Not again. Never mind, I am here to explain. (Hopefully V4 is coming soon, and please, get this question to the first page!)

BEng and MEng are both undergraduate degree, meaning your first degree after your Pre-U.
The difference between BEng and MEng, other than the year it spends, is the possibility of getting accredited.
Today, to become a professional engineer (bearing the title Ir. or CEng or PEng depending on where you get accredited), you must study for 4 years during your tertiary studies. If you do not possess a 4-year degree, you will have to continue further study, or sit for their exams, so that you are qualified to work towards of becoming a professional engineer.

A little bit of history. BEng is always a 3-year course in UK education, as compared to 4 years in other countries. This is because UK education is rather concentrated, studying the core elements and do not waste time on the unrelated contents. Due to this nature, they are able to concentrate the course into 3 years. But the problem comes when everyone else in the world says, they will only accredit those degrees which are only of 4 years in length. To counter that, UK decides to come up with a 4-year MEng, instead of elongating their BEng into 4 years. The extra year, essentially teaches you more stuff, and also prepares you better to join the industry.

You may now wonder then, is our MEng the same as those Aus BEng? The answer is, NO, except when it comes to getting accreditation. A quick proof would be comparing the course structure side by side. You will find that, while Aus students still study Physics and Chemistry in their first semester/year, UK is already delivering the core contents of the respective course. For instance, for Mechanical, instead of just studying Physics, you already start off with Thermofluids and Solid Mechanics. Why? Because A-Level delivers more contents than SAM/AUSMAT/HSC, so they can just start with more advanced topics already.

Regarding further study, you may be surprised that, even a 3-year BEng could earn you a PhD seat in a UK university. This holds true within UK but not so true to the rest of world. Often the time, a lot of universities will clarify that a 4-year degree is required before one can start his/her Master/PhD, so a mere 3-year BEng will simply be insufficient to apply successfully. Harvard, for instance, actually states that one needs to do 6 years before they can start a PhD there. The specification of 6-years, means that even if you are a Master, you do not yet have the qualification to do it.

As for why you need accreditation, it really depends. If you are from Civil, go and get your MEng and practise in getting the Ir. title. It's vital for the Civil sector. As for the other main streams (Mech, Chem, EE), it is not that important in Malaysia. This is because, Boards of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) has yet to be so strict on the accreditation stuff that only accredited engineers can do the jobs. Intel hires BEng, for example. And with such phenomena happening, it makes the BEng a great course to sell, as it still promises jobs (as long as you get a good class) while it comes cheaper and faster than others. The drawback is the not-so-important (for now) accreditation thingy in Malaysia. Oh, one more thing, it is not uncommon to do the route of BEng, followed by a more specialised MSc (Master of Science, a postgraduate degree in UK). For instance, a BEng in Mechanical Engineering and later a MSc in Aerodynamics.

Of course, I may be biased, although I try to be as neutral as possible by supplying evidence for my claim.

Pin this. If we can't pin it into the V3 one, do it on the V4!!

thanks for your explanation....

@tanjinjack, may I suggest a proposal?

Put a link to your signature to the post where you explain the difference (like the one you just did). That way you just have to copy pasta, or ppl can click on it when they see it.

[quote=alexander.ch_1992,Mar 3 2011, 11:20 AM]
Hey Envoy how long you waited before you called? In fact I sent an email asking them about my application.

"We hope to get back to you as soon as this week" which was last Friday.

I'm still hesitating whether to call or not, duwanna make myself sounds like a nuisance.


3 weeks

This post has been edited by Envoy: Mar 3 2011, 07:05 PM

Owh three weeks, I called them up today around 2PM, the Admission Office said the appication is with the Faculty already, will reply by end of this week or early next week. What course you applied for?

hey guys, I hav a problem again.... What is mean by credit hour? I have read from the brochure every year engineering course hav 120 credit hours. it is mean that we hav 120 hours in class for a year or for a week?

In our context, 1 credit hour equates roughly to 10 hours of commitment. Most modules are 10 credits, meaning that you are expected to devote 100 hours of commitment to that particular modules. Commitment comes in the form of lectures, tutorials, exercises, assignments, labs and of course, self studies!

i applied for foundation engineering. when i called them they said my application didn't reach so after i called them they found it

So, tats mean we still dunno 1 week got how many hours lecture , tutorial and lab rite? How about register module? according to my sis which is from local Uni,she told me that she had to register every module by herself at the begining of the course every year...Is it mean we doesnt nid to do this thing coz almost all course is compulsory for year 1 n year 2?

We can't know from the credits each module bears. I have modules with 10 credits ranging from 2 hours of lectures to 5 hours of lecturers+tutorials. It differs. Generally, one module has 2 hours of lectures, and also 1 hour of tutorials. With 60 credits to be taken in one sem, 20 hours per week is a good guess, when you factor in the occasional lab and workshop (if mechanical) sessions.

In registering module, we submit a yellow form called Module Entry Form (MEF). You will be registered to exam based on what you tick in that form. If you are doing a compulsory module, the module itself will already be ticked (you don't want tick also cannot). For electives, you just pick the one you want lo, as long as you get enough credits. You will have 2 weeks before you need to decide which electives you want to take.
A further step from the MEF is to register yourself on WebCT (Nottingham's online space for course materials) so that you can have access to the course materials of the modules. For compulsory modules, it's done automatic. For electives, you can add yourself or wait until everything settles (week 4?) then they will be added.

clearly understand abt the procedure.... thx bro.... coz i'm from form 6 going to degree.... University is a totally new thing for me... anyway, thank you very much to allow me know all the procedure.

No problem in asking. That's the reason why this thread exists here.
What course are you entering?

Hey is there anyone here who enter Nottingham under The Star Education Fund (any courses will do)? I'm currently applying to Nottingham under that fund for Nutrition.

(I hope I'm not asking in a wrong thread?)

Electrical & electronic engineering... But i still dunno whether study 3 years n 4 years..... summore my english language is below their entry requirement, so i hav to join for the presessional english course. now i was worrying abt accommodation only.Dunno where should I look for it(WEB)...

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Added on March 3, 2011, 8:42 pmi think i hav to choose it at the end of year 2 rite

This post has been edited by ken2kow: Mar 3 2011, 08:42 PM

If you want to cut out some hassle, you may consider use IELTS to fulfill the English requirement instead. The English course, most likely (not so sure la), it will be held in evening as they have to cater for a wide range of students. And you will hate it so much if your class end at 2pm yet you need to wait until 6pm before the English course starts. I am not sure if you may be unlucky to have classes in Saturday instead.
Maybe someone else here with more info can tell you about that.

Regarding accommodation, for first year, I think stick to on-campus is better. Wait until you are more familiar with the environment, and also by then you will have friends to rent a house together the next year.

Hey tjj, i just read your explanation there and i have question. I'm going to do my Foundation in Engineering followed by Electronic and Computer Engineering. So i'll complete my MEng in 4 years right? So if i were to look for a job for Masters standard, would i find any problem because if only have 4 years of tertiary studies?

erm, i think abt IELTS be4. After my STPM, i hav exam phobia.... i scare i cant get the nice band to enter the course i want...

i have to take the English course be4 my E&E course start.... so i think i dun hav tat problem.... and i'm living in Kepong... so i still dunno i hav to move to there in July or September...

I did think abt on-campus... but after so many complaint.... it make me scare of it...

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Added on March 3, 2011, 8:59 pmthe english course start at 11 July ... and end at 16 Sept.... i think i might be my course should start after 16 sept... rite?

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Added on March 3, 2011, 9:23 pmMay I know what kind of Book i needed? Is it muz be original? coz i heard from my sis, sum lecturer not allow photostate book.... do any senior going to sell their books? ( i think it might be impossible) where can I find all those book ??? sound like i ask tis question too early... haha.... no choice... i was too free now... better prepare all these thing be4 the time come...

This post has been edited by ken2kow: Mar 3 2011, 09:23 PM

Define Master standard.
Please be clear that, what I mention just now above applies to the academics world only - requirement of how many years before you can start a study.
In industry, what they look up the most is not your score, but your attitude and potential. The former can be reflected in your interview or your style of CV and the latter is reflected by your result/class.
Of course, after you have a few years of working experience, that will become the most vital component for your next job, and who cares if you come from Nottingham or Nottingham Trent?

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Added on March 3, 2011, 10:02 pmOh, so your English course starts before your real semester. Then you may consider doing that, although that time, the university is actually like dead because most students (except for research students) will be on holidays.

Just go on-campus. They are just bloody, but the convenience offered is hard to resist for newcomers.

So far, in my department (mechanical), I have yet to purchase a book. The course notes given are very sufficient for your studies and lecturers hardly question stuff out of the scope. The system is inherited from the UK side so everything is systematic.
I think the Business students do need to buy textbooks though, as we will often receive classifieds about them selling books, LOL!

This post has been edited by tanjinjack: Mar 3 2011, 10:02 PM

tats awesome!
i will think for it... thx for ur comment... it really help me lot! =)

Qualification Completed mean UPSR and PMR ?Or the result in form4 &5?