Course description
Course Description:The Aircraft Design option of the MSc in Aerospace Vehicle Design (AVD) aims to provide a comprehensive overview of aircraft performance, structures and systems. A holistic teaching approach is taken to explore how the individual elements of an aircraft can be designed and integrated using up-to-date methods and techniques. You will learn to understand how to select specific systems such as fuel systems, and their effect on the aircraft as a whole. This course is suitable for students with a background in aeronautical or mechanical engineering or those with relevant industrial experience. Start Months:March or OctoberSchool:School of Aerospace, Transport and ManufacturingTheme:AerospaceEntry Requirements:A first or second class UK Honours degree (or equivalent) ideally in a related subject. Other recognised professional qualifications or several years relevant industrial experience may be accepted as equivalent; subject to approval by the Course Director. For further and specific information please visit the course page. English Language:If you are an international student you will need to provide evidence that you have achieved a satisfactory test result in an English qualification. The minimum standard expected from a number of accepted courses are as follows: IELTS - 6.5 TOEFL - 92 Pearson PTE Academic - 65 Cambridge English Scale - 180 Cambridge English: Advanced - C Cambridge English: Proficiency - CIn addition to these minimum scores you are also expected to achieve a balanced score across all elements of the test. We reserve the right to reject any test score if any one element of the test score is too low. We can only accept tests taken within two years of your registration date (with the exception of Cambridge English tests which have no expiry date). Students requiring a Tier 4 (General) visa must ensure they can meet the English language requirements set out by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and we recommend booking a IELTS for UKVI test. Duration:Full-time MSc - one yearCourse Format:TaughtPostgraduate CertificateOverview: Modern aircraft are a complex combination of aerodynamic performance, lightweight durable structures and advanced systems engineering. This specialist MSc Aerospace Vehicle Design option explores how elements can be designed and integrated using up-to-date methods and techniques.Who is it for?:This course is suitable for students with a background in aeronautical or mechanical engineering or those with relevant industrial experience, and prepares graduates for careers as project design engineers, systems design, structural design or avionic engineers in aerospace or related industries, with the aim of progressing to technical management/chief engineer. Suitable for careers in civil and military aviation.Why this course?:This Aircraft Design option aims to provide a comprehensive overview of aircraft performance, structures and systems. A holistic teaching approach is taken to explore how the individual elements of an aircraft can be designed and integrated using up-to-date methods and techniques. You will learn to understand how to select specific systems such as fuel systems, and their effect on the aircraft as a whole.We have been at the forefront of postgraduate education in aerospace engineering since 1946. Aerospace Vehicle Design at Cranfield University was one of the original foundation courses of the College of Aeronautics. Graduates of this course are eligible to join the Cranfield College of Aeronautics Alumni Association (CCAAA), an active community which hold a number of networking and social events throughout the year.Cranfield University is well located for students from all over the world, and offers a range of library and support facilities to support your studies. This enables students from all over the world to complete this qualification whilst balancing work/life commitments.Informed by Industry.The course has an Industrial Advisory Committee with senior members from major UK aerospace companies, government bodies, and the military services. The committee meets twice a year to review and advise on course content, acquisition skills and other attributes that are desirable for graduates of the course. Panel members include: BAE Systems Airbus Royal Air Force Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Royal Australian Air Force Messier-Dowty Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces.Your teaching team:You will be taught by Cranfield's leading experts with many years of industrial experience. Key members of teaching staff on this option include: Aaron Latty Professor Howard SmithThe teaching on some taught modules is supported by lectures from visiting speakers from both industry and the military. Former speakers have included senior representatives from: Boeing Airbus BAE Systems Eurocopter.Accreditation:The MSc in Aerospace Vehicle Design is accredited by the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) & Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Candidates must hold a CEng accredited BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree to comply with full CEng registration requirements.Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)Course details:The Aircraft Design option consists of 12 compulsory modules and a minimum of 60 hours of optional modules, which are selected from a list of 12 options. You are also required to complete a group design project and an individual research project.A unique feature of the course is that we have four external examiners, two from industry who assess the group design project and two from academia who assess the individual research project.Group project:The extensive group design project is a distinctive and unique feature of this course. This teamwork project takes place over six months and recreates a virtual industrial environment bringing together students with various experience levels and different nationalities into one integrated design team.Students are given responsibility for the detailed design of a significant part of the aircraft, for example, forward fuselage, fuel system, landing gear, environmental control system, wing. The project will progress from the conceptual phase through to the preliminary and detail design phases. You will be required to run project meetings, produce engineering drawings and detailed analyses of your design. Problem solving and project co-ordination must be undertaken on a team and individual basis. At the end of the project, groups are required to report and present findings to a large panel of senior engineers from industry.This element of the course is both realistic and engaging, and places the student group in a professional role as aerospace design engineers. Students testify that working as an integrated team on real problems is invaluable and prepares them well for careers in a highly competitive industry.Watch past presentation videos (YouTube) to give you a taster of our innovative and exciting group projects: Blended Wing Body Aircraft A9 Dragonfly Box Wing Aircraft MRT7 Tanker Aircraft A-13 Voyager SL-12 Vimana.Individual project:The individual research project aims to provide the training necessary for you to apply knowledge from the taught element to research. The project may be theoretical and/or experimental and drawn from a range of topics related to the course and suggested by teaching staff, your employer or focused on your own area of interest. It provides the opportunity for you to deepen your knowledge of an area that is of particular interest, and is often associated with a real-world problem that one of our industry partners is looking to resolve.Previous Individual Research Projects include: Ultra Long Range Science UAV Structure / Systems Development Conceptual Design of a Hypersonic Space Launcher and Global Transportation System Effect of Aerodynamics on the Conceptual Design of Blended Wing Body Aircraft Review, Evaluation and Development of a Microlight Aircraft Feasibility of the Application of Low Cost Scaled Aircraft Demonstrators.Assessment:Taught modules 10%, Group project 50%, Individual research project 40%Funding Opportunities:Laptop/Bursary OfferApply early and you may be eligible for our Laptop/Bursary offer. Students who accept an offer of a place on the MSc in Aerospace Vehicle Design course may be given the choice of either a £600 reduction in their tuition fees OR a high specification laptop. The laptop will be provided to students after registration on the course at Cranfield. The laptop will be for your own personal use, both during your studies and after you have completed the MSc course.Well-qualified UK applicants may be eligible to apply for the EADS Technology Masters Training Award.Cranfield Postgraduate Loan Scheme (CPLS)The Cranfield Postgraduate Loan Scheme (CPLS) is a funding programme providing affordable tuition fee and maintenance loans for full-time UK/EU students studying technology-based MSc courses.To help students find and secure appropriate funding, we have created a funding finder where you can search for suitable sources of funding by filtering the results to suit your needs. Your career:This MSc 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.Graduates from this option have gone on to pursue engineering careers in disciplines such as structural design, stress analysis or systems design.Many of our graduates occupy very senior positions in their organisations, making valuable contributions to the international aerospace industry. Typical student destinations include BAE Systems, Airbus, Dassault and Rolls-Royce.
