Engineering
Engineering at Peterhouse is one of the larger subject groups, with about 10% of the undergraduate year group (so about 6-8 students). The course has a general first two years during which everyone studies the same material, and then you specialise in the third and fourth year by choosing modules from a large list of choices.
The first year papers are: Mechanics & Thermodynamics, Structures and Materials, Electrical and
Electronics, and Mathematical Methods. The first term (Michaelmas, from October to December) is
spent bringing everyone up to the same level from A-levels, so if you’ve done further maths and
tons of other academic work it’s a gentle introduction; for the rest of us it’s a crash course on
doing things the ‘Cambridge’ way. After Christmas, things start to heat up with new material you
won’t have seen before, including a Structural Design project in groups of two where you design,
build and test (to destruction) a steel or aluminium bridge or cantilever. This is great fun as it
gets you into the workshop for some hands on construction, as well as allowing you to apply what
you’ve learnt in the materials and structures lectures.
Your week will consist of lectures and labs 9am-1pm most mornings, with two afternoon sessions a week - drawing, CAD, exposition (how to give presentations and write reports) and such like. Engineers never have weekend lectures (natural scientists do most weeks) and generally have some free afternoons each week. Free from timetabled work, that is; you’ll also have examples papers of questions on the material covered in lectures to work through in your own time. These papers are used as the basis for your supervisions, of which you’ll have 3 or 4 a week in the afternoons or evenings. Engineering supervisions are conducted in pairs with a fellow who’ll be a specialist in that subject area (e.g. thermodynamics, digital electronics or whatever). Almost all of our supervisors for the first two years have been fellows of Peterhouse, so you’ll get to see them around college and don’t have to cycle to other colleges on the other side of town for your supervisions.
The best thing about Peterhouse as a base for engineers is it’s proximity to the engineering
department – the first year accommodation in St Peter’s Terrace is right next door. This does mean
you have the looming presence of the department from your bedroom window, but with a ‘bed to
lecture’ record of 90 seconds who’s complaining! Seriously though, being able to nip back to
college for lunch when you’re on a tight schedule is something Petreans can do easily while people
from Robinson and Magdalene might struggle if you only have 30 minutes.
The small size of Peterhouse means you get to know everyone very quickly, and as an engineer you will have an instantly elevated social status as a ‘fixer of things’. There’s loads of opportunities to get into extra curricular activities (too much of an opportunity in some cases!) and as the college is so small if you want to be president of the JCR or captain of the rugby team, chances are you’ll have a fairly good shot at it. The college has excellent facilities and provides an excellent environment for sport, drama, socialising or just sitting around in the gardens doing some work.
Pete Davies