Group visits to campus by UK and International Schools/Universities

he Student Recruitment team is pleased to offer group visits to the South Kensington campus. Suitable both for school/college groups and university groups, the visit programme can include information on undergraduate or postgraduate study at Imperial.

Visits to the campus are available from Monday to Friday between the times of 9.30 and 17.00.

Visits for a presentation and campus tour

A visit to the campus including a presentation lasts approximately two hours and may include:

• Presentation by a member of staff from the Student Recruitment team. Please click on the link to view the presentations online (recorded August 2014).

MSc in Analogue and Digital Integrated Circuit Design

The MSc in Analogue and Digital Integrated Circuit design aims to provide designers with an in-depth knowledge of analogue and mixed signal circuits, and also familiarity with both the practical issues of device-level design and the system-level performance requirements.

 A key feature of this course is its balanced approach to both analogue and digital IC design, and its in-depth treatment of high frequency and low-power analogue circuits. Issues related to design for test and CAD algorithms and design automation will also be covered.  Robust design methods which allow relaxation of performance requirements, yield enhancement and exploitation of state-of-the-art process technology are also covered.

During the Autumn (October-December) and Spring (January-April) terms you will take four compulsory core modules that cover: Analogue Integrated Circuits and Systems, Full-Custom Integrated Circuit Design, VHDL and Logic Synthesis, and Analogue Signal Processing.  You will also take between four and five additional modules which you can choose from a list of ten.  The modules include coursework and laboratory work.  You will take eight or nine written exams, on the modules you have studied, in January and May/June.

You will also undertake an individual research project which will occupy three months part-time (January to March) and four months full-time (June to September). The research work is normally carried out within the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department and supervised by staff from relevant areas, principally from the Circuits and Systems Research Group. Projects supervised my members of other Research Groups and other Departments are often assigned. Industrial placement work may also be accepted to satisfy the Research component. Project assignment is subject to the approval of the Course Director. Your project will be assessed by a dissertation and oral presentation. Your report will be read and marked by two academic staff, and vetted by the external examiner.

The course is a full-time one year course, which runs from October-September.  The course is notavailable are a part-time course, or as a distance learning or on-line learning course.

Students who successfully complete the course are awarded a Master's of Science (MSc).

Careers planning and opportunties

The Imperial College Careers Advisory Service provides guidance on your career options, advertises vacancies for graduate jobs, and will check cvs and covering letters.  They have an information room with details of hundreds of possible career pathways.  They provide a guide to careers in Asia.  The Careers Advisory Service runs a programme of talks for MSc students of this Department which includes what to do at the end of your MSc, how to succeed at interview, and assessment centres.

About 25% of students from the MSc course will go on to study a PhD either at Imperial College, or another university.  Others take up careers in electrical engineering; particularly in the R&D for companies such as Rolls Royce, Schulmberger and Codian.  The majority return to their home country and find employment there.

Postgraduate MSc Degree Courses

Entry requirements

Our academic entry requirement is the equivalent of a UK 1st class honours degree in Electrical Engineering or a related subject.  We would usually be looking for a high 1st class honours with a final year mark of 75%+.   

Students also need to met Imperial College's English language requirement.  You do not need to have met the English language requirement when you make your application.

Overseas applicants If you are an studying outside the UK you should read the general guidance for overseas applicants to see the equivalence of overseas degrees to UK degrees.  Note that the information provided is for the equivalent of an upper second class honours degree, so in most cases we would be looking for higher marks than stated.  

Chinese applicants:  As a result of the high number of very good applications we receive from Chinese students, we will only consider applications from students studying in China at:

• Chinese universities that are either C9 or Project 985
• Beijing University Posts and Telecommunications/Queen Mary University of London joint degree course
• Xi'an Jiatong Liverpool University
• Sino-British College (University of Shanghai Science and Technology and Liverpool John Moores University)
• The Chinese campus of a UK university, such as Nottingham Ningbo

We will also consider applicants from

• all UK universities - including all 2+2 programmes
• all other universities

If you are studying at a Chinese university we would be looking for an overall degree averagel of 85%+.  If you are studying on a 2+2 programme we would be looking for a 1st class degree with a final year mark of 75%.

If you are not studying at one of these universities we cannot consider your application. 

How to apply

The postgraduate prospectus includes information on fees and scholarships and how to apply

Applications for entry in October 2015 can be made from mid-November 2014.

Closing dates for applications:

• MSc Control Systems:  1 May 2015
• MSc Communications and Signal Processing: 1 June 2015
• MSc Future Power Networks: 1 May 2015
• MSc Introduction Analogue and Digital Integrated Circuit Design: 1 July 2015

Any applications received after these dates will not be considered by the selection committee.

You do not need to have met the English langauge requirements before making an application. 

You must upload a transcript showing university courses taken and marks obtained so far when you submit your application.  If your transcript is not in English you should upload both a transcript and an English translation.  If you are studying on a 2+2 course you must upload transcripts from both universities.

Applications are not usually considered by the selection committee until we have received the transcripts and references.

If you are applying for an Imperial College Scholarship, you should submit your application for MSc at least 8 weeks before the scholarship deadline. If you are applying for scholarships from other organisations you should submit your application at least 8 weeks before the scholarship reply deadline.

Selection process

Decisions on applicants are made using the information provided in the application and references.  We take into account academic performance, references and your personal statement.  We do not interview applicants for MSc. 

Students with disabilities

Here at Imperial we recognised that studying can be a challenge, especially if you have a disability, specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia, or long-term physical or mental health related issued.  Imperial College is committed to equality of opportunity and access.  The Disability Advisory Serviceprovides a variety of support initiatives in order to enable you to access your studies and achieve your full potential.

If you require extra support you are invited to contact the Ph D Admissions Tutor to discuss suitable arrangements for your studies.

Bologna compliant

The MEng with the third year Integrated Industrial Placement option leads to the award of 270 ECTS and is Bologna compliant.

All our degree programmes are accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). Our MEng programmes fulfil the educational requirements for graduate engineers aiming for the professionally-registered status,  Chartered Engineer (CEng). The BEng programme is accredited in partial fulfilment of the educational requirements for CEng.

Dr David Thomas, Course Director

"Our Electronic and Information Engineering degree programmes give you an understanding of the entire stack of modern networked computers, from the design and architecture of the CPU in a smart-phone, to the information theory and wireless protocols connecting it to the internet, and on into the operating systems and databases providing back-end support in the cloud. The course covers the technical knowledge and practical skills of both computing and electrical engineering, while also providing a big picture view of how it all connects together, preparing you for a career in cutting edge technology in industry or research".

You’ll follow core modules in years one and two and begin to specialise in year three. Some of the core modules are delivered jointly with students on the Electrical and Electronic Engineering programmes, others designed specifically for Electronics and Information Engineering students, and some are taught by the Department of Computing.

All of our MEng degrees have the option for you to take a 6-month industrial placement during the third year.  This will provide you with substantial work experience that is relevant to your degree.

Electronic and Information Engineering Degree Programmes

In this section you can read about the programme structure year-on-year in more detail.

All our degree courses are structured to give you a sound understanding of the fundamentals of the subject in the early years, and then enable you to build your programme around your skills and interests, selecting from specialist modules.

View the complete core programme of all modules, projects and laboratory work in table format.

First year

• a core programme of nine modules, supported by study groups and experiments in the electrical and computer laboratories. You will learn to program in C and become familiar with software design, programming concepts and tool use; skills that will transfer to any programming language/ environment that you encounter.
• the first year project allows you to perform image processing on a configurable hardware board. There is no processor, only a Field Programmable Gate Array. This allows you to do very high performance parallel processing by essentially building your own processor designed to perform your algorithm. Game On: Olivier explains his groups' project - an interactive game.

Second year

• you continue to follow the core programme taking eleven compulsory technical modules.
• the second year project is the IBM Computer Architecture Workshop, run by staff from IBM and Imperial, which gives you the opportunity to apply your understanding of systems architecture, databases, middleware, operating systems and network hardware and software to a real IT systems challenge.

Third year

• you start to design your degree programme to fit your interests and skills in consultation with your personal tutor, selecting advanced subjects from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the Department of Computing.
• MEng students have the choice of  a six-month assessed industrial placement or group project at Imperial College
• BEng students complete a final individual project that accounts for 35 per cent of the final year mark.

Fourth year

• you continue to select further specialist subjects, choosing eight advanced technical options from a selection of around 37 Masters’-level modules taught by the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the Department of Computing. You can also participate in the Inter-Departmental Exchange (IDX) scheme which allows you to take modules from other engineering departments in your fourth year. The first three years of your degree programme provide you with firm foundations for a career in your chosen discipline – but twenty-first century engineers need much more. Increasingly, the really ground-breaking innovations are generated when engineers work within inter-disciplinary teams and at the boundaries of their individual fields. The IDX scheme offers you a chance to develop and demonstrate your ability to learn another specialist ‘language’.
• your final individual project is a substantial piece of work that accounts for 33 per cent of the year mark.
• students on the Year Abroad stream will spend this year in an overseas university and complete a programme similar to that offered to the fourth year.

Electronic and Information Engineering

The MEng with the third year Integrated Industrial Placement option leads to the award of 270 ECTS and is Bologna compliant.

All our degree programmes are accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). Our MEng programmes fulfil the educational requirements for graduate engineers aiming for the professionally-registered status,  Chartered Engineer (CEng). The BEng programme is accredited in partial fulfilment of the educational requirements for CEng.

Dr David Thomas, Course Director

"Our Electronic and Information Engineering degree programmes give you an understanding of the entire stack of modern networked computers, from the design and architecture of the CPU in a smart-phone, to the information theory and wireless protocols connecting it to the internet, and on into the operating systems and databases providing back-end support in the cloud. The course covers the technical knowledge and practical skills of both computing and electrical engineering, while also providing a big picture view of how it all connects together, preparing you for a career in cutting edge technology in industry or research".

You’ll follow core modules in years one and two and begin to specialise in year three. Some of the core modules are delivered jointly with students on the Electrical and Electronic Engineering programmes, others designed specifically for Electronics and Information Engineering students, and some are taught by the Department of Computing.

All of our MEng degrees have the option for you to take a 6-month industrial placement during the third year.  This will provide you with substantial work experience that is relevant to your degree.

Holographic screen

A lot of people think that what Apple is doing with capacitive touch screens and touch-based user interfaces is magical, but what if you could interact with a phone that was just a hologram? A team at Microsoft Research has put together a “Holodesk” which not only displays three dimensional holograms, but also lets you physically interact with them. It uses a Kinect sensor to see your hands or other physical objects within its view and models those objects in real time in order to calculate how they interact with the virtual holographic objects. Then there’s another camera looking at your face to see where you’re eyes are so that it can adjust the perspective of the 3D holographic objects’ display in order to compensate for your angle of view. Check out the video below and around the 2:40 mark you’ll see the user interacting with a holographic Windows Phone.

Of course, I can’t imagine you would cary around a holographic phone in the future, but you can see that Microsoft is well on their way to bringing some science-fiction to the real world.