Curious about studying Communications Engineering (Including Year Abroad) - BEng (Hons)at University of Essex? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Engineering (with Honours) - BEng (Hon)
Colchester Campus
Full Time
Oct 2026
4 Year
You’ll build a strong foundation in core engineering and computer science theory, as well as the skills and tools to resolve existing problems and create new communications systems.
WHY THIS COURSEThe BEng (Hons) Communications Engineering gives you the theory and practical knowledge to understand – and create – communication systems that make a real impact on the world, including signal processing, circuit design, processors and software. You’ll learn from active computer scientists and engineers whose work and teaching are driven by creativity and imagination as well as technical excellence. Discover which areas you’re interested in exploring further such as assistive technologies, computer games, artificial intelligence, evolutionary computation, Big Data or robotics. You’ll also be able to undertake a project or product development specified by a member of academic staff or a partner company. Add a placement year or study abroad to put your learning into practice, expand your perspective and build confidence in professional or international settings. You’ll graduate as a creative, experimental and focused engineer, in high demand from the IT and engineering sectors, ready to explore further how electronics can impact the world around you.
You’ll be introduced to some key elements of mathematics that are essential to engineering. You'll develop your understanding through working on examples in class, and through practical laboratory-based exercises using the programming tool, MATLAB.
This module will provide you with an introduction to fundamental concepts of computer programming in the C language, which is particularly relevant to programming embedded systems and for electronic engineers.
Following Mathematics for Engineers I, you will continue to develop key mathematical skills required to address real-world problems in engineering. You will be introduced to the operation of integration, integral transforms, differential equations and functions of multiple variables, and implement these concepts in MATLAB to solve practical problems.
Computers, embedded systems, and digital systems in general have become an essential part of most people's lives, whether directly or indirectly. The aim of this module is to introduce the software and hardware underpinnings of such systems at an introductory yet challenging level suitable for future computer scientists and engineers. Topics covered in the module include both top-view as well as bottom-view approaches to understanding digital computers. They range from the more theoretical (e.g., state machines, logic circuits, and von Neumann's architecture) to the more practical (e.g., how transistors produce binary signals, operating system functions, memory management, and common hardware devices). The module also includes problem solving classes in which a guided discussion of weekly exercises is aimed at giving the student an opportunity to consolidate his/her understanding of the topics involved. Upon completion of this module, students should have a good conceptual and practical understanding of the nature and architecture of digital computer systems and their components.
This module develops the fundamental concepts introduced in the Digital Systems Architecture. We examine how data are represented within digital systems, including floating point, 'text' and 'data' files, and how the conversions between internal and human-readable forms are performed. The design and applications of higher-level logic elements such as counters, registers and multiplexers are discussed, as well as the more general concept of the finite state machine and its design. Transmission of digital data between systems is introduced by examination of the RS232 protocol. Further, fundamental decisions on how such sources should be represented in digital format include sample rates and quantization accuracy are discussed. In the case of audio and video especially, the possibilities for signal processing and data compression are investigated
This module is one of two concerned with scientific and engineering foundations on which electronics is based. All electronics components are based on physical principles that relate voltage, current flow and the storage or loss of energy. All the theory we need to learn about how circuits behave is based on the fact that electric charge cannot be created or destroyed, and that the energy of each electron just depends on where it is, and how fast it is moving. How charges move in materials depends on their crystal structures. From basic ideas, the main principles of electronics are built up so that they can be used in the wider study of electronics to solve problems.
This module comprises the second half of our 1st year series on fundamentals of electronics. The module focuses on reactive circuits (i.e., circuits with capacitors and/or inductors), basic semiconductors (i.e., diodes and bipolar junction transistors), electromotive devices, and operational amplifiers. The overview of these devices includes more theoretical concepts (such as Faraday's and Lenz’s laws) as well as more practical topics such as their transient and steady state responses to step and sinusoidal inputs, using phasors for circuit analysis, applications in analogue filters, amplification with feedback, power supply units, and DC motors and generators. The module includes weekly problem solving classes in which calculation exercises are discussed and four weekly lab sessions in which more theoretical concepts are applied to implementation and testing of a DC power supply unit.
This course covers the principles of project management, team working, communication, legal issues, finance, and company organisation. Working in small teams, students will go through the full project life-cycle of design, development and implementation, for a bespoke software requirement. In this course, students gain vital experience to enable them to enter the computer science/Electrical engineering workforce, with a degree backed by the British Computer Society, and by the Institute of Engineering and Technology.
Need to build on your mathematical knowledge? Want to apply mathematical skills to engineering? Study the fundamental mathematics for engineering, covering topics like integral transform theory, probability theory, and numerical integration. Gain experience of using Matlab software to understand and solve problems.
This module aims to develop an in-depth understanding of analogue systems and circuit techniques from the perspective of the design process. The module incorporates two major themes: The first is the circuit-orientated theme aiming to engender both an intuitive understanding of simple circuit design and functionality. The second theme focuses on the more formal analysis and computer simulation techniques using equivalent circuit transistor models where key skills in numeracy and circuit simulation are developed and then used in the design, simulation and construction of oscillator circuits. The module is supported by laboratory-based assignments that investigate small signal amplifiers, and voltage-controlled oscillator design and applications.
Digital systems are an important part of most electronic devices and systems. In this module students learn to design a small system using an industry-standard prototyping board based around a Xilinx FPGA. The module is laboratory based using Xilinx Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software and it builds on knowledge of digital circuits that students learn in CE161. Students learn how to design, and more importantly, how to debug and test a design, using laboratory test equipment, to convert an idea into working hardware.
This module provides you with a basic understanding of the analysis of linear systems and introduces you to filter design techniques for analogue signal processing. The Laplace transform and its application in circuit and system theory are introduced, together with the concepts of system transfer function and impulse response, and techniques for deriving the transfer function of a circuit. The steady-state response of systems to sinusoidal inputs is presented. Bode plotting techniques are covered, and the effects of feedback are investigated, and techniques for ensuring stability are discussed. Butterworth and Chebyshev filter approximations are introduced. After covering the concepts of frequency and impedance transformations, selected standard analysis and design techniques applied to low-pass, high-pass, band-pass and band-stop filters of both passive and active types are examined.
Many modern electronic devices are high speed and are widely used in computers, communications, radars and various other electronic systems. This module deals with those aspects of electromagnetic necessary for fine engineering of high speed circuits, devices, antennas and systems and for interference mitigation.
Modern networks build on essential principles that define protocols, functions and addressing schemes critical to the operation of devices in our daily lives. In modern networks, such as 5G, these protocols and addressing schemes are dynamically programmable and configurable on end-user devices - such as mobile handsets and smart appliances - and network devices, such as switches and routers. This module focuses on introducing and explaining these principles and how they are implemented on network devices. The module begins by introducing the TCP/IP networking model, which is the de facto model implemented in nearly all of modern-day networks, including 5G. The module moves on to focus on Local Area Networks (LANs) and the function of two layers of the TCP/IP model in LANs: the access and network layers. For the Access layer, the module focuses on the widely adopted Ethernet protocol and its switching function. This is then used to introduce principles of Virtual LANs (VLANs), an evolution of classic LANs and how Ethernet switches handle VLANs. The module then moves to introduce the network layer, where the Internet Protocol (IP) is the de facto adopted protocol. Specifically, the module will explain IP addressing and subnetting. The module then moves to describe two of the key supporting protocols to the operation of Ethernet and IP protocols: the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) and the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). ARP enables mapping an IP address to the corresponding Ethernet MAC address and vice versa, and DHCP enables the dynamic allocation of IP addresses to a range of end-devices. Along the journey, you will get the opportunity to develop hands-on skills in building, configuring and testing these protocols in experimental laboratory settings. At the end of the module, you will benefit from taking the CCNA2 Cisco online certification test.
The overall goal of this module is to provide you with an understanding of how programs are written in C (a computer programming language) to solve engineering problems. Learn how to program an embedded microprocessor in C and how to design embedded microprocessor systems as solutions to various problems. Explore the design input and output modules for an embedded system.
The highlight of our undergraduate degree courses is the individual capstone project. This project module provides students with the opportunity to bring together all the skills they have gained during their degree and demonstrate that they can develop a product from the starting point of a single 1/2 page description, provided either by an academic member of staff or an external company. In all the student spends 450 hours throughout the academic year, reporting to their academic tutor, and in the case of company projects, to a company mentor. All projects are demonstrated to external companies on our Project Open Day.
This module describes the fundamental principles of telecommunication systems and networks covering both radio-frequency/microwave (RF/MW) and optical fibre communications by a unified approach. In brief - the module content reflects at depth the full complexity of modern telecommunication field and what you as a future telecommunication professional need to know to succeed in your career choice. The module gives a comprehensive overview of modern and future telecommunication networks and an introduction to basic principles of information and its processing in communications, the main transmission and demodulation techniques of the information-carrying analogue and digital signals are considered in depth for RF/MW and optical systems. This provides an integral understanding of how modern communication systems operate at all levels from top to bottom, including transmission system engineering, analysis of the effect of various impairments on the system performance, system development and optimisation. The module's focus on fundamental principles means that you as a future telecommunication or electronic engineer working in the communication area will be well-prepared to follow the changes which are taking place in this rapidly evolving field. In order to provide both good theoretical knowledge and strong applied skills, in addition to the lectures the module is supported by the problem solving classes.
This module aims at introducing students to digital processing techniques, including sampling and analysis of digital signals, signal conditioning, the design of digital filters, and digital signal processing applications. Discrete signals and systems are studied, with an emphasis on the Fourier and Z-transforms that are necessary for the analysis of discrete signals and design of digital filters.
This module aims to provide you with a detailed description of the data link layer of telecommunications systems and its interface with the physical layer of these systems. It starts by using the OSI model to place these layers in the context of the entire telecommunication system. It then describes the principal methods for the quantitative description of link signals, which then enables the fundamental link layer transmission media to be described as well as of baseband transmission. A discussion of link layer flow control and error correction naturally leads to description of link layer protocols. Finally, the transmission of digital signals over analogue links and analogue signals over digital lines are discussed.
How do you configure Internet routing protocols for interconnecting WAN and LAN technologies? How suitable are WAN protocols within a modern communications infrastructure? Study the theories behind simulating and analysing network performance. Understand the fundamental principles behind contemporary network architecture and protocols, and evaluate why new protocols are created.
Year Abroad
112-120 Grades/points required
Not currently available, please Contact University for up to date information.
4.3
