Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical and Electronic) (Honours)

This is a four-year Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical and Electronic) (Honours) at Adelaide University. It's an AQF bachelor honours degree, which means it combines the standard three years of engineering study with an embedded honours year. You graduate with an honours qualification in one go rather than adding a separate year afterwards. The course code is 115700E on the CRICOS register, and the tuition figure sits there too, check that page for the current number.

The degree runs over four years of full-time study, usually split into semesters. You'll accumulate credit points across core units in circuit theory, signals and systems, electromagnetics, power engineering, control, electronics and embedded systems, plus maths and physics in first year. Later years give you a choice of electives so you can lean towards power, communications, robotics or microelectronics. The honours component is a research or design thesis in your final year, supervised by an academic, where you scope a problem, build or simulate something, and write it up. Many students also do a professional placement or industry project as part of their degree, engineering in Australia leans heavily on work-integrated learning, and Engineers Australia expects it for accreditation.

Skills you pick up: designing and testing circuits, programming microcontrollers, modelling power systems, using industry software like MATLAB and SPICE, and working in a team on a real brief. You also learn to write technical reports and present to clients, which matters more than most students expect. The course suits school leavers with strong maths and physics, and also people who've done a diploma or worked as a technician and want to move into engineering. If you like taking things apart and figuring out why they work, this is the right kind of degree.

Adelaide University has research and industry links across defence, energy and manufacturing in South Australia, and the honours thesis is your chance to plug into that. The degree is structured to meet the requirements for Engineers Australia accreditation, confirm the current status on the official page. International students should note the English requirement: IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall is the common undergraduate standard, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and the university's own English programmes accepted as equivalents. The Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa. While studying, a student visa lets you work up to 48 hours a fortnight during term. After graduating, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream is available if you meet the criteria. Always confirm details on the official CRICOS page or with the university before you apply.

• Electrical engineer, power utilities, renewables, mining and manufacturing across Australia.
• Electronics engineer, consumer electronics, medical devices, defence contractors and telecommunications firms.
• Control and instrumentation engineer, water, oil and gas, and automated manufacturing plants.
• Power systems engineer, transmission and distribution network operators, solar and wind farms.
• Embedded systems developer, product companies building firmware and hardware.
• Communications engineer, telcos, satellite operators and network infrastructure providers.
• Engineering consultant, design and advisory firms servicing construction and infrastructure projects.
• Research assistant or PhD candidate, universities and CSIRO-style research organisations.