Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Foundation Year

We’ve developed this course for students who have not completed a traditional foundation course or who are not quite ready to go on to degree level, but who know which subject they wish to study. This course is the first stage of a bachelors degree – it is not a standalone course. Following the successful completion of the year you'll then progress on to the first year of the appropriate degree.

This BEng degree has an optional year in industry and covers both electrical engineering – where electricity is used to transport and deliver energy – and electronic engineering – where electricity can be used to process, transmit and store information.

KEY FEATURES OF THE COURSE

RANKINGS: Our Electrical and Electronic Engineering course has been ranked in the Top 20 for academic support, and assessment and feedback, and Top 25 for teaching in the National Student Survey 2025.

WORKING WITH INDUSTRY: This BEng degree has an optional year in industry and covers both electrical engineering – where electricity is used to transport and deliver energy – and electronic engineering – where electricity can be used to process, transmit and store information. If you choose to take the placement year in industry, you can really boost your career prospects. Many companies look for placement students and there’s plenty of support here to help you find and make the most of these opportunities.

FACILITIES: Study in an inspirational learning environment with specialist facilities where you'll gain hands-on experience with a range of equipment.

OPPORTUNITIES AND EXPERIENCES: Include an optional industry placement year to gain industry experience and bolster your CV. You'll also have the opportunity to take part in our annual ebot competition where you work in a team to create a robot from scratch before testing its ability on a track

HOW YOU WILL LEARN: You will learn through lectures, tutorials, and laboratory work. You’ll carry out experiments in our specialist laboratories and have access to online materials 24/7.

YOUR CAREER: Electrical and electronic engineering graduates from Derby can be found developing embedded systems in cars, electrical power distribution systems, railway signaling systems or rolling stock enhancements. They are also managing major industrial processes, from breweries to assembly lines. However, with your advanced numeracy and problem-solving skills, you will have many other career options too: teaching, banking, accountancy, technical sales or management for example. If you want to gain Chartered Engineer status, you’ll need to move on to postgraduate study.

STUDY OPTIONS:
This course is also available without a Foundation Year option.
This course is also available with a Placement Year option.

Based solely on more than 24,000 student reviews, we were named Uni Compare's University of the Year 2027, and voted 1st in the UK for employability and 2nd in the UK for course quality. Not only that, but 97% of students would recommend the University of Derby*, which we can offer you industry-relevant teaching, state-of-the-art study spaces, multi-award-winning accommodation, and a welcoming, inclusive community.

*Uni Compare 2027