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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Glasgow uni switch from BEng to MEng

51 replies

yoyo1234 · 27/01/2023 20:35

If you have an offer to do a bachelor of Engineering but want to do a masters of Engineering is it difficult to switch on the course? Sorry if used wrong initials at start of post.

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poorbuthappy · 27/01/2023 20:37

Ummm isn't a masters a postgraduate course? You can only do the masters once the bachelor's is done?

yoyo1234 · 27/01/2023 20:40

Lots of Engineering courses are masters when you apply for them . You frequently choose to apply for the bachelors or masters.

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mauvish · 27/01/2023 20:43

You need to ask the uni, not a bunch of random strangers on the internet.

yoyo1234 · 27/01/2023 20:46

Will get DS on to it. He doesn't understand what Glasgow have done
He applied for masters and they keep offering him bachelors 😫.

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bigbluebus · 27/01/2023 20:51

When DS started a BEng at a different Uni there was an option to switch to a Masters at the end of Yr 1 as long as your grades reached a certain level.

Pinkbananas01 · 27/01/2023 20:53

DH works at GU, 1st couple yrs are same anyway & relatively easy to change once actually on course. Probably offered B Eng due to limited spaces gov funds & M Eng already full for this yr.

yoyo1234 · 27/01/2023 20:54

That's what I was hoping. His offer is really low ( i.e " B" ).

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Pinkbananas01 · 27/01/2023 20:55

DH says it happens all the time & is fine as long as grades allow

yoyo1234 · 27/01/2023 20:57

Thank you @Pinkbananas01 . It didn't make sense. He applied , they have sent him lots of emails, think they like him 🤔 yet offered bachelors not masters (he really wants masters) .

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Pinkbananas01 · 27/01/2023 20:59

Our DS is doing M Eng at Strathclyde uni & his friend started off as B Eng but swapped after 1st yr so I think it's the same at all Unis tbh.

WeAllHaveWings · 27/01/2023 21:14

Ds applied to Glasgow (he accepted Strathclyde) and both said you could transfer to MEng at the end of Y3 if your Y2/Y3 grades were consistently high enough (think >60%).

They also said if you were MEng and didnt keep your grades up you would be transfered to BEng.

The impression I was left with is you could easily choose transfer if you got the grades, but worth checking.

poetryandwine · 27/01/2023 21:19

Just for more reassurance: I am a STEM academic at a Russell Group uni in England. It is easy to transfer to MEng here at various points as long as you have 60% or better. And if you are on MEng and your overall marks are below 60% at various points you will be transferred to BEng. In Year 1 which programme you are on really does not mean much.

yoyo1234 · 27/01/2023 21:28

I love the mountain of knowledge that is mumsnet 🙂. Glasgow looks a great 2nd choice (not sure what he will go for but free tuition fees is superb 👌). Will say to him. He saw his potential fees letter today from another uni (I told him not to worry).

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Chrysanthemum5 · 27/01/2023 21:36

Many Scottish universities offer an undergraduate masters especially in engineering. Is he sure it's not the MEng he's being offered

yoyo1234 · 27/01/2023 21:45

He has checked ir is bachelors. Interestingly his first choice he just said is actually 3 years with option of masters (which sounds like lots of what PP are saying -so confused). I just wanted him to have a great back up. Just wondered those that chose Strathclyde over Glasgow what interested you in Stratclyde rather than Glasgow.

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Myotherpetisamouse · 27/01/2023 21:45

It’s to with credits on your course. If you do really well you can be invited to move from BEng to MEng. Similarly if you start on an MEng and don’t do well enough they’ll move you to BEng.

yoyo1234 · 27/01/2023 21:47

Seems silly he is strong academically not to offer him masters.

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WeAllHaveWings · 27/01/2023 21:47

yoyo1234 · 27/01/2023 21:28

I love the mountain of knowledge that is mumsnet 🙂. Glasgow looks a great 2nd choice (not sure what he will go for but free tuition fees is superb 👌). Will say to him. He saw his potential fees letter today from another uni (I told him not to worry).

Where is his first choice? For ds last year Glasgow and Edinburgh were early with offers in Jan and Feb but his first choice Strathclyde was a long wait, for him and some of his friends, until mid March!

Myotherpetisamouse · 27/01/2023 21:49

Strathclyde has good links with industry which was why DS chose it. He didn’t get an offer from Glasgow despite being straight As

yoyo1234 · 27/01/2023 21:49

First choice Cambridge. Glasgow offered pre Christmas I think.

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WeAllHaveWings · 27/01/2023 21:57

Not entirely sure what convinced ds on Strathclyde last year. He was always going to go to a Scottish uni (and avoid the debt), he felt Strathclyde outranked Glasgow and Edinburgh for mechanical (think Glasgow rates higher for civil, but there really isnt much between them for either), he just got a better vibe from/felt more at home in Strathclyde at the open days and speaking to current students we know.

His girlfriend goes to Glasgow (Law) so he and some of the other Strathclyde students do visit the Glasgow student union regularly but still prefer Strathclyde.

WeAllHaveWings · 27/01/2023 22:02

Just remembered the other thing that put him off Glasgow is their mechanical engineering degrees are currently not accredited with IMechE. Reaccreditation has been pending now for at least 3 years when we started looking. The uni said it wasn't an issue just paperwork, which it probably is, but it left him feeling unsure.

ErrolTheDragon · 27/01/2023 22:06

yoyo1234 · 27/01/2023 21:49

First choice Cambridge. Glasgow offered pre Christmas I think.

Did he get an offer from Cambridge?
Maybe Glasgow deduced he might be applying there as he must have made an early entry, so offered the BEng with lower grade requirements to position themselves as an insurance choice?

yoyo1234 · 27/01/2023 22:08

@ErrolTheDragon interesting thinking. Bath offered low (grades of B and A) pre Christmas as well. He has a Cambridge offer (1 grade below the normal).

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Needmoresleep · 28/01/2023 23:31

Isn’t there some student finance wrinkle in that if you accept a four year course leading to a Masters you get finance for those four years. If you accept a three year BSc course and then do a Masters at the same place finance for that final year can be problematic. (No expert but a friend’s daughter’s first year tutor apparently urged her to sign up for a MMaths because then she could drop down/be limited to a Batchelors but if she did decide to stay on her finance would be secure.) Stand alone Masters can be a nightmare to fund, especially as fees can be as much as three times UG fees. Integrated Masters charge the same as UG.

Also would a Masters in Dundee be 5 years. Student Finance will only cover 4.