Skip to main content

Engineering

Girton offers a great opportunity for engineering students

Why choose Engineering at Girton?

Girton offers a great opportunity for engineering students. The expertise of Girton Teaching Fellows covers a wide range of Engineering disciplines including Structures, Geotechnics, Materials, Thermodynamics, Aero, Nano Science and Information Engineering, Building Physics, Earthquake Engineering and Chemical Engineering. Fellows and students work together to provide academic support across all years, but especially in the important transition from school to university.  Graduates are also part of Girton’s Engineering Community. Please see the Fellows’ pages for more information on their interests and expertise.

Girton’s Engineering Society normally meets once or twice a term and provides opportunities to interact. The society is vital to provide links between Engineers in different undergraduate years and also contact with graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and the fellowship.

Girtonians have also been fully involved in the activities of Cambridge University Engineering Society, the CU Eco-house Society and CU Eco-racing, as well as science and engineering outreach activities such as; teaching support in local schools through the Stimulus Scheme, educational science activities for children such as CHaOs and helping in the Department of Engineering’s participation in the Cambridge Science Festival. Girton Engineers have also been involved in schemes to encourage applications to Cambridge from under-represented groups, such as being Student Ambassadors for the College and University, as well as being active members of the College community.

STEMSMART logo

STEM SMART – Subject Mastery and Attainment-Raising Tuition

Girton is one of the first colleges to participate in STEM SMART, a Widening Participation initiative from the University of Cambridge, in association with Isaac Physics.

STEM SMART will provide free complementary teaching and support to UK students at non-fee paying schools who have either experienced educational disadvantage or belong to a group that is statistically less likely to progress to higher education. It is targeted at students who:

  • are considering applying to Engineering or Physical Science (e.g. Physics, Chemistry, earth sciences, materials & science) courses at university
  • and are studying A-levels (or equivalent) in maths and science. 

For further information, please visit the STEM SMART website.

 

Undergraduate Engineering

  • No. of students admitted per year: 12-16
  • Entry requirements: All entry requirements are A-Level standard or equivalent, unless otherwise stated. Mathematics and Physics are essential, with a third Mathematics/Science strongly preferred.  At least AS Further Mathematics is normally required. If available a full A level in Further Mathematics is strongly preferred. We welcome applications from students taking A Level Mathematics and a suitable vocational qualification, e.g a BTEC Higher National Diploma in an engineering discipline. Applicants would be expected to achieve the highest possible grades in both the A Level Mathematics and the vocational qualification.
  • Typical offer: A*A*A
  • Assessment arrangements: All Cambridge applicants are required to take an assessment prior to interview. Applicants must register in advance and further information about the written assessment can be found here
  • Interview arrangements: One interview.

Engineering undergraduate information

The Cambridge Engineering course allows you to sample several engineering disciplines in the first one or two years, and to specialise fully in one discipline for the third, and in most cases a fourth year leading to an MEng degree. More details about Engineering Admissions can be found on the University webpage.

Engineering postgraduate information

Graduates are welcome across all the scientific disciplines and are encouraged to take part in subject-organised events and to share their experience with undergraduate students. They are encouraged to take part in college teaching provided that their supervisor agrees.

Research and postgraduate students are admitted to the University by the Board of Graduate Studies. You must therefore apply centrally and not to the College, however you must be admitted to a College to be able to study at the University. To ensure that this is Girton you need to indicate this on your application form.

Career destinations

After graduation, our students go on to a wide range of different destinations. Some proceed to postgraduate study at Cambridge or elsewhere around the world. They study PhD, MPhils or MSc courses in various engineering disciplines to develop and hone their area of expertise. Alternatively, many of our students enter industry as engineers. The Girton Engineering Fellows and the wider Engineering Department closely support our students to help find rewarding summer work placements and many of these opportunities have led to employment after graduation. Today, our recent graduates are working on “real world” problems including the latest smart phone technology, high speed rail infrastructure, future aircraft propulsion, explosion modelling, and even parachutes for landing vehicles on Mars! Away from Engineering, our students also go on to have successful careers in many different sectors including teaching, finance, consulting or the armed forces.