Bachelor of Science in Materials and Product Engineering
Africa consumes physical products designed and made elsewhere from materials it often exports raw, and the constraint on changing that is the near absence of engineers who understand both materials and the engineering of products made from them. Materials and product engineering is where value ...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2032.
Roles
- Materials engineer
- product and design engineer
- manufacturing engineer
- failure and reliability engineer
- quality and testing engineer
- process engineer
- research and development engineer
- technical founder
Employer types
- Manufacturers and processors
- construction and infrastructure materials firms
- mining and metals value addition firms
- consumer product and packaging firms
- agricultural equipment makers
- research institutes
- consulting firms
- government standards agencies
- and the graduate's own venture
- incubated through the Forward Venture Studio
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- This programme targets strong graduate engineering compensation and supports value addition ventures. Progression routes include the School's masters programmes and doctoral study.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Students complete COP 190 Workplace Immersion in the Year 1 recess term, COP 290 Co-operative Education Placement I (six months, paid, assessed) and COP 390 Co-operative Education Placement II (six months, paid, assessed), totalling not fewer than twelve months. Placement hosts are contracted by the Co-operative Education Office. The employer completes a structured capability assessment carrying 40 to 50 per cent of the placement mark and signs the capability claims that enter the Capability Passport. Online students are placed with accredited hosts in their own city or country under remote academic supervision, or have their existing employment accredited as the placement site under Part D4. Read the co-op commitment
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Science in Materials and Product Engineering. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 101 | AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BMPE 110 | Engineering Mathematics I Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BMPE 111 | Programming and Computational Thinking Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| BMPE 112 | Introduction to Materials Science Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BMPE 113 | Engineering Mechanics Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BMPE 130 | Chemistry for Materials Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BMPE 131 | Engineering Mathematics II Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BMPE 132 | Materials Structure and Properties Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| BMPE 133 | Manufacturing Processes I Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| COP 190 | Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recessterm) Performance | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 201 | Ethics, Society and the African Context Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BMPE 210 | Mechanics of Materials Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BMPE 211 | Product Design Fundamentals Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| BMPE 212 | Thermodynamics and Transport Performance | 4 | 2-2-4 |
| BMPE 213 | Materials Characterisati on and Testing Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 202 | Human Advantage: Argument, Writing and Teams Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 290 | Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| BMPE 230 | Metals and Alloys Engineering Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| BMPE 231 | Polymers, Ceramics and Composites Both | 2 | 1-0-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BMPE 310 | Manufacturing Processes II Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| BMPE 311 | Computer Aided Design and Simulation Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BMPE 312 | Failure Analysis and Reliability Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BMPE 313 | Product Development and Prototyping Both | 2 | 1-0-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| BMPE 330 | Materials Value Addition and Processing Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BMPE 331 | Engineering Economics and Project Management Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| BMPE 410 | Sustainable Materials and Circular Design Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| BMPE 411 | Digital Manufacturing and Intelligent Quality Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BMPE 412 | Advanced Materials and Product Engineering Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| BMPE 413 | Engineering Specialisation Elective I Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| BMPE 430 | Materials and Product Capstone: Engineer a Real Product Performance | 9 | 0-2-16 |
| BMPE 431 | Standards, Certification and Testing Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| BMPE 432 | Engineering Specialisation Elective II Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| BMPE 433 | Professional Practice and Engineering Leadership Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
Total credit units: 176
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Assessment follows Part E without variation. Across the programme the aggregate weighting is 35 per cent continuous assessment and built artefacts, 25 per cent authentic performance including practical examination and oral defence, 30 per cent external practitioner assessment in the final year, and not more than 40 per cent written examination in any single course. The capstone is client verified and the Day One Assessment contributes 5 per cent of the final year mark. Assessment principles. Assessment is authentic, criterion referenced and, for every capability claim above Level 2, verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer. There is no compensation between competencies: a student must master each one, and a marginal performance in one cannot be offset by strength in another. Feedback is returned quickly, within seven days of a block closing in the Block Sequence, so that it can inform the next unit. A student who does not yet meet the standard is given a further, structured attempt under Part E rather than being carried forward, which protects the value of the award while supporting progression. Reasonable adjustments for disability are made under Part D without altering the competency standard.
Work-integrated learning
Students complete COP 190 Workplace Immersion in the Year 1 recess term, COP 290 Co-operative Education Placement I (six months, paid, assessed) and COP 390 Co-operative Education Placement II (six months, paid, assessed), totalling not fewer than twelve months. Placement hosts are contracted by the Co-operative Education Office. The employer completes a structured capability assessment carrying 40 to 50 per cent of the placement mark and signs the capability claims that enter the Capability Passport. Online students are placed with accredited hosts in their own city or country under remote academic supervision, or have their existing employment accredited as the placement site under Part D4.
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Bachelor of Science in Materials and Product Engineering
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1 | YEAR 1 | 22
Year 1 · this step is worth 22 CU
Cumulative
22
Programme total
176
22 CU of 176 CU completed by the end of this step (13%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems FluencyLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C2Quantitative and Evidential ReasoningLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C5Disciplinary Mastery CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and Craft CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems Thinking CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy CriticalLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
Critical capabilities for this programme: Disciplinary Mastery · Technical Production and Craft · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Relate the structure, properties, processing and performance of engineering materials and predict behaviour.
- PLO 2Select the right material for an engineering application and justify it against alternatives and cost.
- PLO 3Characterise and test materials, and diagnose why a material or product failed.
- PLO 4Design a product from requirement to manufacturable specification.
- PLO 5Engineer manufacturing and processing routes for a chosen material and product.
- PLO 6Model and simulate C material and product behaviour before making them.
- PLO 7Apply value addition C thinking to a locally available raw material.
- PLO 8Design and run an C engineering investigation and report it to standard.
- PLO 9Cost, pitch and defend a C product or value addition venture to a decision maker.
- PLO 10Acquire and demonstrate C a new capability without formal instruction, evidenced in the Capability Passport.
Why this programme exists
Africa consumes physical products designed and made elsewhere from materials it often exports raw, and the constraint on changing that is the near absence of engineers who understand both materials and the engineering of products made from them. Materials and product engineering is where value addition actually happens: choosing the right material, understanding why it fails, and engineering it into a manufacturable product. This programme builds that engineer, with the laboratory and the workshop central from Year 1, and every year terminating in a characterised material or an engineered product.
Admission requirements
Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education with two principal passes including Mathematics or Physics and at least a subsidiary pass in Chemistry; plus Uganda Certificate of Education with five passes including Mathematics, a science and English. Applicants sit a structured quantitative and problem framing task scored against Capabilities C2 and C7. All applicants must demonstrate competence in English, the language of instruction, through their qualifications or an approved proficiency test under Part A. International and non standard qualifications are assessed for equivalence against the profile above under the Credential Portability provisions, so that a suitably prepared applicant may enter from anywhere in the world. Selection considers the whole application, including the structured admission task, and is conducted without discrimination under the University's admissions policy. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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