Entertainment Engineering Undergraduate Courses

"The great thing about the course is it had a good mix of theory and practical"

"I enjoy the lighting practicals on the course as I learn the most from being hands-on. The highlights for me have been the practical sessions and working in the engineering workshops where I can build and solder different circuits and designs. Working with equipment such as lighting desks is especially good. The University offers site trips, recommends recruitment days and also has visitors from companies so we can get an insight into the industry.”

Tom Cain, BSc (Hons) Sound, Light and Live Event Technology

Our first-class, industry-focused courses are your perfect start to a career in events and entertainment engineering.

• Our BSc (Hons) Sound, Light and Live Event Engineering students study the theory and practice of entertainment technology. This course incorporates aspects of lighting technology, audio engineering, video systems, live streaming, power distribution and rigging to electronics, computer networks, acoustics, computer-aided design and simulation
• Our MSc Audio Engineering programme has been devised to allow good graduates of electronic engineering, music technology, or similar programs to develop the higher level expertise needed to enter the field of audio engineering, and to allow those already in it to upgrade their skills and understanding. You will study as an individual, but also as part of a group in integrated project work giving you the experience of working within diverse teams.

Facilities

You'll develop professional skills in lighting design, sound engineering and event management working with industry-standard equipment thanks to the support of AC entertainment technology. Our extensive equipment is housed in a number of facilities including several labs, an auditorium and a hemi-anechoic chamber.

Explore our Entertainment Engineering facilities

Partnerships

In 2022, leading loudspeaker company Meyer Sound partnered with the University of Derby to deliver online masterclasses and an in-person training course for our Entertainment Engineering students. As a student at Derby you'll also have access to full-length seminars on topics such as acoustics, loudspeakers, audio networking, spatial sound and audio fundamentals. 

Opportunities

Our academic team are research-active and a recent project both BSc (Hons) Sound, Light and Live Event Engineering and MSc Audio Engineering students were able to get involved in was the Odyssey project with Plus One Derby and Derby Theatre.

Bruce Wiggins and a selection of students provided the Live Ambisonic, speaker-based immersive audio system for this. We're delighted that the project has won Digital Project of the Year at The Stage Awards 2023. The judges believed The Odyssey stood out for the way it used an immersive digital VR experience to make the arts more accessible to a previously under-served group of participants across the care sector.

What our Entertainment Engineering graduates do

We have an excellent employment record and our graduates work in senior roles across all areas of the entertainment industry.

Career opportunities open to graduates include:

• venue design
• acoustic design
• noise control
• broadcast technology, engineering and management
• equipment design and manufacture
• teaching and research
• freelance event engineering
• live event production and management
• technical sales and support
• lighting, set and video design

You could also go on to study our MSc Audio Engineering postgraduate degree.