear safety. As our flexible programme begins to focus in on core aspects of nuclear engineering, you will develop practical skills, and test and analyse your design ideas in the laboratory or through computer simulation, using engineering IT tools.

On this programme, you will undertake a year in industry, gaining valuable experience and enhancing your employability. We have extensive links built through our leadership in research and have students undergoing placements with multinational corporate companies through to smaller specialist SMEs. Typically, this is undertaken during your third year, after you have gained a reasonable amount of engineering knowledge. Once you have completed your placement, you will write an extended reflective piece about your time spent with the company.

The BEng course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer and partly meeting the academic requirement for registration as a chartered engineer. The degree is also professionally accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

All your teaching is delivered by world-class academics and shaped by their outstanding research output. You will gain hands-on experience with access to cutting-edge facilities and an array of high-quality equipment in our state-of-the-art engineering building.

MEng Nuclear Engineering

We also offer a MEng Nuclear Engineering programme which is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer. This programme provides further skills, knowledge and experience, with a focus on leadership and management. Students wanting to transfer to this programme must achieve a minimum threshold at the end of year two.

Careers

Nuclear engineering is a truly multi-disciplinary subject, going beyond just the provision of nuclear power for our electrical needs and expanding into sectors as diverse as medicine and space travel. From working in a nuclear power plant as a Nuclear Safety Engineer, to going into the automotive industry or medical and healthcare technology development, there are a wide range of career opportunities open to graduates from nuclear engineering courses – and some of our graduates even go on to further study and lead in their specialist field as academics. The ability to think creatively to solve problems, alongside your experience managing projects and applying practical and technical knowledge to novel scenarios will make you a desirable employee for careers that even sit outside of traditional engineering destinations. Graduates from our Engineering degrees are well-paid too, with a median starting salary of £29,000 (HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey 2023).

Here are just some of the roles that our BEng and MEng Nuclear Engineering students have progressed into upon graduating:

  • PhD Candidate – University of Bristol
  • CERN Research Fellow – CERN
  • Nuclear Safety Engineer – EDF Energy
  • Nuclear Graduates Scheme – Rolls Royce
  • Graduate Scheme – Sellafield Ltd
  • CE Safety Engineer – Amec Foster Wheeler
  • Nuclear Safety Engineer – Mott Macdonald
  • Global Manufacturing Trainee – Kraft Heinz
  • Operations Graduate – BAE Systems
  • Molecular Imaging Application Specialist – Bartec Technologies Ltd

Lancaster University is dedicated to ensuring you not only gain a highly reputable degree, you also graduate with the relevant life and work based skills. We are unique in that every student is eligible to participate in The Lancaster Award which offers you the opportunity to complete key activities such as work experience, employability/career development, campus community and social development. Visit our Employability section for full details.

Entry requirements

Grade Requirements

A Level ABB

Required Subjects A level Mathematics and a Physical Science, for example, Physics, Chemistry, Electronics, Computer Science, Design & Technology or Further Mathematics.

GCSE Mathematics grade B/6, English Language grade C/4

IELTS 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component. For other English language qualifications we accept, please see our English language requirements webpages.

Other Qualifications

International Baccalaureate 32 points overall with 16 points from the best 3 Higher Level subjects including either:

  1. Mathematics HL grade 6 (either pathway) plus grade 6 in a HL Physical Science
  2. Mathematics HL grade 6 (either pathway) plus grade 6 in two SL Physical Sciences
  3. Mathematics SL grade 7 (Analysis and Approaches) plus HL grade 6 in a Physical Science

Acceptable physical science subjects include Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, and Design Technology

BTEC (Pre-2016 specifications): Distinction, Distinction, Merit in an Engineering related subject to include Distinctions in Mathematics for Engineering Technicians and Further Mathematics for Engineering Technicians units.

BTEC (2016 specifications): Distinction, Distinction, Merit in an Engineering related subject to include Distinctions in the following units – Unit 1 Engineering Principles, Unit 7 Calculus to Solve Engineering Problems. Unit 8 Further Engineering Mathematics is highly recommended.

We welcome applications from students with a range of alternative UK and international qualifications, including combinations of qualifications. Further guidance on admission to the University, including other qualifications that we accept, frequently asked questions and information on applying, can be found on our general admissions webpages.

Contact Admissions Team + 44 (0) 1524 592028 or via ugadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk

International foundation programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored foundation pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Contextual admissions

Contextual admissions could help you gain a place at university if you have faced additional challenges during your education which might have impacted your results. Visit our contextual admissions page to find out about how this works and whether you could be eligible.

Course structure

Lancaster University offers a range of programmes, some of which follow a structured study programme, and some which offer the chance for you to devise a more flexible programme to complement your main specialism.

Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.

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Fees and funding

Our annual tuition fee is set for a 12-month session, starting in the October of your year of study.

Our Undergraduate Tuition Fees for 2025/26 are:

Home International
£9,250 £29,820

Fees and funding information

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Scholarships and bursaries

You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.

You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status:

Unfortunately no scholarships and bursaries match your selection, but there are more listed on scholarships and bursaries page.

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We also have other, more specialised scholarships and bursaries - such as those for students from specific countries.

Browse Lancaster University's scholarships and bursaries.

Important information

The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.

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