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10 Best Engineering Courses Offered at Nigerian Universities

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Anyone who wishes to study Engineering in Nigeria must be highly selective. The reason is, although some engineering fields are undisputedly awesome on the global scene, studying them in Nigeria may not be a very bright idea. The job opportunities for certain fields of engineering are quite limited.

So, what engineering courses are the best in Nigeria? Which should you study?

First of all, your subject strength must be put into consideration. In other words, you have to know what subjects you are good at since it’s either more of physics, chemistry or mathematics for any engineering course you choose to study.

Furthermore, it is no secret that several Nigerian universities are underequipped and inadequately funded, which explains the frequent ASUU strikes.

Therefore, another very important question you must ask yourself is ‘does my intended university have to capacity to offer a world-class degree in my desired field?’

Here are the 10 Best engineering courses to study in Nigeria

Civil engineering

Civil engineering is certainly one of the best engineering courses to study in Nigeria.

It is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of physical structures, such as roads, bridges, airports, sewers, canals, dams, pipelines, railways, among others.

As a developing nation, there are several ongoing constructions in Nigeria and indeed more to come. Moreover, there are several construction companies in Nigeria, hence finding a place for IT or work shouldn’t be a hugely difficult task.

Career opportunities for graduates of Civil engineering include but is not limited to Construction managers, Geotechnical engineers, Environmental engineers, Urban planning engineers.

Read also: List of Nigerian universities that offer civil engineering.

Electrical engineering

It will be extremely difficult to talk about the top engineering courses in Nigeria without including electrical engineering.

Electrical engineering is concerned with the study, design and application of equipment, devices and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism.

There are several electricity companies in Nigeria. Which means, finding a job shouldn’t be an issue, provided you know your way around.

Moreover, it is one of the engineering fields you can study and become self-employed.

See the list of schools that offer electrical or electronics engineering in Nigeria.

Graduates of electrical engineering can become Acoustic consultants, Aerospace engineers, Broadcast engineers, CAD technician, Control and instrumentation engineers, Design engineers, among others.

Software engineering

Not too many people know that they can study software engineering in Nigeria. Considering how software and apps are taking over our world right now, it is never a farfetched idea to describe it as one of the best engineering courses to study in Nigeria.

It involves the systematic application of engineering approaches to the development of software. Software engineering is a subfield of computer science/engineering and management science.

One good thing about this field is that you can become as good as you choose to become. To put it differently, after graduating with a degree in software engineering, you can take other courses or devote yourself to personal development.

Unfortunately, the only Nigerian institution where you can study software engineering in Nigeria (as of 2018) is at the American University of Nigeria.

Graduates of software engineering can become software developers, software architects, database administrators, requirements engineers, among others.

Also, you can choose to become self-employed or a design consultant.

Agricultural engineering

Living a developing nation with a big interest in agriculture makes agricultural engineering one of the best engineering courses to study right now.

Agricultural engineering involves agricultural production and processing. It combines disciplines of mechanical, civil, electrical, Food science and chemical engineering principles with a knowledge of agricultural principles.

Graduates of agricultural engineering can work at Agro-research Institutes, Federal Agencies, Farms (personal or hired), Forestry Reserves, and more.

See Nigerian universities that offer agricultural engineering.

Mining engineering

Who would argue that mining engineering isn’t one of the best engineering courses to study in Nigeria?

Mining Engineering is a field of engineering that involves several other engineering disciplines concerned with extracting and processing minerals from a naturally occurring environment.

As a nation blessed with several untapped natural resources, the services of such engineers are in high demand.

For now, mining is offered at the Federal University of Technology, Akure and the University of Jos.

Petroleum engineering

Considering how rich Nigeria is in crude oil, petroleum engineering is one of the best fields to study in Nigeria. In fact, Nigeria ranks among the biggest producers of oil in the world.

Petroleum engineering is a field of engineering concerned with the production of either crude oil or natural gas, which falls within the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry.

Basically, petroleum engineering graduates work at drilling and exploration sites, related laboratories, crude oil refineries, etc.

There are tons of universities in Nigeria that offer petroleum engineering. A browse through the JAMB brochure will provide you with a comprehensive list.

Computer engineering

All over the world, computer engineers are in high demand. Is there any modern firm that doesn’t use computers? As a matter of fact, the world is falling deeper and deeper into its dependence on computers. In that light, computer engineering is certainly one of the best engineering course to study.

Computer engineering integrates several fields of computer science and electronics engineering required to develop computer hardware and software.

I don’t think Nigeria can boast of too many companies that produce computer hardware, though. So, you may end up channelling your energy into the software aspect of the course.

Graduates of computer engineering can work as software engineers/tester, application/software developers, computer Lecturers, hardware/microprocessor engineer, etc.

Here are the universities that offer computer engineering in Nigeria.

Food engineering

There are hundreds of food companies present in Nigeria. A degree in food engineering increases your chances of getting employed at one of those companies.

Food engineering combines microbiology, applied physical sciences, chemistry and engineering for food and related industries.

Graduates of food engineering can work as food technologists, nutritional therapists, product/process development scientists, quality managers, laboratory technicians, technical brewers, among others.

The University of Uyo and the University of Ilorin are the two institutions that currently offer food engineering.

Mechanical engineering

Mechanical engineering is a great option for you if you have interests in the areas of engineering designs and manufacturing.

It applies engineering physics, engineering mathematics, and materials science principles to design, analyze, manufacture, and maintain mechanical systems.

As a matter of fact, mechanical engineering is one of the oldest and broadest of the engineering disciplines.

Graduates of mechanical engineering can work as acoustic consultants, mining engineers, production manager, etc.

What Nigerian universities offer mechanical engineering? Find out here.

Chemical engineering

Chemical engineering is also one of the highly-rated engineering fields in the world.

It uses principles of chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology, and economics to efficiently use, produce, design, transport and transform energy and materials.

Graduates of chemical engineering can work as analytical chemists, energy managers, manufacturing engineer, materials engineer, etc.

Find out the universities where you can study chemical engineering in Nigeria.

Final notes

There’s no doubt whatsoever that engineering is an intrinsic part of most organisations and indeed our world at large. Take a bank for instance. Even if it’s a financial institution, there’s a need for computer engineers, software engineers, etc.

Many would argue with the list above, which is highly understandable, considering the subjective nature of the discussion.

And like I said earlier, the subjects you are good at must be put into perspective. For example, if you’re good in chemistry but not so good in physics, chemical or petroleum engineering should be your first consideration.

Similarly, if you’re good in physics but not so good in chemistry, then going for either electrical or mechanical should be a smarter move. All in all, you must be above average in Physics, Chemistry and Maths to study any engineering course.

See a list of all the engineering courses offered at Nigerian universities.

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