UCL or Bath for engineering?

[WWT]

My son has received conditional offers from both UCL and the University of Bath for Civil Engineering, and we’re currently weighing up the options.

Bath ranks very highly for the subject within the UK and offers a structured placement year, which is appealing. UCL, on the other hand, has a stronger global reputation. However, I understand that its engineering programmes may not stand out as much domestically, and while being in London could offer more opportunities, competition for placements might be intense and student support perhaps less personalised than at Bath.

My son is hoping to work abroad after graduation and is currently leaning slightly towards UCL.
We’d really appreciate any insights or experiences—particularly from those familiar with Engineering at UCL or Bath—that could help us make a more informed decision.

I don't know anything about the field of Engineering, but I would 100% be recommending Bath to my kids because of the placement year (and the really high ranking/quality of the course). It provides such an enormous boost for graduates applying for jobs.

Personally, I am trying to persuade my kids not do go to university in London. I think that the university experience is better when your peers are less dispersed, and when you don't lose so much time to travel (I live in London, so it isn't that I don't like the city!). Having said that, my DD has point blank rejected Bath because she thinks it is way too small, and she is applying to London.

I do work in engineering and would encourage the course that offers the opportunity to put your learning into practice before you graduate. Real world skills and understanding is so important and building his network before he graduates is so valuable.

for what it’s worth I chose my course based on my university’s practical reputation & it was well known for having very strong links with industry & I really enjoyed it so appreciate my opinion is biased. Everyone I work with had some practical industry experience & the knowledge it brings to the workplace is so interesting.

good luck!

Bath is very well respected for this, I work in commercial real estate - when grads attend info days / submit applications they can name the degree and result but not the uni.

Are finances an issue? Accommodation near UCL is likely to be v v expensive (a friend whose dd was looking at London unis told me that accommodation was £15k per year - we have paid between £6k and £9k (in different years) for one of my dcs’ accommodation at a uni in the midlands. Not sure how costly Bath accommodation is - worth checking out now if it may influence your dc’s decision..

It sounds as though both are great options, but living in Bath and living in London are very different.
Which city would he prefer to live in for 3-4 years?

@WWT For decades my DH ran a mid sized civil engineering and structural engineering consultancy. There’s a couple of issues with your DSs plans.

Firstly, this should be a MEng degree. Do not entertain a BEng. It limits progression in the profession. MEng is a quicker and cheaper route to being a Chartered Engineer. BEng with no masters is IEng only.

Secondly. He needs to understand that working abroad might be difficult if he’s not qualified. A degree isn’t the full qualification. All they are is a graduate engineer. He must work for a company who will get him qualified to CEng status. This means they must offer an accredited programme and it will probably take him 3 years plus to achieve this.

Then - look to working abroad. The world is his oyster as a CEng. Going earlier could well slow up CEng qualification and he must look into this.

Lastly employers simply won’t care about Bath or UCL. They really won’t. He should have perhaps looked at Sheffield as Bath and Sheffield are way above UCL in the CUG. They have a much better civil engineering pedigree and I don’t believe foreign employers will give a fig. However if he gets employed by a company here, gets qualified, and goes abroad he will find it’s about his skills and uni makes no difference. UCL is not Imperial.

Getting work experience is a good idea in the holidays. Not necessary for a year. Don’t do a year out if this means reduction to BEng but Bath has a great reputation for industry links. I’d say Bath over UCL because the reasons for UCL are flawed.

Look at the ICE for details. DH is FICE and FIStructE. Just about retired now!

Many thanks for all the helpful insights and advice!
DS has received offers for MEng - UCL (4 years) and Bath (5 years, including a placement year). I completely agree that becoming chartered before working abroad is a very valid point, I’ll make sure to pass that on to him.
He doesn’t have a strong preference between London and Bath, nor between a more “bubble” campus versus a dispersed one. Both cities are expensive, with London slightly more so. If he chooses UCL, he plans to live in university accommodation in the first year to meet people, and then may consider living at home from the second year onwards to save some money (it’s about a one-hour commute each way).
At the moment, he is slightly inclined towards UCL, mainly because he feels he “likes” the university more. That said, we’re wondering whether an engineering degree from UCL would be in any way a disadvantage. It’s quite a difficult decision to make.

They are both good choices. So really it doesn't matter, what matters is his commitment once he is there.

Placements are extremely helpful.
London is very expensive and very big.

we’re wondering whether an engineering degree from UCL would be in any way a disadvantage. It’s quite a difficult decision to make. How could it be a disadvantage??

It's only really a hard decision because you're choosing between two good options!

@WWT No. UCL is no disadvantage. However civil engineering is often quite collaborative and there are labs. A commute of 1 hour might not be ideal. Long day if the students socialise with mates met in y1. Just going home won’t be a great university experience. It looks like Bath don’t count the placement year so it’s 5 years. I’m never certain this is worth it. However I’d still choose Bath.

I agree that both are excellent choices. My ds did the same degree at Bath. The year in industry is invaluable.

He loved it and it was absolutely the right choice for him. But I could see it being a bit too quiet for some young people. But equally it was probably easier to get to know people when most people were living on campus the first year.

Not sure what the halls situation is currently at UCL.

BTW none of mine wanted to go to London unis as we live very near there. Even though we said we would pay for halls rather than making them commute!

I would disagree. Reputation is still reputation. If I was deciding to hire 2 candidates that had the exact same degree and honours, I would choose the one from UCL. Although it does not matter to some, UCL is apart of the G5 universities. As an employer, I can notice the difference in soft skills.
Another factor I would like to add that may be a benefit is that UCL is much more culturally diverse.

UCL offers a placement year too.

Either way both are great, but if you asked most people, they would say 100% UCL.

Civil is the most stable discipline in engineering. DS not taking a placement year won't significantly change his employability (given he still has some other experience).
Be aware, rankings is all dependent on what matters most to you. Rankings can be skewed by whatever reasons for each factor, so I would say DS should decide on whatever he will be happiest and enjoy the course most.