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Courses
Courses
Choosing a course is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make! View our courses and see what our students and lecturers have to say about the courses you are interested in at the links below.
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University Life
University Life
Each year more than 4,000 choose NUI Galway as their University of choice. Find out what life at NUI Galway is all about here.
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About NUI Galway
About NUI Galway
Since 1845, NUI Galway has been sharing the highest quality teaching and research with Ireland and the world. Find out what makes our University so special – from our distinguished history to the latest news and campus developments.
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Colleges & Schools
Colleges & Schools
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Research & Innovation
Research & Innovation
NUI Galway’s vibrant research community take on some of the most pressing challenges of our times.
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Business & Industry
Guiding Breakthrough Research at NUI Galway
We explore and facilitate commercial opportunities for the research community at NUI Galway, as well as facilitating industry partnership.
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Alumni, Friends & Supporters
Alumni, Friends & Supporters
There are over 90,000 NUI Galway graduates Worldwide, connect with us and tap into the online community.
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Community Engagement
Community Engagement
At NUI Galway, we believe that the best learning takes place when you apply what you learn in a real world context. That's why many of our courses include work placements or community projects.
Energy Systems Engineering
Course Overview
Energy Systems Engineering is a multidisciplinary programme that aims to meet the current and growing challenge of dwindling fossil fuel resources and the critical demand for alternative, renewable energy sources as a national, Europe-wide and global priority. The programme covers fundamental engineering knowledge and skills in such areas as energy generation, conversion, electrical power systems and energy management (buildings, transport, industry, etc.), along with modules on energy sources, energy policy, economics and associated environmental issues.
The programme will provide you with the skills to develop as a professional engineer who specialises in dealing with the breadth of energy systems used to generate, convert, transmit and manage energy throughout multiple networks, including electrical power, fuel, IT, water, transport and cities. Optional modules will provide you with a technical focus on different sectors of the industry. The early years of the programme will cover the fundamental sciences and mathematics, along with introductory modules on energy systems and sources. Multidisciplinary energy systems design projects will be supported by advanced modules in engineering design, analysis and information technology.
Integrated Masters (ME) and Work placement
All students registering for an engineering degree at NUI Galway will be enrolled on an integrated five year programme; a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) (four years, Level 8) + a Master of Engineering (ME) (one year, Level 9). Upon successful completion of the five years of study, graduates will have the educational qualifications required for progression to Chartered Engineer. Students registering for an engineering degree at NUI Galway in 2019 will make a decision at the beginning of 3rd Year to either remain on the BE+ME pathway (five years) or exit with a BE (four years). Students on the BE+ME pathway will avail of advanced engineering modules, a substantial research and development project, and a work placement of eight months duration during the 4th Year. For students exiting with a BE, the work placement (eight months) will occur during 3rd Year. Read more about Engineering work placements.
Accreditation
All Engineering Degrees at NUI Galway are professionally accredited by the statutory professional body, Engineers Ireland. This “Accreditation” means that the degree has been assessed and approved to meet the educational requirements for professional Engineers.
- Under an international agreement (Washingon Accord), any Degree accredited by the National professional body (Engineers Ireland) is recognized internationally. So having an “Accredited” degree means that employers outside of Ireland can (1) understand the quality/education achieved by a graduate and (2) know that it is equivalent to their own Education system/standards, and (3) can offer appropriate employment on this basis. For example, certain functions (sign off on large civil engineering construction projects) can only be carried out by a chartered engineer.
- Engineers Ireland changed the criteria for Accreditation in 2012, and now require a Masters (Level 9) qualification as the education standard required for Registered Professional Titles of Chartered Engineer* (prior to this, a Level 8 degree was required). The changes were implemented because the standard European engineering qualification (degree or diplome) is at level 9, and European industry maintains a strict differentiation between those engineers qualified at level 9 and those qualified at level 8. Any graduate interested in working in Europe/Worldwide is now strongly advised to get an accredited level 9 award.
- Engineers Ireland accreditation can be obtained at the following levels:
o Level 8: 4-year honours degree – associate engineer
o Level 9: 5-year masters degree – chartered engineer
*A Chartered Engineer is the highest professional education standard in Engineering. A chartered Engineer is competent (because of their education and training) to assume personal responsibility for the development and application ofengineering in research, design, construction, manufacturing, superintending, managing and in the education of the engineer. His/her work is predominantly intellectual and varied and not of a routine mental or physical character. It requires the exercise of original thought and judgement and the ability to supervise the technical and administrative work of others.
Applications and Selections
Who Teaches this Course
Requirements and Assessment
Key Facts
Entry Requirements
Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 Level in the Leaving Certificate, including Irish, English, Mathematics, a laboratory science subject (i.e., Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Physics with Chemistry (joint), Agricultural Science or Computer Science) or Technology, and any two other subjects recognised for entry purposes
Additional Requirements
For A-Levels: A minimum of Grade C in Mathematics is required.
Duration
4 years
Next start date
September 2021
A Level Grades (2020)
nuigalway.ie/alevels
Average intake
20
Closing Date
NFQ level
Mode of study
ECTS weighting
Award
CAO
GY413
Course code
Course Outline
Year 5 optional
At the School of Engineering we are focused on ensuring that you will be educated to the highest standards, and will have the necessary qualifications to avail of all of the professional opportunities presented to you, both in Ireland and across the world. You will be enrolled on an integrated five year programme; a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) (four years, Level 8) + a Master of Engineering (ME) (one year, Level 9). Students on the BE+ME pathway will avail of advanced engineering modules, a substantial research and development project, and a work placement. Upon successful completion of the five years of study, graduates will have the educational qualifications required for progression to Chartered Engineer. Full information on the optional 5th Year is provided at www.nuigalway.ie/courses/taught-postgraduate-courses/energy-systems-engineering.html
Curriculum Information
Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Glossary of Terms
- Credits
- You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
- Module
- An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
- Subject
- Some courses allow you to choose subjects, where related modules are grouped together. Subjects have their own required number of credits, so you must take all that subject's required modules and may also need to obtain the remainder of the subject's total credits by choosing from its available optional modules.
- Optional
- A module you may choose to study.
- Required
- A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
- Required Core Subject
- A subject you must study because it's integral to that course.
- Semester
- Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year, so a three-year course will have six semesters in total. For clarity, this page will refer to the first semester of year 2 as 'Semester 3'.
Year 1 (60 Credits)
Required CH140: Engineering Chemistry - 5 Credits - Semester 1Required EI140: Fundamentals of Engineering - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Required CT1110: Engineering Computing I - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Required EI160: Engineering Graphics - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Required MA140: Engineering Calculus - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Required MP120: Engineering Mechanics - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Required PH140: Engineering Physics - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required EI150: Engineering Design - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Required CT1111: Engineering Computing II - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required MM140: Engineering Mathematical Methods - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Year 2 (60 Credits)
Required CE2101: Principles of Building - 5 Credits - Semester 3Required ME2106: Theory of Machines and CADD - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Required ME223: Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Required EE231: Electronic Instrumentation and Sensors - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Required ST1100: Engineering Statistics - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Required MA2101: Mathematics and Applied Mathematics I - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Required CE227: Strength of Materials - 10 Credits - Semester 3
Required CE2102: Community Engaged Building Project - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Required EE230: Electrical Circuits & Systems - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Required MA2102: Mathematics and Applied Mathematics II - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Required CT248: Introduction to Modelling - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Year 3 (60 Credits)
Required EE3125: Energy Systems Electrical Design Project - 5 Credits - Semester 5Required EE448: Power Electronics - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Required ME301: Fluid Dynamics - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Required EE3101: Electromechanical Power Conversion - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Required CE343: Sustainable Energy - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Required ME322: Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Required EE352: Linear Control Systems - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Required CE3118: Design of Energy Systems for the Built Environment - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Required CE466: Energy in Buildings - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Required ME426: Turbomachines and Advanced Fluid Dynamics - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Required ME4101: Combustion Science and Engineering - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Required EE224: Microprocessor Systems Engineering - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Year 4 (60 Credits)
Optional LW361: Planning And Law I - 5 Credits - Semester 7Optional EE448: Power Electronics - 5 Credits - Semester 8
Required CT2106: Object-Oriented Programming - 5 Credits - Semester 7
Required EG400: Advanced Energy Systems Engineering - 5 Credits - Semester 7
Required BME402: Computational Methods in Engineering Analysis - 10 Credits - Semester 7
Required ME424: Energy Conversion - 5 Credits - Semester 7
Optional CE344: Transportation Systems and Infrastructue I - 5 Credits - Semester 7
Optional ME4101: Combustion Science and Engineering - 5 Credits - Semester 8
Optional ME426: Turbomachines and Advanced Fluid Dynamics - 5 Credits - Semester 8
Optional CE462: Coastal and Offshore Engineering - 5 Credits - Semester 8
Optional EE224: Microprocessor Systems Engineering - 5 Credits - Semester 8
Optional ME4109: Materials II - 5 Credits - Semester 7
Optional EE450: Power Systems - 5 Credits - Semester 7
Required EG4100: Energy Systems Engineering Project - 10 Credits - Semester 8
Required CE466: Energy in Buildings - 5 Credits - Semester 8
Required CT474: SmartGrid - 5 Credits - Semester 8
Further Education
Upon completion of the undergraduate degree, suitably qualified students have the option to enrol and continue their studies to Masters or PhD level.
Students can advance to Masters level (ME) through our one year taught Masters programme (September-June) that builds on the successful completion of their undergraduate programme, subject to a sufficient standard (2nd Class Honours minimum). This programme is an integrated follow-on to the BE programme and is designed to meet Engineers Ireland’s criterion for Level 9 degrees, providing graduates with a route to Chartered Engineering status that will be recognised worldwide.
Masters degree education is becoming increasingly the norm internationally in Engineering, and this programme strengthens the ability of our graduates to compete nationally and internationally at the highest level for employment in industry and other sectors of the economy.
In PhD research, as well as Masters research projects, students tackle the big questions around energy in both Irish and international contexts. Topics include biomass, combustion, wave energy, and energy efficiency.
Why Choose This Course?
Career Opportunities
Energy Systems Engineering prepares students for career opportunities in fields related to the generation, conversion, transmission and use of energy and in the design of sustainable and advanced energy technologies, the operation of power generation systems, the development of energy-efficient products and processes, manufacturing, the construction of power plants and renewable energy systems, the design and operation of smart energy management systems, consultancy, the design of efficient and sustainable buildings, power distribution, transport, environmental protection, and research.
Who’s Suited to This Course
Learning Outcomes
Work Placement
Study Abroad
Related Student Organisations
Course Fees
Fees: EU
Fees: Tuition
Fees: Student Contribution
Fees: Student levy
Fees: Non EU
EU Fees 2020/21:
- Tuition: may be paid by the Irish Government on your behalf if you qualify for free tuition fees see - free fee initiative.
- Student Contribution: €3,000 - payable by all students but may by paid by SUSI if you apply and are deemed eligible for a means tested SUSI grant.
- Student Levy: €224 - payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI.
Find out More
Energy Systems Engineering
T 353 (0)91 492 664
F 353 (0)91 750 558
E energyeng@nuigalway.ie
www.nuigalway.ie/engineering-informatics
What Employers Say

Majella Henchion, BE MSc | Networks Programme Owner, ESB
As a major employer of graduates from NUI Galway’s Energy Systems, Mechanical, Civil and Electrical/Electronic Engineering programmes, ESB welcomes the establishment of NUI Galway’s integrated five-year Accredited Master of Engineering degrees. We see great value in the additional educational attainment in and of itself but also as a key step in progression towards Chartership which is important for our Engineers because of the critical infrastructural nature of our work and the general management capability Chartership represents. ESB also welcomes the positioning of the work placement programme between the fourth and fifth years of study as it will enable the students to be given greater responsibility and experience a greater range of ESB’s work in the energy sector. We believe the movement of the industry placement makes it of greater value to the student, the undergraduate employer and to any post-graduate employer of that engineer.

Declan Costello | Senior R&D Manager, Medtronic
Medtronic welcomes the expansion of the NUI Galway Engineering programs to an integrated five-year Accredited Master of Engineering degree. Medtronic already employs a large number of NUI Galway Engineering graduates and the move to a five-year program aligns with international best practice, provides a more highly educated talent pool and facilitates an extended work placement which is hugely beneficial to both the company and the student.