BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Our department has won numerous international awards and has produced world-renowned engineers. Proof of our outstanding quality is the speed at which our engineers are usurped by the labour market. The BEng programme in Electrical and Electronic Engineering will equip you with a broad knowledge base for a variety of career opportunities.

BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering is a specialized field within engineering that revolves around the study, design, and application of electrical systems and electronic devices. It encompasses a wide spectrum, from power generators, transmission, and distribution to the creation of electronic circuits, microprocessors, and control systems for applications across industries like telecommunications, renewable energy, robotics, and healthcare.

E&E demands a solid grasp of mathematics, physics, and computer science to innovate, develop, and implement solutions that power our modern world, and impact everything from daily gadgets to large-scale infrastructure.

What is the difference between Electrical Engineering and Electronic Engineering?

While there’s overlap between the two fields, electrical engineering leans toward power generation (renewable energy), transmission and motor design (electric vehicles), while electronic engineering is more about designing the electronic components and systems themselves, as well as software related work. At Stellenbosch, you get to specialise in some of our more specific disciplines in your 4th year.

Your options will be:

• Energy: You will learn about electric motors, power generation, power electronics, renewable energy, energy control and computer-controlled power management

• Telecommunication and Electromagnetics: Focus on high-frequency techniques and the transmission or reception of data.

• Informatics: Focus on high-level computer science, software systems such as Internet communication, virtual storage, hardware, and software design.

• Robotics: The design of robot vehicles, unmanned aeroplanes, and satellites. Modules include control systems, computer, systems & computer science.

• Data Engineering: Finding trends and patterns in data sets. Developing algorithms to help make raw data more useful.

Professional accreditation and international recognition

All our BEng programmes are accredited by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), giving our graduates access to registration as Professional Engineers after acquiring the relevant experience in practice. In line with the Washington Accord, our BEng degrees are recognised worldwide in such countries as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, to name a few.

Electrical and Electronic Engineers are responsible for the generation, transmission and conversion of electrical energy for example factories and municipalities. Electronic engineers focus on the control of robotic systems, the collection, processing and dissemination of information by computer and communication networks such as cell phone networks and the design of computers and large software systems.

The first part of the programme lays a basis of mathematics, natural sciences and engineering sciences that is relevant for all electrical and electronic engineers, particularly the techniques required to model systems analytically and design systems systematically. From the second semester of the third year, students can choose to specialise in one of the following elective areas: Robotics, Electrical Energy, Telecommunication or Informatics.

Year 1

First Semester

• Applied Mathematics B
• Engineering Chemistry
• Engineering Mathematics
• Engineering Physics
• Intercultural Communication (Eng)
• Probability Theory and Statistics
• Engineering Drawings

Optional supplementary modules:

• Engineering Chemistry
• Engineering Drawings

Second Semester

• Applied Mathematics B
• Computer Programming
• Data Science
• Electrotechnique
• Engineering Mathematics
• Strength of Materials

Engineering:

• Chemistry C
• Electronic Engineering
• Engineering Physics
• Industrial Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Mechatronic Engineering

Year 2

First Semester

• Applied Mathematics B
• Computer Systems
• Computer Science E
• Engineering Mathematics
• Mathematical Statistics
• Systems and Signals

Second Semester (all focus areas except Data Engineering)

• Applied Mathematics B
• Computer Systems
• Electronics
• Energy Systems
• Engineering Mathematics
• Systems and Signals

Year 3

Both Semesters

• Internship (Eng)
• Internship (Eng)

First Semester (all focus areas except Data Engineering)

• Control Systems
• Design (E)
• Electromagnetics
• Electronics
• Systems and Signals

Second Semester (all focus areas except Data Engineering)

• Control Systems
• Design (E)
• Electromagnetics
• Energy Systems
• Systems and Signals

Year 4

First Semester: Focus Area - Electromagnetics and Telecommunication

• Data Analytics (Eng)
• High-Frequency Technique
• Philosophy and Ethics
• Project Management
• Systems and Signals
• Telecommunication

First Semester: Focus Area - Informatics

• Computer Science
• Computer Science (E)
• Data Engineering
• Philosophy and Ethics
• Project Management
• Systems and Signals

First Semester: Focus Area - Energy

• Data Analytics (Eng)
• Electronics
• Energy Systems
• Energy Systems
• Philosophy and Ethics
• Project Management

First Semester: Focus Area - Robotics

• Computer Systems
• Control Systems
• Data Analytics (Eng)
• Philosophy and Ethics
• Project Management
• Systems and Signals

Second Semester: All Focus Areas

• Complementary Studies (Eng)
• Complementary Studies (Eng)
• Entrepreneurship (Eng)
• Environmental Engineering
• Project (E)