Bachelor of Engineering for 2013

Major study areas

== CHEMICAL ENGINEERING ==

Chemical engineers invent, develop and design processes that convert raw materials into useful products - with minimal environmental impact.

Chemical engineers are also involved with pollution control, protection of the environment and with energy conservation.

As populations grow and resources and energy reserves decline, the demand for chemical engineers increases.

As a chemical engineer, you can work in a range of industries including the biotechnology, chemical, energy, environmental, food, mineral, nanotechnology, oil, paper, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries.

In these industries you would most likely work in one of the following roles:

• Process engineer - you solve production problems, develop new products, reduce energy usage and the carbon footprint, increase plant safety and efficiency, and oversee plant upgrades and expansions. You work with a team of people in operations, maintenance and business strategy.
• Design engineer - you work in a consultancy office, designing new plants for clients, as well as extensions to existing plants. You might design a distillation column today, be sizing a heat exchanger tomorrow, work on safety and environmental protections, or work out how to control each unit of the plant to ensure smooth and reliable operation.
• Research and development engineer - you work in a laboratory or a company, and develop new ways to do chemical engineering. You might develop new products or you might work on new catalysts to increase reaction efficiency.

== CIVIL ENGINEERING ==

Civil engineering is concerned with the design, construction, maintenance and the operation of infrastructure for the benefit of society.

Civil engineers design structures including multi-storey buildings, bridges, tunnels, commercial complexes, oil rig platforms, water systems, road and traffic systems and foundation supports.

Your career prospects as a civil engineer are strong and diverse. When you graduate, you could work in private industry, government, construction and mining, marine and resort developments, property and land development and in consulting.

== ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER SYSTEMS ENGINEERING ==

Electrical and computer systems engineering is an extremely diverse field, taking in biomedical, computer systems, electronics, electrical power engineering, robotics and telecommunications. This is a field that evolves rapidly, with new technologies and techniques being patented every day. Electrical and computer systems engineering spans all scales of electrical and electronic engineering, from the fundamentals of circuits, electronic signals and signal processing; through to digital electronics and systems on a chip; to the design of large scale power and telecommunication systems.

As an electrical and computer systems engineer you could work locally or internationally, in a wide range of industries, including power generation, industrial and power electronics, automation systems, computer programming, robotics, health care, and water and energy.

Many Monash graduates work in large public and private telecommunications, manufacturing and electrical power companies. Others work for defence and intelligence organisations.

You will also be prepared for careers in other industries such as online ticketing, banking and finance - or any organisation that needs to create, store, encode and transmit data or manage complex systems.

== MATERIALS ENGINEERING (not offered at Malaysia campus)==

Materials engineering plays a significant role in just about every industry you can imagine. It is a very broad field fundamental to all forms of engineering. Every single product contains at least one material, whether it is mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical, electronic or biological. Materials engineering is all about making new materials and improving existing ones. It is about making things stronger, lighter and more functional, sustainable and cost effective.

The expertise of materials engineers is needed in many areas including recycling and energy conservation, biomaterials, metal alloys, materials for energy storage such as fuel cells, nanomaterials, metallurgy, mining and in failure analysis.

Materials engineers can also work as plastics engineers, ceramists, adhesive scientists, process and quality engineers and corrosion or fracture engineers.

== MECHANICAL ENGINEERING ==

Mechanical engineering is about turning energy into motion and power. It covers the generation, conversion, transmission and use of mechanical and thermal energy, and includes the design, construction and operation of devices and systems. It also involves the behaviours of solids, liquids and gases when forces are applied and when they are heated and cooled.

As a mechanical engineer you could work in research and development, product and process design, technical sales and support, manufacturing, field and test engineering, project management, systems design and power plant operations and quality control. You could work in the petrochemical, automotive, transportation, aerospace, electronic, mining and robotic industries.

== MECHATRONICS ENGINEERING (Malaysia campus only. The Bachelor of Mechatronics Engineering is available as a separate entry degree at Clayton campus)==

Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering that integrates mechanics, electronics, computer science and control theory. It is at the cutting-edge of creating smarter products, devices and processes.

Mechatronics engineers develop, improve and optimise products and their functionality. As a mechatronics engineer you will improve the performance, features and functionality of products like cars, aircraft systems, medical and surgical devices and dishwashers.

The processes and production lines used to make these and many other products are also mechatronic in nature.

The applications for mechatronics engineering are virtually unlimited and the need for professionals in this progressive field is very high and increasing.

Opportunities exist in nanotechnology, mining systems and processes, robotics and automation, aerospace systems and flight control, manufacturing systems and processes, intelligent systems for motor vehicles, software engineering, telecommunications, medical systems, bioengineering and many other developing fields.

Vast opportunities for research and development in the above areas also exist in academia, research institutions and advanced industry sectors.

Mechatronics engineers may also take on other roles in industry, in areas such as consulting, management and finance.