Mining Engineering

The Mining Engineering degree is taught by the University’s Camborne School of Mines (CSM), which has more than 120 years’ experience in training mining engineers and an excellent international reputation.

The degree programme is multidisciplinary, including elements of civil and mechanical engineering, geology, metallurgy, economics, project management & accounting and safety & sustainable development. It’s also highly vocational, so in addition to lecture-based study, the programme includes field trips, tours, a summer industrial placement and practical classes in surveying. You will generally spend your second year summer vacation gaining work experience anywhere from Australia to the UK.

The Mining Engineering degree programme is professionally accredited by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), providing the opportunity for you to work towards Chartered Engineer status after you graduate.

The College aims to produce graduates that can:

Be flexible mining/quarrying engineering graduates equipped to work effectively within industrial teams or research and development groups, contributing specialist skills, demonstrating an awareness of the context within which they work, and taking responsibility for their own personal and professional development.

Through this programme, the College will provide students with: learning opportunities to match their abilities and aspirations, personal academic support and pastoral support through their university career, appropriate methods of teaching and assessment and a programme of study that they find demanding interesting and intellectually stimulating, while allowing them to enjoy other aspects of university life. This course should also enable those who wish to pursue a research career in the mining industry.

The MEng degree programme is designed to deliver all of the required knowledge and understanding (as an exemplifying qualification) as set out in UK-SPEC for an integrated MEng degree and hence is designed to contribute towards mining graduates becoming professionally qualified mining engineers in the UK, with international recognition.  This programme is accredited as fully satisfying the educational base for a Chartered Engineer (CEng). This enables graduates to apply for CEng registration through membership of an appropriate Professional Engineering Institution, for example the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining (IOM3) following an assessment of their subsequent professional development and experience.

Your MEng Mining Engineering programme is a 4 year programme of study at National Qualification Framework (NQF) level 7 (as confirmed against the FHEQ). This programme is divided into 4 Stages. Each Stage is normally equivalent to an academic year. The programme is also divided into units of study called ‘modules’ which are assigned a number of ‘credits’. The credit rating of a module is proportional to the total workload, with 1 credit being nominally equivalent to 10 hours of work. You will be located at the Cornwall Campus of the University of Exeter for the duration of your study.

Interim Awards

If you do not complete the programme you may be able to exit with a lower qualification. If you have achieved 120 credits, you may be awarded a Certificate of Higher Education, and if you achieve 240 credits, where at least 90 credits are at Stage 2 (NQF Level 5) or above, you may be awarded a Diploma of Higher Education. Students who do not reach the threshold at the end of stage 2 may progress to stage 3 of the equivalent BEng programme.

Credit

The programme consists of 480 credits with 120 credits taken at each stage. Normally not more than 75 credits would be allowed in any one term. In total, participants normally take no more than 150 credits at level 4, and must take at least 210 credits at level 6 or higher of which at least 120 must be at level 7.

The pass mark for award of credit in an individual module is 40% for modules taken at NQF Levels 4, 5 and 6 and 50% for modules taken at Level 7.

Progression

Condonement is the process that allows you to be awarded credit (and so progress to the next stage or, in the final stage, receive an award), despite failing to achieve a pass mark at a first attempt. You are not entitled to reassessment in condoned credit.

Up to 30 credits of failure can be condoned in a stage on the following conditions:

You must have registered for and participated in modules amounting to at least 120 credits in the stage.

You must pass the modules marked with a 'Yes' in the 'non-condonable' column in the tables above.

In stages 1-3 you must achieve an average mark of at least 40% across the full 120 credits of assessment, including any failed and condoned modules. In the final stage you must achieve an average mark of at least 50% across the full 120 credits of assessment, including any failed and condoned modules.

Assessment and Awards

Assessment at stage one does not contribute to the summative classification of the award. The award will normally be based on the degree mark formed from the credit-weighted average marks for stages 2 and 3 and 4  combined in the ratio 2:3:4 respectively.

Classification

The marking of modules and the classification of awards broadly corresponds to the following percentage marks:

Undergraduate Degrees                                      

Class I    70% +                                                       

Class II   Division I 60-69%                                      

Class II   Division II 50-59%                                     

Class III  40-49%

Full details of assessment regulations for UG programmes can be found in the Teaching Quality Assurance Manual (TQA) on the University of Exeter website.  Generic marking criteria are also published here.

Please see the Teaching and Quality Assurance Manual for further guidance.

Personal and Academic tutoring: It is University policy that all Colleges should have in place a system of academic and personal tutors. The role of academic tutors is to support you on individual modules; the role of personal tutors is to provide you with advice and support for the duration of the programme and extends to providing you with details of how to obtain support and guidance on personal difficulties such as accommodation, financial difficulties and sickness. You can also make an appointment to see individual teaching staff.

Students have access to good computing and library facilities at the Penryn Campus. Computer-based exercises and web-based learning materials are a feature of the programme, which can be accessed via the internet. IT Services provide a range of central services, including open and training clusters of PCs (available on a 24/7 basis) within the Centre. Network access is available from all rooms in the hall of residence on site. The Learning Resource Centre contains a library of 70,000 volumes and some specialist collections. In addition, students have full access to the central University of Exeter library, including the electronic library resources.

Online Module study resources provide materials for modules that you are registered for, in addition to some useful subject and IT resources. Generic study support resources, library and research skills, past exam papers, and the Academic Honesty and Plagiarism module are also available through the student portal (http://vle.exeter.ac.uk).

Student/Staff Liaison Committee enables students & staff to jointly participate in the management and review of the teaching and learning provision.

All applications are considered individually on merit. The University is committed to an equal opportunities policy with respect to gender, age, race, sexual orientation and/or disability when dealing with applications. It is also committed to widening access to higher education to students from a diverse range of backgrounds and experience.

Candidates must satisfy the general admissions requirements of the University of Exeter.

Admission criteria, in relation to academic qualifications, are set by the Engineering Council in UK-SPEC.  Applicants are normally invited to attend an Admissions Day, which will include the opportunity to talk with and question members of the academic staff.

Candidates must satisfy the entrance requirements for this programme. These are published in full in the University of Exeter Undergraduate Prospectus (see http://www.ex.ac.uk/undergraduate/). In addition to candidates offering GCE AS and A2, those offering International Baccalaureate, and appropriate VCE A-levels will also be considered, as well as mature candidates with evidence of appropriate alternative qualifications. Direct entry to Stage 2 of the programmes will also be considered for candidates who have successfully completed study equivalent to the core material in the first stage of the programmes.

MEng: School and college leavers: Typical offers are as specified in the current University Prospectus: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/

Overseas students without English as a first language must show proficiency in English and have an appropriate qualification (e.g. IELTS, TOEFL, or equivalent).

All applications are considered individually on merit. The University is committed to an equal opportunities policy with respect to gender, age, race, sexual orientation and/or disability when dealing with applications. It is also committed to widening access to higher education to students from a diverse range of backgrounds and experience.

Candidates must satisfy the general admissions requirements of the University of Exeter.

Each academic programme in the University is subject to an agreed College assessment and marking strategy, underpinned by institution-wide assessment procedures.

The security of assessment and academic standards is further supported through the appointment of External Examiners for each programme. External Examiners have access to draft papers, course work and examination scripts. They are required to attend the Board of Examiners and to provide an annual report. Annual External Examiner reports are monitored at both College and University level. Their responsibilities are described in the University’s code of practice. See the University's TQA Manual for details.

Certain programmes are subject to accreditation and/ or review by professional and statutory regulatory bodies (PSRBs).

The MEng Mining Engineering is accredited by the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining (IOM3) as fully satisfying the educational base for a Chartered Engineer (CEng). See www.iom3.org for further information.

Accreditation is a mark of assurance that a degree meets the standards set by the Engineering Council in the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC).

Accreditation is awarded for a maximum of 5 years under each assessment exercise. Once assessed by the IOM3, any dates applicable to the accreditation of this degree programme will be accessible on the Engineering Council list of accredited degrees: www.engc.org.uk.