MSc in Aerospace Vehicle Design

Who is it for?

This MSc course provides a taught engineering programme with a focus on the technical, business and management aspects that encompass aircraft design in the civil and military aerospace sectors.

Teaching integrates a range of disciplines required for modern aircraft design, for example:

• Aircraft systems design
• Avionic systems design
• Design for manufacture
• Initial aircraft design
• Operation and cost
• Propulsion integration
• Stability and performance
• Structural design and Airframe

Why this course?

Cranfield has been at the forefront of postgraduate education in aerospace engineering since 1946 with the Aerospace Vehicle Design being one of the original foundation courses of the College of Aeronautics. Graduates from this course also become members of the Cranfield College of Aeronautics Alumni Association (CCAAA), an active community that holds a number of networking and social events throughout the year.

One unique feature of the course is that we have a range of external examiners, from industry and from academia who continually assess the quality of the course.

Cranfield University is very well located for students from all over the world and offers a range of library, IT and support facilities to support your studies. This enables students from all over the world to complete this qualification whilst achieving the right balance of work/life commitments.

Course details

The taught component of the Aerospace Vehicle Design masters is generally delivered from October to March (or March-August for the March intake). Modules for each option vary - please refer to MSc course option pages for descriptions of compulsory modules which must be undertaken. Students also have an extensive choice of optional modules to match their specific interests.

University Disclaimer

Keeping our courses up-to-date and current requires constant innovation and change. The modules we offer reflect the needs of business and industry and the research interests of our staff and, as a result, may change or be withdrawn due to research developments, legislation changes or for a variety of other reasons. Changes may also be designed to improve the student learning experience or to respond to feedback from students, external examiners, accreditation bodies and industrial advisory panels.

To give you a taster, we have listed the compulsory modules and (where applicable) some elective modules affiliated with this programme which ran in the academic year 2018–2019. There is no guarantee that these modules will run for 2019 entry. All modules are subject to change depending on your year of entry.

Your career

The MSc in Aerospace Vehicle Design is valued and respected by employers worldwide. The applied nature of this course ensures that our graduates are ready to be of immediate use to their future employer and has provided sufficient breadth of understanding of multi-discipline design to position them for accelerated career progression.

This course prepares graduates for careers as project engineers, systems design, structural design or avionic engineers in aerospace or related industries, with the aim of progressing to technical management/chief engineer roles. Graduates from the MSc in Aerospace Vehicle Design can, therefore, look forward to a varied choice of challenging career opportunities in the above disciplines.

Many of our graduates occupy very senior positions in their organisations, making valuable contributions to the international aerospace industry. Some example student destinations include BAE Systems, Airbus, Dassault and Rolls-Royce.