A Levels for Engineering

Which A levels are required for engineering?

The most essential A level for an engineering course is mathematics. All engineering courses will involve a strong element of maths, used for understanding and modelling processes relevant to each engineering discipline.

Further mathematics would also be looked upon very favourably by universities as it shows a higher and deeper level of mathematical understanding, and may even overlap with some content taught on degree level courses. It is unlikely however that further maths would be an essential requirement for a course. 

All sciences would also be looked upon favourably, but in particular physics, chemistry, and computer science would have the closest relation and application to engineering in most cases.

Beyond this, different engineering disciplines may have different preferences for subjects. For example biology would certainly help when applying for a course such as Biomedical Engineering, and chemistry would be very important for Chemical Engineering. Computer science is advantageous for courses like Electronic Engineering or Computer Science itself.

More specialised A levels will also help if they are available to you, for example electronics for Electronic Engineering, or product design which contains many overarching engineering principles and skills.

A typical requirement from a university may specify “maths and at least 1 other science”, or “maths and any two of physics, chemistry, further maths, or computer science”. It is important to check these requirements through the university’s website for any courses you are considering applying for.

Whilst university may seem a long way off, it can be really useful to research where you might like to study, and “work backwards” to inform your choices of A level subjects.

What grades do I need to study Engineering?

Engineering courses are extremely popular and taught at many universities. As such, there are a range of grades required depending on where you are aiming to study, and you should be able to find a university which has realistic, but ambitious entry requirements for yourself.

Engineering courses generally range in their entry requirements from A*A*A to BCC. Several examples are included below to demonstrate the range of grades required. These details are correct at the time of writing (June 2023). 

When applying to university through UCAS, it is important to research the entry requirements of the courses you are interested in, either through the university’s website or through UCAS course search.

If you are applying for multiple courses, you can target a “spread” of courses with different entry requirements depending on your predictions and ambitions.

If you feel you are not going to realistically achieve the grades required, there may still be other options available to you to pursue a career in engineering.

There are foundation degrees, with lower requirements, which can then potentially lead on to bachelor’s and master’s courses, or alternative qualifications such as HNCs and HNDs.

Apprenticeships can be another option, with either higher apprenticeships (Level 4) or degree apprenticeships (Level 5-7) as routes which support studying alongside working in industry.

Are there any entrance tests for Engineering?

There are generally no specific entrance tests for engineering, these are most commonly for Law, Mathematics, or Medicine. However, if you are considering applying to Oxford or Cambridge then they may require you to sit an entrance test. 
For Oxford, you may have to sit the Physics Admissions Test (PAT). For Cambridge, you may have to sit the Engineering Admissions Assessment (ENGAA).

What should be in a personal statement for Engineering?

A strong personal statement can add an extra boost to your application, which is especially important for competitive courses like engineering. Universities will generally be looking for an answer to the following in your statement:

• Why do you want to study engineering specifically (why not physics or maths?)

• Why will you be successful on this course? What skills do you have to help you?

• What relevant work experience do you have, and how has it helped prepare you?

• Have you done any relevant super-curricular reading beyond your subjects?

• What do you enjoy doing outside of your studies?

More general advice on writing a personal statement can be found here on UCAS.com.

What types of engineering are there, and what could they lead to?

There are many different fields within engineering, and to pick one you will need to consider what you are genuinely interested in, as well as your strengths and weaknesses.

There are also courses available which may be more general in their content, and teach a greater breadth of topics across several disciplines. These may be named “Engineering”, “Engineering Design”, or a course like “Engineering Mathematics” may be suitable for your interests.