The Honours Degree Top Up will be available to any candidate who satisfies the criteria below:

• A Ulster University or Queens University Belfast Foundation Degree with a pass mark of 55% or above in Level 5 modules. (or other relevant Level 5 qualification such as a Pearson's Higher National Certificate/Diploma) in an engineering related discipline.
• Candidates presenting with FDs or HNC/Ds from other awarding bodies will be considered under RPL procedures.
• Candidates presenting with an ordinary degree (bachelor's without honours) in this subject area, and who wish to top up to a full honours degree (bachelor's with honours), may be considered under RPL procedures.
• GCSE English language and Maths at grade 4 (grade C) or above. (or equivalent, - for example, Level 2 Literacy and Numeracy, Essential Skills qualifications are also accepted).
• All applicants must have reached the age of 18 years on admission.

To be eligible to commence study on the HLA pathway, applicants must have secured full-time paid employment in an engineering-related position.

Students, for whom English is not their first language, must demonstrate their competence in written and spoken English at IELTS – Academic 6.0, with minimum 5.5 in all four elements of the test. Trinity ISE - Pass at Level 3 also meets this requirement for Tier 4 visa purposes.

Assessment is varied and broadly aligned to the skills which are prevalent in the engineering industry. This will include, but is not limited to, a range of activities such as reports, presentations, group work, project based learning activities, lab work, practicals and exams.

On Successful completion of this Honours Degree, you will be in a position to go straight into a job commensurate with a degree level education.

You will also be in a position to progress onto a Masters degree programme with another institution.

South West College is approved by The Open University as an appropriate organisation to offer higher education programmes leading to Open University validated awards.

The Open University regulations can be found Please see link to OU Regulations for validated awards of the Open University here.

You can also download the full programme specification here.

This programme will be reviewed by The Open University in 2023/24. The review process involves updating course information, such as the programme title, curriculum content, module titles and teaching and assessment strategies. The college will endeavour to make available the most update information for this course once the review is complete

During your course you may be required to purchase course textbooks and incur additional costs for printing, photocopying, and binding. The overall additional costs incurred to support your studies may be in the region of £100 or more per year.