MSc in Aircraft Engineering
Bedford, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
21 Sep 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 32,345 **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for UK and Irish students
** for overseas students | £27,135 - for home students
Key Summary
About: The MSc in Aircraft Engineering responds to projected demand for 27,000 new civil airliners by 2030 and a shortfall of postgraduate engineers. It broadens your technical and business skills across aircraft engineering and design, and provides foundation for technical, integration and leadership roles. Cranfield's distinctive technology and management expertise underpins practical, systems-focused learning. Networking with students from varied backgrounds helps you learn other companies' ways of working.
Career Outcomes: The course prepares you for roles such as aircraft design engineer, systems integration engineer, flight test engineer, project manager, certification specialist and R&D engineer and can support Chartered Engineer status.
With a projected demand for 27,000 new civil airliners by 2030, the industry faces a shortfall in postgraduate-level engineers to meet future industry needs. Aircraft engineers need a combination of technical and business skills for today's aerospace engineering projects. This course will broaden your understanding of aircraft engineering and design subjects and provide you with a strong foundation for career development in technical, integration and leadership roles.
Compulsory Modules
All the modules in the following list need to be taken as part of this course.
- Introduction to Avionics
- Initial Aerospace Vehicle Design
- Design and Development of Airframe Systems
- Major Component Design and Manufacture
- Methodologies for Integrated Product Development
- Manufacturing
Elective Modules
Two of the modules from the following list need to be taken as part of this course.
- Fatigue and Damage Tolerance
- Aircraft Performance for Aircraft Engineering
- Design, Durability and Integrity of Composite Aircraft Structures
- Detail Stressing
- Introduction to Autonomous Systems
- Through life System Effectiveness
- Tools for Integrated Product Development
To help students find 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. Visit the funding finder.
ISTAT Foundation Scholarships
The ISTAT Foundation is actively engaged in helping young people develop careers in aviation by offering scholarships of up to $US10,000. One student will be nominated for a scholarship each year by Cranfield University.
Master's Loan from Student Finance England
A Master's Loan is now available for UK and EU applicants to help you pay for your master’s course.
Commonwealth Scholarships for Developing Countries
Students from developing countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the UK can apply for a Commonwealth Scholarship, which includes tuition fees, travel and a monthly stipend for master’s study.
Chevening Scholarships
Chevening Scholarships are awarded to outstanding emerging leaders to pursue a one-year master’s at Cranfield University. The scholarship includes tuition fees, travel and a monthly stipend for master’s study.
Institution of Mechanical Engineers Postgraduate Master's Scholarship
IMechE is offering a number of postgraduate research Scholarships worth up to £6,500 to graduates with a 2:1 honours IMechE-accredited BEng (Hons) degree to allow them to undertake an IMechE-accredited master's degree.
IGEM Postgraduate Master's Scholarship
The Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM) is offering postgraduate master's scholarships worth £6,500 to those studying an Engineering Council-accredited degree.
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society offer Centennial Scholarships for those studying an accredited course.
Lendwise Postgraduate Student Loan
The Lendwise Postgraduate Student Loan provides tuition fees and maintenance loans of between £5,000 and £100,000 for eligible applicants studying at Cranfield University.
SMS-Pro Safety Scholarship
An aviation safety management scholarship to help young leaders drive the aviation safety future. Worth $US1,000.
This course will provide you with the tools and experience to help enhance your career opportunities in the aerospace industry, enabling you to progress further in your present discipline or move into other specialist or integration roles. Networking with students from different backgrounds is valuable to gain an appreciation of how other companies work.
This course can be used for Chartered Engineer status, which can result in new career opportunities for the future.
We recognise the challenge of undertaking part-time study while you are working. This course is specifically designed for people working in engineering or technical management positions in the aerospace industry who wish to study for an accredited master's degree while they are in employment.
Why this course?
This course provides accelerated development of engineering staff whilst delivering the right mix of technical and business skills for careers in the aerospace industry. The course will broaden your understanding of aircraft engineering and design subjects, and provide a strong foundation for career development in technical, integration and leadership roles. This accredited master's course supports your career development by meeting the further learning requirements for Chartered Engineer status. The group project allows you to gain experience in overall aircraft early stage design, and the individual project allows you to investigate a topic that is of interest to your employer, with supervision from experienced staff.
Cranfield has been at the forefront of postgraduate education in aircraft engineering since 1946. We have a global reputation for our advanced postgraduate education and extensive applied research. You can be sure that your qualification will be valued and respected by employers.
You are required to attend a total of nine weeks of lectures over three years on a modular basis. The first-year attendance includes one week in February, followed by one week in June and one week in November.
As well as six compulsory modules, you will choose three optional modules in order to tailor the course to your particular interests and requirements.
The MSc in Aircraft Engineering consists of two elements: taught modules (including a group design project) and an individual research project.
Taught modules 50% (including group project 10%), individual research project 50%
Group Project
The group project is introduced in the Initial Aerospace Vehicle Design module and involves working in teams to produce an aircraft concept from a given set of mission requirements. It is assessed by post module assignment and constitutes 20 credits, 10% of the MSc.
Individual Project
The individual research project allows you to delve deeper into an area of specific interest of your choice, and you are encouraged to select a project that is of relevance to your sponsoring company. You will complete the individual project flexibly during the three years of your studies.
Recent individual research projects have included:
- Hydrogen Civil Airliner Design
- Conceptual Design of a Long-Range Air-Air refuelling UAV for Military Fast Jets
- A ‘More Integrated’ Approach to RFLP in Early Lifecycle Development
- An Investigation into Aircraft Disposal Techniques for Improved Environmental Sustainability
- Rapid eVTOL Wingbox Sizing