Engineering (undenominated) is aimed at students who want to do engineering but are unsure which specialisation would best suit them. Choice of seven specialisations after common first year.
Biomedical engineering is a new option within mechanical engineering. At present, students can take this option in third year. However, it's anticipated that it will become a completely separate stream in the future. This programme is geared towards the needs of the healthcare and medical devices companies which are clustered in the West of Ireland. Unusually, it allows students to unite an interest in biology with an interest in engineering. There is a close co-operation with the medical faculty and students take courses such as anatomy, physiology, elements of surgery and biomechanics. It's the only such programme available at undergraduate level in the Republic.
Management engineering with a language is a programme about which Professor Jim Browne is very enthusiastic. Management engineers are concerned with the planning, controlling and evaluation of work programmes and business processes, he explains. Telecomputing and the emergence of articulate and demanding customers are changing the way we work. The best example of this is banking, he says. In the past, everything was done on paper. Now with telecomputing the whole process has been engineered. Job opportunities exist in the services and manufacturing industry, he says, and the management engineering programme is unique to the college. This is not listed in the CAO book but is available through the CAO (Course code: GY407
Computer & electronic engineering is run jointly by the engineering faculty and the Information Technology centre at the University of Galway. It comprises a mixture of hardware (electronics) and software skills (information technology). It was launched late in 1997 outside the CAO system. The cut-off points were 425. This year it is available through the CAO and it is probably a unique programme in Ireland, according to the college.