Systems Engineering for Defence Capability MSc/PgCert/PgDip:
Course Description:
All those involved in the wider defence enterprise, across government, military, industry, science and technology have changing needs and aspirations for defence. Agility, resilience, continuity of supply, skills and innovation now complement the continuing need to balance cost, time and performance in everything we do.
The Centre for Systems Engineering has been at the forefront of developing systems engineering education for the past fifteen years, blending the breadth of systems thinking with the rigour of systems engineering and closely integrating this within acquisition management.
You will develop knowledge and skills in understanding the wider context of defence capability and guiding the development of operational, support and enabling business solutions which both deliver cost effective outcomes and contribute to the attributes of defence as a whole.
Start Months:
Full-time September. Part-time September and January
Full Time/ Part Time:
Full-time/Part-time
School:
CDS
Theme:
Defence and Security
Entry 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 - 7
TOEFL - 100
Pearson PTE Academic - 68
Cambridge English Scale - 190
Cambridge English: Advanced – with a minimum of Grade A
Cambridge English: Proficiency – with a minimum of Grade B
In 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 year, Part-time MSc - up to three years, Full-time PgCert - one year, Part-time PgCert - two years, Full-time PgDip - one year, Part-time PgDip - two years
(For MOD status students the duration may vary, subject to annual review.)
Course format:
Overview:
This course will develop knowledge and skills in understanding the wider context of defence capability and guiding the development of operational, support and enabling business solutions which both deliver cost effective outcomes and contribute to the attributes of defence as a whole.
Who is it for?:
We have a diverse student body drawn from numerous industries and institutions in the UK as well as overseas providing a rich educational experience. Our class size is normally between 10-20 comprising a combination of full and part time students.
Why this course?:
The Centre for Systems Engineering has been at the forefront of developing systems engineering education for the past fifteen years, blending the breadth of systems thinking with the rigour of systems engineering and closely integrating this within acquisition management.
All those involved in the wider defence enterprise, across government, military, industry, science and technology have changing needs and aspirations for defence. Agility, resilience, continuity of supply, skills and innovation now complement the continuing need to balance cost, time and performance in everything we do.
The course covers the wider context of defence capability and guiding the development of operational, support and enabling business solutions.
Informed by Industry:
The course's Industrial Advisory Board meets once a year to discuss the course structure and content. Members include Cranfield University and Defence Academy staff with industrial representatives from, for example:
- AWE
- MoD's Defence Equipment and Support
- MBDA UK Limited
- Thales
- QinetiQ
- MOD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.
Your teaching team:
- Rick Adcock
- Dr Steve Barker
- Bronwen Holden
- Laura Lacey
- Dr Ken McNaught
- Jeremy Smith
- Dr Emma Sparks
- Lt Col (Retd) Tony Thornburn
- Dr Claus Nielsen
- Dr Tim Ferris
- Mark Lewis
- Andrew Duncan
- Luminita Ciocoiu
Accreditation:
The course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
This programme is accredited as a programme of further learning for CEng registration. When presented together with a CEng accredited Bachelors programme the educational requirements for CEng registration will be met in full. Students who do not have a first degree should contact the relevant institute directly for further details on whether they meet the requirements.
Course details:
The course is modular and you will accumulate credits for each module you successfully complete - 10 credits per module. The Advanced Systems Engineering Workshop is worth 20 credits.
The course structure has been devised to give the maximum amount of flexibility for you to create your own learning pathway whilst ensuring that the fundamental principles of systems engineering are compulsory.
Individual project:
The Individual Project provides you with an opportunity to undertake an in-depth study of an area of particular interest to you or your sponsor which is written up as a thesis or dissertation. The study might include, for example:
- Application of Systems Engineering tools and techniques to a real world problem
- Analysis of underpinning Systems Engineering theory and practice
- Development of new or tailored Systems Engineering processes.
Assessment:
Coursework, written examinations, oral examinations, portfolio and, for the MSc only, an individual thesis
Core modules:
- Advanced Systems Engineering Workshop (ASEW)
- Applied Systems Thinking
- Capability Context
- Lifecycle Processes Introduction
- Lifecycle Processes Advanced
- Systems Approach to Engineering
Elective
- Availability, Reliability, Maintainability and Support Strategy (ARMSS)
- Decision Analysis, Modelling and Support (DAMS)
- Human Centric Systems Engineering (HCSE)
- Introduction to Defence Capability
- Model Based Systems Engineering
- Simulation and Synthetic Environments
- System of Systems Engineering
- Thesis Selection Workshop
- Systems Engineering and Software
- Systems Engineering Workshop
- Networked and Distributed Simulation Exercise
Fees and funding:
Home EU Student Fees:
MSc Full-time £17,250
MSc Part-time £17,250 *
PgDip Full-time £13,900
PgDip Part-time £13,900 *
PgCert Full-time £6,950
PgCert Part-time £6,950 *
Oversees Fees:
MSc Full-time £17,250
MSc Part-time £17,250 *
PgDip Full-time £13,900
PgDip Part-time £13,900 *
PgCert Full-time £6,950
PgCert Part-time £6,950 *ime £6,950 *
* Students will be offered the option of paying the full fee up front, or in a maximum of two payments per year; first instalment on receipt of invoice and the second instalment six months later.
Fee notes:
- The fees outlined apply to all students whose initial date of registration falls on or between 1 August 2017 and 31 July 2018.
- All students pay the tuition fee set by the University for the full duration of their registration period agreed at their initial registration.
- Additional fees for extensions to the agreed registration period may be charged and can be found below.
- Fee eligibility at the Home/EU rate is determined with reference to UK Government regulations. As a guiding principle, EU nationals (including UK) who are ordinarily resident in the EU pay Home/EU tuition fees, all other students (including those from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man) pay Overseas fees.
Security clearance for Shrivenham:
Some Cranfield University courses are delivered at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Shrivenham which is a Ministry of Defence (MOD) site. All applicants to courses that are wholly or partially delivered at Shrivenham must complete the BPSS (HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard V4 April 2014) prior to registration on the course or must already hold a security clearance to this level or higher.
Your application and BPSS clearance application will be shared during the application process with the MOD who have ultimate discretion over whether to admit applicants to the Shrivenham site. This information will be returned by the MOD to Cranfield University after checks are completed and no copies will be retained by the MOD.
BPSS checks may involve confirmation of the following:
Identity (e.g. Photo ID)
Nationality and Immigration Status
Employment/Academic History (covering the past 3 years)
Criminal record (unspent convictions only)
Additionally, applicants are required to give a reasonable account of any significant periods (6 months or more in the past 3 years) of time spent abroad.
This may be revised from time to time dependent on national security requirements. For more details, please consult the BPSS Guidance.
It will take additional time to process your BPSS clearance application once you have completed your course application.
Inability to access the Shrivenham site as a result of failure to meet security clearance requirements will result in a withdrawal of offer, or, if already registered, a termination of registration.
Your career:
Takes you on to impressive career prospects across a range of roles commensurate with your experience. This includes membership of multidisciplinary teams in acquisition, supply or research organisations. This could be in both general systems engineering roles or as a focal point for specific skills such as availability, reliability and maintenance (ARM), human factors, requirements, architecture test and evaluation, etc. It is also applicable to key roles in MoD acquisition such as Project Team leader, capability manager and requirements manager.
