Course overview
Join the evolution of automotive technology to help drive a more sustainable future. Study an industry-shaped Masters from a UK-leading university in mechanical engineering.
The automotive industry is shifting from internal combustion to hybrid, electric and smart autonomous vehicles.
The strategic industrial success of this transformation depends on experts with advanced-level skills to ensure a smooth transition – this Masters answers this need.
You’ll develop core knowledge and skills in advanced areas of analysis, design and manufacture related to traditional and emerging electric and autonomous vehicle technology.
You can also branch out into your areas of interest with optional modules that’ll hone your skills further to suit your career aspirations.
Studying automotive engineering at Leeds also gives you a unique advantage, being one of the leading mechanical engineering Schools in the country. We’ve specifically designed this course to give you the very latest knowledge and skills needed by companies all over the world.
The group work gave me the opportunity to meet more people, and I made a lot of friends this way.
Why study at Leeds?
- Get exclusive industry insight into your course: Benefit from our School’s Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) and close links with organisations like Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics and Robotics at Leeds – all of which provide the latest industry innovations that feed into your course.
- Follow our successful alumni: Graduates of this course have gone on to secure jobs in many well-known brands, including Triumph Motorcycles and Bosch.
- Build professional skills: Collaborate on a team design project, using your skills to solve a programme-specific and industry-relevant design problem.
- Learn in a practical environment: Access our School’s impressive range of specialist facilities, including a brake test area, measurement lab and industry-standard software.
- Join our racing team: Leeds Gryphon Racing is your chance to build and race a car. We’re one of the top Formula Student teams in the UK and have raced worldwide – from Italy to Japan. Watch our video to see how previous teams got on in the tournament.
- Bring your skills to life outside the classroom: ShockSoc is your chance to attend high-quality technical visits, get involved in social events and even build your own robot in our Robot Fighting League (RFL).
- Gain real-world experience: Build professional skills and glean insight through an eight-week optional online work experience programme, working on a real project with a partner organisation.
Accreditation
Accreditation is the assurance that a university course meets the quality standards established by the profession for which it prepares its students.
This course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) under licence from the UK regulator, the Engineering Council.
This Masters degree is accredited as meeting the requirements for Further Learning to Masters Level for registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng)*.
*It should be noted that candidates completing the MSc who hold an underpinning accredited IEng degree or a non-accredited Bachelor degree will need to apply for an academic assessment to determine whether they will meet the educational base for CEng registration.
Course details and modules
Core modules will give you a solid knowledge base in key areas of automotive engineering. You’ll build your understanding of how vehicle and product systems are designed and developed, as well as automotive driveline and chassis engineering.
This foundation will allow you to gain specialist knowledge in areas that particularly interest you when you choose from our range of optional modules. You could focus on topics such as computational methods, tribology, combustion in engines or applications of mechatronics among many others.
Throughout the course, you’ll complete your professional project – an independent piece of research on a topic within automotive engineering that allows you to demonstrate your knowledge and skills. In semester 2, you’ll review the literature around your topic and plan the project, before completing the design, analysis, computation, experimentation and writing up in the summer months. You can also get involved with projects linked to the design, construction and testing of the Leeds Gryphon Racing team race car.
Course structure
The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our terms and conditions.
Compulsory modules
Electric and Hybrid Drivetrain Engineering – 15 credits
Build an understanding of a modern automotive drivetrain, the ability to describe the components and systems within the vehicle; apply the principles of engineering science to the design and analysis of the systems and components; demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the operating characteristics of key elements of the drivetrain as well as explore alternative approaches to the dynamic modelling of a drivetrain.
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Systems – 15 credits
This module provides you with a comprehensive knowledge of Connected and Autonomous Vehicle technology. It will cover aspects of sensors selection, data acquisition, path planning, localisation, artificial intelligence algorithms, communication, testing and validation.
Automotive Chassis Engineering – 15 credits
You’ll gain the ability to describe the components and systems which are associated with a vehicle chassis structure; apply the principles of engineering science to the design and analysis of suspension and steering systems together with their components; state the fundamentals of acoustics and be able to apply these to the analysis and solution of chassis borne noise and vibration phenomena and categorise the various designs of chassis structure.
Professional project – 60 credits
Throughout the course, you’ll undertake a professional project that will require you to make use of professional skills, including project planning, risks and management. The project allows you to apply what you’ve learned to a piece of research focusing on a real-world problem, and it can be used to explore and develop your specific interests.
You’ll review the literature around your topic and plan the project, before completing the design, analysis, computation, experimentation and writing up in the summer months.
Past projects include:
- Regenerative braking systems – Impact on fuel consumption and vehicle stability in HEVs
- Design of Autonomous Vehicle for Formula Student competition
- Thermo-mechanical analysis of disc brake for vehicle rollaway
- Designing, Measuring and Modelling of Vehicle Dynamics
A proportion of projects are formally linked to industry and can include spending time at the collaborator’s site over the summer.
Team Design Project – 15 credits
Alongside your professional project, you’ll also participate in a group activity. You'll take a multidisciplinary approach to achieve a solution to a programme-specific, industrially-relevant design problem.
Optional modules
Please note: The modules listed below are indicative of typical options.
Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis – 15 credits
Learn how to competently perform computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis with commercial software packages used in industry.
Vehicle Dynamics and Design – 15 credits
Explore the principles of vehicle design, modelling and analysis techniques, using computer tools to model the behaviour of a road vehicle such as longitudinal motion, ride, and handling, enabling the understanding of the forces which govern the vehicle performances.
Engineering Computational Methods – 15 credits
Be introduced to the basic computational methods used to solve engineering problems modelled by ordinary differential equations and parabolic or hyperbolic partial differential equations. You will also learn how to implement the learned methods in practice. Engineering simulation software packages rely on computational methods and a good understanding is crucial to use them knowledgeably.
Fundamentals of Tribology – 15 credits
Tribology is the study of Friction, Lubrication, and Wear. But more importantly, it is the study of how engineering materials interact at the surface. The success of engineered systems will often depend on these interactions. With a strong foundation delivered through in-person lectures and guest seminars, the application of tribology and its current challenges will be introduced across the mechanical, medical (biotribology), automotive and aeronautical engineering disciplines.
Surface Engineering and Coatings – 15 credits
The development of Surface Engineering and Advanced Coatings is a National Competency according to the Technology Strategy Board. This module will introduce surface technologies across different manufacturing sectors from mechanical, automotive, medical, space and aerospace applications. Surface engineering methods and the surface characterisation techniques will be introduced.
Experimental Methods and Analysis – 15 credits
This module offers you theoretical and practical training required for design of experiments and data processing to address engineering problems.
Engineering Psychology and Human Factors – 15 credits
Explore the fields of engineering psychology and human factors i.e., of the capabilities, limitations and behaviours of humans as users and operators of engineered technology (with a special emphasis in this module on ground vehicles and aircraft) as well as the implications of these matters for design of such technology.
Advanced Finite Element Analysis – 15 credits
Build advanced theoretical and practical knowledge to enable performance of complex Finite Element Methods (FEM) in structural mechanics using commercial software packages used in industry.
Advanced Manufacturing – 15 credits
Learn traditional and new innovative manufacturing processes and assembly techniques that are commercially available. The module will also cover the latest developments in this rapidly evolving field including elements of research.
Design Optimisation – 15 credits
Acquire a comprehensive understanding of the scientific principles of design optimisation that will give you the ability to arrive at an improved design for an engineering system that satisfies given requirements.
Enhance Your Academic and Subject-Specific Language
As part of your course, you will have access to the Professional and Academic Communication module that provides valuable insights into studying a postgraduate degree in the UK while helping you develop your academic and subject-specific vocabulary.
Through a combination of in-person workshops and independent online study, you will explore the use of technology—such as translation tools and generative AI—to support effective communication. You will also build the language and literacy skills necessary to become a more confident and capable communicator throughout your studies.
Learning and teaching
Our groundbreaking research feeds directly into teaching, and you could have the opportunity to be taught by academics who are at the forefront of their disciplines. You’ll have regular contact with your teaching staff through lectures, seminars, tutorials, small group work and project meetings.
Independent study is also important to the course, as you develop your problem-solving and research skills as well as your subject knowledge.
You'll be assigned a personal tutor, who will maintain contact with you throughout the year and offer pastoral guidance. They will help you to settle into the university and clarify any procedures, as well as helping you prepare for employment on graduation.
Active research environment
Specialising in engineering systems and design, robotics, thermofluids, surfaces and interfaces, medical devices and regenerative medicine, our School is at the heart of solving real world problems through high-quality research.
Throughout your degree you'll be taught by experts who are leaders in their fields and be directly engaged with their cutting-edge research.
Specialist facilities
You’ll benefit from working in world-class specialist facilities for different aspects of automotive engineering. These include a brake test area and measurement lab, as well as the latest industry-standard software for computational fluid dynamics and finite element modelling of systems and materials.
High-level CNC and wire EDM facilities are available in the faculty workshop, and we have cutting-edge tribology facilities to study wear on engine parts. There’s even a ‘stirred bomb’ for characterising fuel ignition and advanced engines with optical access. If you get involved with Formula Student race car, you’ll also use our dedicated car build area including computerised engine test bays, Engine mapping based on MoTeC ECU, Matlab and OptimumG software is also available for suspension simulation and Ricardo Wave for engine simulations.
In addition to our advanced CAD facilities for design work, we have the latest industry-standard software for computational fluid dynamics and finite element modelling, programming and structural and multidisciplinary optimisation. You may also make use of the School's wind tunnels and other laboratories as well as manufacturing facilities including 3D printing and machine tools such as lathes and CNC machines in our new integrated workshop for students taking the Advanced Manufacturing module. These facilities are also available for those students that have selected a lab based project, or need to manufacture components for their project.
Programme team
The wider programme team is made up of academics and researchers from across the School of Mechanical Engineering, who work within the School’s research institutes and groups.
On this course, you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.
Assessment
You’ll be assessed through a variety of assessment approaches to test different knowledge and skills. Assessments will enable you to demonstrate your competency in a particular skill, as well as measuring the extent of your knowledge and understanding. They are designed to be fair and inclusive.
We will use different forms of assessment including written examinations (held at the end of each semester) and coursework that also develops key transferable skills that will be relevant to your future professional practice, such as project reports, teamworking and presentations.
Assessments will develop your ability to bring together evidence from a variety of sources, and to critically understand and evaluate. You will also have frequent opportunities to develop your understanding of assessment and to improve your performance, for example through formative assessments with feedback, guided marking, peer review and opportunities to practise key assessment methods.
Applying
Entry requirements
A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) in a relevant engineering or science discpline.
As part of your application, you'll need to show evidence that you have studied modules covering advanced mathematics.
We also encourage you to apply if you have a 2:2 (hons) in one of the subjects listed above, relevant work experience or professional qualifications. We take a flexible and inclusive approach and consider every application on its individual merits.
International
We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications. For more information, please contact the Admissions Team.
English language requirements
IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.
Improve your English
International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.
This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Engineering (6 weeks) and Language for Science: Engineering (10 weeks).
We also offer online pre-sessionals alongside our on-campus pre-sessionals. Find out more about our six week online pre-sessional and our 10 week online pre-sessional.
You can also study pre-sessionals for longer periods – read about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.
How to apply
Application deadlines
Please read our How to Apply page for full details, including application deadlines and what to include with your application.
Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible.
Friday 30 July 2027 – International applicants
Friday 10 September 2027 – UK applicants
Click below to access the University’s online application system and find out more about the application process.
If you're still unsure about the application process, contact the admissions team for help.
Read about visas, immigration and other information in International students. We recommend that international students apply as early as possible to ensure that they have time to apply for their visa.
Admissions policy
University of Leeds Admissions Policy 2027
This course is taught by
School of Mechanical Engineering
Contact us
Postgraduate Admissions Team
Email: pgmech@leeds.ac.uk
Fees
UK: £14,900 (Total)
International: £33,800 (Total)
Read more about paying fees and charges.
For fees information for international taught postgraduate students, read Masters fees.
Additional cost information
There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more on our living costs and budgeting page.
Scholarships and financial support
If you have the talent and drive, we want you to be able to study with us, whatever your financial circumstances. There may be help for students in the form of loans and non-repayable grants from the University and from the government. Learn more about Masters funding.
Scholarships are also available to help fund your Masters. Find out more and check your eligibility below:
Career opportunities
This course will allow you to not only build automotive engineering skills but also specialise in an area that suits your interests through optional modules from across the different areas of the discipline. This will open up career opportunities across different sectors of the automotive and motorsport industries.
By the time you graduate from this MSc, you'll be a well-rounded automotive engineer with a specialist skill set and the in-depth knowledge sought after by many employers in industry.
Here’s an insight into some of the job positions and organisations previous graduates in automotive engineering have secured:
- Design Engineer, Triumph Motorcycles
- Vehicle Test Engineer, WVTS Tech
- Technical Advisor, Bosch
- NPI Engineer, SMR Automotive
- Design Engineer, Bendix
- Automobile Engineer, Wings EV
- Component Engineer, AVL Powertrain
Top 10 most targeted for 10+ years
by the UK's leading employers
Careers support
At Leeds, we help you to prepare for your future from day one.
Our Careers Service has the global expertise and sector-spanning industry partnerships that, combined, go way beyond simply helping you get a job. They provide you with the resources you need to upskill and achieve the future you aspire towards – even in the face of lightning-paced change.
- Dedicated Employability Team: Meet with our qualified careers consultants and specialist employability and placements officers, on hand to help you choose the right path and develop the skills to get there. They can support with CV and cover letter writing, LinkedIn profile building, mock interviews and navigating AI: get confident with tailored advice and techniques.
- Employability and networking events: Get involved in a full range of events, including careers fairs and specialist industry talks with employers who are actively recruiting. You’ll also benefit from mentoring and a supportive careers community, helping you make connections, build your network, and shape your journey as a future professional.
- Skills training: We embed transferable skills training in all our programmes to support your transition to the workplace. Gain expertise employers value, such as communication, problem-solving and research and data analysis.
- MyCareer system: Access a dedicated portal where you can book careers appointments, view helpful resources and browse vacancies and events. Access digital tools, including LinkedIn support, video interview preparation, plus global job market and visa guidance. We also offer pre‑arrival support to help you prepare for career planning in the UK and make the most of your time with us.
- Exclusive opportunities: Bring your enterprise to market with our award-winning business advice service, Spark. Apply for vacancies only available to our students. And hone your skills further with Leeds University Union, home to volunteering opportunities and over 300 clubs and societies.
Explore more about your employability opportunities at the University of Leeds.
Work placements and industry experience
While studying at Leeds, you’ll have the opportunity to complete an eight-week online work experience programme, working on a project aligned with your academic discipline in partnership with a relevant organisation.
You’ll develop key professional skills and gain valuable insight into your chosen field, helping to solve a real business challenge based on a live company brief.
This experience will enhance your CV, helping you stand out in the competitive graduate jobs market and improving your prospects of securing the career you want.
Benefits of the virtual work experience:
- Fully online and designed to fit around your studies.
- Opportunities to build your professional network.
- Gain valuable insight and consultancy experience with a UK or international organisation, working on a time limited brief.
- Collaborate in multidisciplinary teams to tackle real business challenges.
- Apply your learning in practice and develop hands-on skills.
- Strengthen your employability and career prospects.
- Build confidence, make new connections and explore your future career options.
Throughout the eight-week programme, you’ll be supported by an academic tutor who will meet regularly with your group. You’ll also receive guidance from the employability team at every stage.
We’ll provide tailored careers support sessions to help you develop professional behaviours and showcase your skills to employers. On completion, you’ll receive a reference letter from Leeds recognising the skills and experience you have gained.
When you begin your MSc, the employability team will introduce the scheme during a lecture in your first month, answer any questions and explain how to register.