Undergraduate Course 

BEng (Hons)

Motorsport Engineering with Foundation Year

Prepare to make your mark in the highly competitive global motorsport industry. Offering vital technical and digital skills alongside practical experience, our BEng (Hons) Motorsport Engineering puts you on the road to success.

Top20for satisfaction with feedbackMechanical Engineering subject area, The Guardian University Guide 2025
Top10for assessment and feedbackProduction and Manufacturing Engineering subject area - National Student Survey 2024

Foundation Year - helping you to achieve more

Including a foundation year as part of your four-year study programme will give you a head start in your academic and professional life. The foundation year offers the chance to strengthen your skills, knowledge and confidence – with extensive support from our expert staff – before you advance to stage one of your honours degree. It could also be beneficial if you are planning a career change and want to get to grips with aspects of subjects which are new to you.

Our degrees with a foundation year are continuous, meaning that you won’t need to apply again once you have successfully completed the first year.

Practical and technical skills

Our teaching facilities benefit from a vast range of vehicles and systems for you to study. Our computer labs host technical software widely used in the motorsport industry for design, modelling and simulation. You'll gain a comprehensive understanding of topics such as advanced power train engineering, motorsport chassis design and computational fluid dynamics.

Facilities include:

Real-world experience

We give you the opportunity to take part in a range of events where you can gain hands-on experience.

In your second year, lectures, tutorials and assessments are designed around our Radical SR1 race car, giving you the chance to enhance your race car engineering knowledge through practical and simulation work. There's also the opportunity to get involved in track testing and, on some occasions, participate in races.

Formula Student - the world’s biggest student motorsport competition – could also become a highlight of your studies. Team Derby Motorsport entered this competition for the first time in 2015 and won the Formula Student Rookie Team Award. This success resulted in a £3,000 grant for the team from the IMechE. The team will be taking part in the concept class in 2022.

Watch the video below of Team Derby Motorsport at the first round of the 2022 Radical SR1 Cup Championship at Donington Park.

Radical SR1 Cup Championship

View Radical SR1 Cup Championship video transcript

Meeting the needs of the industry and you

Engineering is such a broad discipline, and you may not fully know which area of engineering is the right choice to study when beginning your studies.

Employers are increasingly seeking engineers with a broader knowledge of mechanical and electrical engineering to meet their environmental, consumer and business needs. As a University based in an advanced engineering city, it’s vital that we offer degrees with a strong focus on sustainability, electrification and automation.

With this in mind, we have developed our degrees to match the multi-disciplinary requirements that employers are shouting for. All engineering students will take the same core modules in the first year to gain an essential foundation in all aspects of engineering, giving you the chance to settle into your studies, and allowing you time to decide which area suits you best. At the end of your first year, you’ll have the opportunity to switch to either our BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering or BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering degree should you realise your passion falls within this area, or you can continue on BEng (Hons) Motorsport Engineering.

Birds eye view of students working on the radical car in the workshop
A student working on computers in the motorsport workshop

Industry insight

Together, the teaching team have a range of experience working in the motorsport industry as well as researching current areas of growth. Our research teams work closely with local motorsport engineering companies and our Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Engineering to support and encourage innovation.

Hannah at the Radical SR1 Cup with professional racing driver Tom Wood

How Hannah followed her heart

Choosing whether to follow your head or your heart can be tough decision. But after following her heart, Hannah has ended up working with a professional racing team and collecting a Radical Technical Award on behalf of Team Derby Motorsport.

Read Hannah's storyRead Hannah's story
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Build, Create, Innovate

Whether it's computing, photography, or engineering, our top-tier facilities — including a new suite of recording studios and a £12 million STEM Centre — provide the perfect setting to excel.

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What you will study

Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.

Kedleston Road, Derby Campus entrance

Undergraduate Open Days

The best way to find out if studying at Derby is right for you is to experience an Open Day. Get a feel for the city and campus, tour our first-class facilities and see where you could be living.

Book your Undergraduate Open DayBook your Undergraduate Open Day

How you will learn

Real world learning

There are opportunities for you to go on an optional work placement as part of the BEng (Hons) Motorsport Engineering.

The course also includes field trips to local race circuits for testing and visits to a number of exhibitions where you can strengthen your professional networks. You will also attend guest lectures as part of the annual IMechE series.

How you are assessed

Assessment is through a mixture of coursework assignments, examinations and formal presentations.

Person offering support to a student Person offering support to a student with a laptop Student smiling with tutor Tutor smiling with student and laptop

Helping you reach your full potential

Our Personal Academic Tutoring programme supports your academic journey, helping you achieve your goals and unlock your potential.

Explore the programme

Who will teach you

Martin Sole

Programme Leader

Martin Sole beside bookcases

Martin Sole

Martin is a Senior Lecturer in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering and Programme Leader for the Mechanical, Electrical, and Motorsport Programmes.

View full staff profile

Entry requirements

2025 entry

These are the typical qualification requirements for September 2025 entry.

Contextual offers may apply to students who meet certain criteria.

RequirementWhat we're looking for
UCAS points72
A LevelDDD
T LevelPass
BTECMMP
GCSEGCSE Maths and English Grade 4/Grade C (or above) or equivalent qualification
Access to HEPass Access to HE Diploma with 60 credits: 45 at Level 3 with a minimum of Distinction: 0, Merit: 30, Pass: 15

English language requirements

IELTS: 6.0 (with at least 5.5 in each skills area)

Fees and funding

2025/26

 Full-timePart-time
UK

£9,250 per year

N/A

International

£16,900 per year

N/A

Further information about our fees and support you may be entitled to.

Additional costs and optional extras

How to apply

Please look at our application deadlines before you apply.


UK students

If you are in Year 13 and applying for a full-time undergraduate course (including our joint honours courses), we recommend that you apply through UCAS.

Apply through UCAS

If you are applying to study part-time, or already have your qualifications, or wish to join at Year 2 or 3, you should apply directly to the University.

Apply directly to the University

Careers

Our focus is on ensuring you are work-ready and this course will give you the all the confidence and skills you need to progress directly into the international motorsport arena.

Graduates have secured employment with companies like Cosworth, Zytec, JLR, Pirelli and EPM Composites. They have also raced all over the world and worked with international race teams in F1, GP2, FIA-GT and with a variety of national teams. 

Getting you career ready

Your degree is only part of your story.

We're here to help prepare you for life after university.

Career Support Image

96%
of UK graduates are in employment or further study.

Top 5
for employability.
Uni Compare Annual Student Review Rankings 2025.

87%
of UK graduates say their current activity is meaningful.

Contact us

If you need any more information from us, eg on courses, accommodation, applying, car parking, fees or funding, please contact us and we will do everything we can to help you.

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Additional information about your studies

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.

Course updates

The information provided on this page is correct at the time of publication but course content, costs and other individual course details do change from time to time and are updated as often as possible, so please do check these pages again when making your final decision to apply for a course. Any updated course details will also be confirmed to you at application, enrolment and in your offer letter.

If you are thinking about transferring onto this course (into the second year for example), you should contact the programme leader for the relevant course information as modules may vary from those shown on this page.

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