MSc Motorsport Engineering
Course Overview
Our MSc in Motorsport Engineering focuses on preparing you for industry. It’s designed to take you from your bachelor’s degree to a role in the motorsport or automotive industries. Written with industry collaboration, our dedicated, knowledgeable team will cover the key areas needed to make you stand out to employers. We’ll concentrate on technological advancements, such as additive manufacturing (commonly called 3D printing), advanced powertrains, electric vehicles, big data and industry 4.0.By working with industry players like HAAS F1, M-Sport, Prodrive and RML to write the programme, we’re ensuring that the core ethos, skills and projects are industry-centred, realistic and aimed to maximise your employability. The fourth industrial revolution, known as industry 4.0, is happening around us and the motorsport and automotive industries are leading these changes. We’ll explore the latest in motorsport vehicle dynamics, advanced powertrain technologies, and the design and development of electric vehicles. Our dedicated and knowledgeable team will work to help you prepare to develop and innovate as the industry evolves.
Additionally, the course is designed to address all the competencies set out by the Engineering Council and UK-SPEC, and to support you to achieve Chartered Engineer (CEng) status. So, if you’re an ambitious motorsport or automotive engineering graduate seeking to develop advanced digital manufacturing and production engineering knowledge while boosting your understanding of core motorsports engineering principles, this master’s degree should prove an excellent investment in your future.
Highlights
- Your studies will be based in the purpose-built National Centre for Motorsport Engineering (NCME) at the University of Bolton.
- This master’s course is designed to meet professional institution standards in the UK, and support your achievement of Chartered Engineer (CEng) status.
- Our dedicated staff team, who possess a wide range of professional experience, industry knowledge, technical expertise and academic credentials, offers face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support.
Key Features
- Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work at home and make the most of the highly interactive in-class tuition.
- Our approach to teaching and learning is ‘student-centred’, so we’ll work with you on an individual basis, providing tailored help and support throughout your studies.
- By studying alongside students and professionals from other engineering specialisms or alternative industrial sectors, you can benefit from a wider range of knowledge and experience that supports cross-disciplinary thinking.
- This course is based at the University of Bolton’s campus in the North West of England.
- We also offer master’s degrees and postgraduate apprenticeships in Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, and this programme is part of a well-established suite of master’s programmes offered by the University of Bolton.
- By choosing to study with us, you'll have the chance to enjoy Bolton's many shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities. Manchester, one of the UK's most multicultural and lively cities, is less than 20 minutes away by train. Not forgetting, the North West of England is renowned for its beautiful countryside, coastline and heritage. This makes Bolton an ideal base from which to explore some of the best cultural and outdoor activities the UK offers.
Entry Requirements
- Normally, you should have at least a lower second class honours degree (2.2) in a relevant subject; for instance, a BSc (Hons) or BEng (Hons) in motorsport technology , automotive engineering or mechanical engineering.
- If you have alternative equivalent qualifications and relevant work experience, then we’ll be happy to consider your application and may invite you for an interview or request a portfolio of work.
- We welcome your application if you hold a degree awarded by an overseas institution. The University will assess the equivalence of your qualifications.
- We'll consider applications where appropriate work experience can be demonstrated in lieu of, or in addition to, the published academic qualifications in line with the University’s Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) procedures.
- If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
- We're more than happy to have an informal chat with you about this course, either over the phone or in person. If you wish to meet in person, please contact the Programme Leader to arrange a mutually convenient time. (While we reserve the right to interview it's not our usual practice for this course.)
Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.
Career Opportunities
This course addresses contemporary issues in motorsport engineering. Graduates of the course will be ready to enter the motorsport or automotive engineering industries, especially in roles that demand knowledge of digital engineering, motorsport based analysis and simulation and manufacturing technologies. In addition to developing your technical knowledge and experience, this programme will also give you greater confidence in your transferable and personal skills. These include problem solving, critical thinking, team working, and communication.
What can I do with this qualification?
It’s likely that you will seek to achieve Chartered Engineer (CEng) status, and this master’s is designed to meet the academic requirements leading to this professional registration.
Research is an exciting career path that will allow you to explore working in research and development roles or in academia. An MSc can also be used as a stepping-stone for those who wish to continue to an MPhil or PhD.
Alternative career options
Graduates can also use the qualification to enter a range of other careers, bearing in mind that relevant experience or postgraduate study may be required. Some of these roles include:
- Research and development
- Teaching and education
- Project management
- Test engineering
- Consultancy
- Manufacturing
- Materials science
- Civil engineering
- Chemical engineering
- Quality management
- Product management
Professional Recognition
The University of Bolton’s MSc Motorsport Engineering uses UK-SPEC learning outcomes and is designed to meet the academic requirements leading to Chartered Engineer (CEng) status. Please see the Engineering Council UK website for further details of UK-SPEC.
We’ll be seeking accreditation of the MSc Motorsport Engineering for Chartered Engineer (CEng) status from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
Fees & Funding
Please note the total course fee for a Home student starting this course in 2023/24 will be £7,920. As this is an 18-month course, the fees are £5,280 for the first year and £2,640 for the final semester.
Home/EU Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
International Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
Bursaries
Click here for more information on our Master's Bursaries.
Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2025-26 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.
The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.
How to apply
Home Applicants
You may apply directly to the University using the University's online application form. Please select your chosen start date from the list below:
You should have to hand:
-
Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates
-
Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies
-
Details of any employment history including name, address, dates and role
-
Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately
-
Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference
Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.
Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already input.
If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions-team@bolton.ac.uk
-
Apply online: University of Bolton MSc Motorsport Engineering - 22 September 2025
International Applicants
Thank you for your interest
In order to determine your suitability for this course as an international student and also to confirm you meet any initial eligibility criteria, we need you to answer a few short questions.
Teaching & Assessment
Our overall teaching and learning strategy is student-centred. We use a blended approach involving face-to-face sessions and online learning. Active learning is promoted using lectures, seminars, workshops, practicals and tutorials, along with guided and self-directed study. These are supported by online discussions and activities posted on our virtual learning environment (VLE).
You’ll be expected to spend a considerable amount of time on independent learning, including literature searches, reading, completing work for seminars, preparing for workshops, presentations or group discussions. Some modules will have on-line resources and activities to complete.
Assessment serves several functions, with the obvious and primary purpose being to evaluate your achievement of the stated learning outcomes. Assessment also helps you to identify what you have done well and where you can improve so that you can organise and develop your learning. The major forms of assessment we use are reports, presentations and portfolios.
Modules
The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.
- Design for Additive Manufacturing
- Dissertation
- Advanced Automotive Engineering
- Motorsport Vehicle Dynamics
- Technical Publications and Presentations
- Advanced Production Engineering
Assessment methods
| Level | Assessment method |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Coursework 100% |
Learning Activities
| Level | Activity |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Guided independent study 83% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 17% |
The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.
