Crawford Times 61

BEngineering (BEng) in Computer Engineering
The Engineering Faculty at the University
of Pretoria (UP), fondly also known as TUKS,
is situated in an impressive new engineering
building on the main campus in Hatfield. It’s
the biggest engineering faculty in the country,
offering the widest choice of engineering and
other qualifications, with a huge choice of
subjects.
However, of all the engineering degrees offered
at the faculty, my preference is the BEng in
Computer Engineering, as it really appears
that this degree is designed for the so-called
fourth revolution of work which is dominated by
computer technology and informatics. The BEng
in Computer Engineering, for example, allows
a student to work in all fields of the information
superhighway and the wonderful new world
of information and technology, which includes
computer systems, software engineering,
computer end-communications networks,
satellite management and communications,
wireless sensor networks, embedded software,
electronics, military weapon systems, smart
control systems and automation, data security,
e-commerce, artificial intelligence, pattern
recognition such as face and voice recognition.
Other engineering degrees offered by the faculty,
include:
• BEngineering (BEng) in Industrial Engineering
• BEngineering (BEng) in Chemical Engineering
• BEngineering (BEng) in Civil Engineering
• BEngineering (BEng) in Electrical Engineering
• BEngineering (BEng) in Electronic Engineering
• BEngineering (BEng) in Mechanical
Engineering
• BEngineering (BEng) in Metallurgical
Engineering
• BEngineering (BEng) in Mining Engineering
For Grade 12 applicants, the faculty will use the
Grade 11 marks in the conditional admission
of prospective students. The proud faculty
sets uncompromisingly high standards for the
admission of candidates, namely a minimum APS
score of 35 (Life Orientation is excluded in the
calculation of the APS scores), a Mathematics
achievement level of at least 6, a Physical Science
achievement level of at least a 6 and an English
Home Language or First Additional Language of
at least 5.
In my opinion, the UP Faculty of Engineering
most probably draws the most applicants in
engineering and I always advise prospective
students to already apply in the first two weeks
of March of the year before they want to be
admitted. They must ensure that they meet all the
entry requirements when applying and shouldn’t
have false hope for admission if they don’t.
However, the good news is that a Grade 11
learner with an APS score of 25 to 34 with an
achievement level of at least 5 for Mathematics
and Physical Science, plus writing the National
Benchmark Test (NBT), will be considered for the
engineering bridging programme, known as the
Engineering Augmented Degree Programme
(ENGAGE), a five-year engineering option.
The faculty at TUKS consists of three schools
namely the:
• School of Engineering
• School of Information Technology, and the
• School for the Built Environment.
The School for the Built Environment also offers
some of my favourites, such as
• B Town and Regional Planning
• BSc Quantity Surveying
• BSc Real Estate
• BSc Construction Management
• BSc Architecture
• BSc Interior Architecture
• BSc Landscape Architecture
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