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Over the years there have been a lot of conference publications by UK-based authors in the field of Engineering Education. There has also been a growing number of journal publications by UK-based authors. This implies that more and more UK academics are now seriously engaging with the field of Engineering Education. However, the number of PhD theses focussing on Engineering Education and related fields, including such fields as Engineering Practice, still lags behind most academic disciplines. In this article I list all these PhD theses that I could find that have been awarded to UK-based students since the year 2000.
Why should we be interested in the number of PhD theses in Engineering Education, you may wonder. There are severa reasons, but the most important one is that the number of PhD theses in a particular field indicates the level of serious thought, research and innovation taking place within that field. According to the website FindAPhD, a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is an advanced postgraduate degree involving three or more years of independent research on an original topic that is carried out with the support of one or more expert academic supervisors. Hence the publication of a PhD thesis is indicative of a sustained period of research collaboration on a particular topic by two or more people. It also indicates the growth in the number of experts in that particular research field.
I have carried out a search of the British Library E-Theses Online Service (EThOS) to identify Engineering Education related theses that have been awarded in the UK since the year 2000. Some of them focus on the History of Engineering, whilst some focus on Engineering Practice. I believe that by bringing all these theses in one place they can serve as a useful quick reference for someone who needs to have a quick overview of the current and recent work that has been taking place within the UK Engineering Education Research and related fields.
I’m sure this list is not comprehensive. If you know of a PhD thesis that I have missed, let me know via the comments section and I will add it to this list.
| McCrone, Georgia | 2021 | Further Education lecturers’ early career development and identity : policy, practice, and discourse | Lancaster University |
| Fletcher, Ashleigh Jane | 2020 | Development and evaluation of open-ended learning activities to support chemical engineering students’ development | University of Strathclyde |
| Olukayode Olusola, Awonuga | 2020 | Skills gap assessment to enhance the delivery of technical and vocational education : a case study of electrical installation graduates in Ogun and Kaduna states of Nigeria | University of the West of England, Bristol |
| Mabley, Seren | 2020 | A qualitative analysis of students’ naturalistic learning processes during their first experience in problem-based learning | University of Strathclyde |
| Jahangiri, Nooshin | 2019 | An exploration of female students’ choices, experiences and future aspirations of studying undergraduate mathematics and engineering programmes in Iran | University of Manchester |
| Ismail, Norhariati | 2019 | An analysis of staff perceptions of their preparedness for the implementation of active learning in Malaysian engineering education : exploratory approach | Aston University |
| O’Toole, Chris | 2019 | The lived experiences of ICT and Engineering Faculty teaching in higher education institutions in Ireland and the United Kingdom, who adopt and implement mobile technology enhanced learning initiatives : a phenomenological investigation | Lancaster University |
| Zainuddin, Suhaiza | 2019 | Investigation into the effectiveness of practical work in achieving curriculum objectives for engineering studies in secondary education | University of Lincoln |
| Onyia, Uzor | 2019 | Improving the supervisory and managerial skills and competences required in construction management in Nigeria | London South Bank University |
| Grover, Robert | 2019 | A critical issue? : educating for sustainability in the architectural design studio | University of Bath |
| Atesh, Manal Habeeb | 2019 | Assessing ethics education effectiveness in engineering programmes : a multi-phase approach | University of York |
| Snape, Kirsty | 2019 | An exploration of students’ experiences of placement in computing and engineering : a sociocultural analysis of learning | University of Huddersfield |
Broadbent, Rebecca | 2019 | Children’s experiences of engineering education activities in rural schools in England at age 9/10 : the implications for engineering education and our approach to building engineering career aspirations in young people | Aston University |
| Jackson-Cole, D. | 2019 | Navigating toward success : Black and Minority Ethnic students in postgraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses in England | University of East London |
| Jenns, Caroline Louise | 2019 | Understanding Emirati women’s reasons to study the STEM-related subject of engineering : lessons from Dubai | University of Liverpool |
| Tang, W. F. F. | 2019 | An investigation into how the Science and Engineering curriculum in higher education institutions supports undergraduates entering the Testing and Certification industry in Hong Kong upon graduation | Nottingham Trent University |
| Mavromihales, Michael | 2019 | Enhancing teaching-learning effectiveness in Mechanical Engineering education through structured interventions and Action Learning | University of Huddersfield |
| Mahmud, Mohd Nazri | 2018 | Interdisciplinary learning in engineering practice : an exploratory multi-case study of engineering for the life sciences projects | University of Cambridge |
| Pg-Ya’akub, Dk S. R. | 2018 | The impact of online learning : mechanical engineering education perspectives | Loughborough University |
| Shawcross, Judith Karen | 2018 | Manufacturing excellent engineers | University of Cambridge |
| Nyamapfene, Abel Zvamayida | 2018 | Teaching-only academics in a research intensive university : from an undesirable to a desirable academic identity | University of Exeter |
| Dziallas, Sebastian | 2018 | Characterising graduateness in computing education : a narrative approach | University of Kent |
| Akeel, Usman | 2018 | Engineering sustainability : devising a suitable sustainability education intervention for the Nigerian engineering curriculum | UCL (University College London) |
| Moffat, Kenneth Alexander | 2018 | Unexpected journey : from autoethnography to a Bourdieusian analysis of engineering education | University of Edinburgh |
| Derr, Katja Susanne | 2018 | Mathematics for engineering students in the ‘Dual System’ : assistance in study start-up and conduct | University of Plymouth |
| Jackson, Noel R. | 2018 | Comparing active and didactic pedagogies in electronic engineering | Staffordshire University |
| Sani, Maryam | 2018 | Women’s representation in STEM related education and careers : a case study of female university students in Saudi Arabia | Staffordshire University |
| Varga-Atkins, Tunde | 2018 | Designing curricula to develop digitally capable professionals in engineering and management : the case in two universities | Lancaster University |
| Larson, Adam Howard | 2017 | Becoming technicians in the ‘hydrocarbon state’ : transitions into post-compulsory vocational education and training in the State of Qatar | King’s College London |
| Vijay, Venkatesh Chennam | 2017 | A Knowledge Based Educational (KBEd) framework for enhancing practical skills in engineering distance learners through an augmented reality environment | Birmingham City University |
| White, Carol | 2017 | A critical review of evidence for the claims and perceptions of a shortage of science and engineering graduates in the UK | University of Sussex |
| King, D. C. | 2017 | The Engineering Council’s influence on Building Services Engineering education and qualifications : towards an internationalist education and training model | Liverpool John Moores University |
| Morgan, Thea Rose | 2017 | Constructivism, complexity, and design : reflecting on group project design behaviour in engineering design education | University of Bristol |
| Shah, Raza | 2017 | Property inference decision-making and decision switching of undergraduate engineers : implications for ideational diversity & fluency through movements in a Cartesian concept design space | University of Cambridge |
| Bull, Christopher Neil | 2016 | Studios in software engineering education | Lancaster University |
| Abul-Ola, Mohammad Mahmoud | 2016 | How can the education-industry partnership within the Qatari oil & gas industry facilitate engineering graduates’ transition from school to work and enhance their engagement with the labour market? | University of Leicester |
| Hill, S. | 2016 | The entrepreneurial engineer : an investigation into the relationship between humanitarian engineering and entrepreneurship | Coventry University |
| Bataw, Anas | 2016 | On the integration of Building Information Modelling in undergraduate civil engineering programmes in the United Kingdom | University of Manchester |
| Sivapalan, Subarna | 2015 | Engineering education for sustainable development (EESD) for undergraduate engineering programmes in Malaysia : a stakeholder defined framework | University of Nottingham |
| Herman, Clem | 2015 | Gendered careers in science, engineering and technology : transforming spaces and changing identities | Open University |
| Kenan, Thuraya | 2015 | Improving the effectiveness of e-learning implementation in the School of Engineering at Tripoli University | University of Huddersfield |
| Byroms, Richard | 2015 | William Fairbairn : experimental engineer and mill-builder | University of Huddersfield |
| Vickerstaff, Rebecca | 2015 | Implementation of technology enhanced learning pedagogy and impact on employability and learning within engineering education frameworks | University of Plymouth |
| Mohammed, Abdul Majid | 2014 | Integrated technologies instructional method to enhance bilingual undergraduate engineering students | Brunel University |
| Kockelbergh, David | 2014 | The origins of student misunderstanding of undergraduate electrical machine theory | Loughborough University |
| Johnson, Anthony | 2014 | Sustainability – its incorporation into the mechanical engineering design process | University of Huddersfield |
| Morley, Helen Ruth | 2014 | What can be done to improve the ethical decisions made by engineers? | University of Leeds |
| Routledge, Patrick | 2014 | A strategy for enhancing the learning experience of Indian marine engineering students in transnational education | University of Sunderland |
| Tan, Joyce | 2013 | Negotiating the occupational landscape : the career trajectories of ex-teachers and ex-engineers in Singapore | Institute of Education, University of London |
| Tudor, Jenna | 2013 | An exploratory investigation into the context specific perceptions and practices of second year mechanical engineering undergraduates | Northumbria University |
| Liyanage, Lalith | 2013 | A case study of the effectiveness of the delivery of work based learning from the perspective of stakeholders in Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences at Northumbria University | Northumbria University |
| Sach, Rien | 2013 | The impact of feedback on the motivation of software engineers | Open University |
| Zhang, Dan | 2013 | Effective teaching of technical teamwork to large cohorts of engineering students in China | Queen Mary, University of London |
| Woodrow, Michael | 2013 | Educating engineers for a holistic approach to fire safety | University of Edinburgh |
| Hamblin, Katy Joanne | 2013 | Men of brain and brawn and guts’ : the professionalization of marine engineering in Britain, France and Germany 1830-1914 | University of Exeter |
| Phuong, Nguyen H. | 2013 | Engineering education for sustainable development in Vietnamese universities : building culturally appropriate strategies for transforming the engineering curriculum towards sustainable development | University of Gloucestershire |
| Al-Hamad, Salah Madhi Ahmad | 2013 | Blended learning system for further and higher education mechanical engineering courses in Bahrain | University of Huddersfield |
| Hunter, Kathleen Allison | 2013 | Gender and science in twentieth-century British engineering : an interdisciplinary analysis | University of Oxford |
| Tan, Kia Ann Aaron | 2012 | Learning patterns of engineering students in a Singapore tertiary education context and the implications for continuing education in the field of engineering | Durham University |
| Gartland, Clare | 2012 | Cultivating rough diamonds’ : a study of student ambassadors’ contribution to widening participation schemes in engineering and medicine at two contrasting universities | Institute of Education, University of London |
| Gao, Mingyi | 2012 | A theoretical model for the effectiveness of project-based learning in engineering design education | Loughborough University |
| Carter, Alan | 2012 | Assessment-in-action : a study of lecturers’ and students’ constructions of BTEC national assessment practice in a college engineering programme area | University of the West of England, Bristol |
| Tzanakou, Charikleia | 2012 | Beyond the PhD : the significance of boundaries in the early careers of highly qualified Greek scientists and engineers | University of Warwick |
| Cockerton, Caitlin | 2011 | Going synthetic : how scientists and engineers imagine and build a new biology | London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |
| Mokhtar, Mahani | 2011 | Exploring the intentions, expectations and experiences of female Ph.D. students in the fields of education and engineering at one university in Malaysia | University of Bristol |
| Taylor, Annette Louise | 2011 | Engineering mathematics and virtual learning environments : a case study of student perceptions | University of Plymouth |
| Gallagher, John P. | 2011 | Changing relationships of the state, the professions and higher education in contemporary Ireland : the examples of medicine, law and engineering | University of Sheffield |
| Soltani-Tafreshi, Fakhteh | 2010 | The impact of industrial sponsorship on students, academia and industry | Loughborough University |
| Hopkinson, Viviana | 2010 | Why do I have to do key skills? : accounting for year one engineering college students’ perspectives on work and vocalisational education : a case study | The Open University |
| Russell, M. | 2010 | A personalised assessment programme in engineering education | University of Hertfordshire |
| Grierson, Hilary J. | 2010 | Towards principles and project memories for distributed-design information storing in engineering design education | University of Strathclyde |
| Powell, Abigail | 2009 | The (un)balancing act : the impact of culture on women engineering students’ gendered and professional identities | Loughborough University |
| Hasan, H. | 2009 | Exploring engineering employability competencies through interpersonal and enterprise skills | Coventry University |
| Pei, Eujin | 2009 | Building a common language of design representations for industrial designers & engineering designers | Loughborough University |
| Cowley, David | 2009 | Student perceptions of the impact of Science and Engineering Ambassadors | University of Brighton |
| Thompson, Mark S. | 2009 | The rise of the scientific soldier as seen through the performance of the Corps of Royal Engineers during the early 19th century | University of Sunderland |
| Shin, Inyoung | 2008 | English for Korean postgraduate engineering students in the global academic community : perceptions of the importance of English, skills-based needs and sociocultural behaviours | Institute of Education, University of London |
| Phillipson, A. | 2007 | The business of engineers’ : the organization and education of military engineers during the eighteenth century | University of Portsmouth |
| Arbuckle Araki, M. H. | 2007 | Japanese engineering and Scotland : Ryūgakusei and Oyatoi between 1865 and 1900 | University of Edinburgh |
| Cooke, Robert Stewart | 2006 | The use of alternative energy technologies in buildings : the influence of engineering consultants | Brunel University |
| Oriogun, Peter Kehinde | 2006 | Towards understanding and improving the process of small group collaborative learning in software engineering education | London Metropolitan University |
| Webster, Michele Marie | 2006 | Key skills and personal attributes in the engineering technicians’ curriculum : a study of two further education institutions in Hong Kong and England | University of Leicester |
| Fang, Woan Pin | 2005 | Teaching and learning in higher education : a case study of engineering students learning economics | Durham University |
| Phipps, Alison Elisabeth | 2005 | Women’s education in science, engineering and technology : researching the arena of activity | University of Cambridge |
| Sng, Bee Bee | 2005 | Academic staff’s responses to educational changes in a School of Engineering in a university in Singapore | University of Leicester |
| Robinson, Paul. | 2004 | Contributions to multidisciplinary engineering education and training | University of Hull |
| Butchers, Ann Marjorie | 2004 | Learning off the job : engineers and professional education | University of Sheffield |
| Tan, Hock Soon | 2003 | The use of a virtual environment in the education of engineering students | Durham University |
| Koutsantoni, Dimitra | 2003 | Rhetoric and culture in published and unpublished scientific communication : a comparative study of texts produced by Greek and native English speaking engineers | University of Birmingham |
| Doyle, S. | 2003 | Differences and similarities between minority groups in U.K. undergraduate engineering courses | University of Cambridge |
| Cooper, Timothy | 2003 | Science-industry relationship: the case of electrical engineering in Manchester 1914-1960.. | University of Manchester |
| Nasr, Atef Ali Mohamed. | 2002 | A reading improvement programme for engineering trainees in Egypt | University of Ulster |
| Ahmad, Abdul Rahim | 2002 | An investigation of major change in the future world of work for engineers and the consequences for educational practices | Loughborough University |
| McDermott, Anne Patricia | 2002 | Internet delivery mechanisms for the continuing professional development of the marine engineer | University of Plymouth |
| Rivera Martell, David F. | 2002 | Introducing environmental concerns within an undergraduate engineering curriculum: A case study of innovation in a Mexican university | University of Sussex |
| Awang-Ngah, Zainab. | 2001 | Exploring the factors related to academic publication productivity among selected Malaysian academic engineers. | Loughborough University of Technology |
| Brooks, Donald Andrew John | 2001 | Training the military engineer : a study of assessment and its validity | Open University |
| Brown, Keith Bordinel. | 2000 | A case study of the changes to engineering education in the UK from 1987 to 1999. | University of Lancaster |
| Intaraprasert, Channarong | 2000 | Language learning strategies employed by engineering students learning English at the tertiary level in Thailand | University of Leeds |
| Alias, Maizam | 2000 | Spatial visualisation ability and problem solving in civil engineering | University of Surrey |
Engineering Learning & Teaching 