MSc in Autonomous Vehicle Dynamics and Control
Bedford, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
21 Sep 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 33,045 **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for UK and Irish students
** for overseas students | £14,520 - for home students
Key Summary
About: The MSc in Autonomous Vehicle Dynamics and Control trains students in autonomy for unmanned aerial and uncrewed aircraft (UAVs, UAS). It covers dynamics and control, guidance and navigation, decision making, sensor and information fusion, communication and networking. Students get hands-on experience in a drone laboratory developing autonomous flight systems. The curriculum reflects Industrial Advisory Board advice and is RAeS-accredited for Further Learning toward Chartered Engineer registration.
Career Outcomes: Graduates apply skills across security, defense, marine, environmental and aerospace sectors and research contexts. You could work as an autonomous systems engineer, design engineer or operations specialist, or pursue a PhD.
The global market for drones and autonomous aerial vehicles is rapidly growing. With a rise in applications for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), the defence and aerospace industries seek graduates conversant in key aspects of autonomy, including: dynamics and control, guidance and navigation, decision making, sensor fusion, data and information fusion, communication and networking.
Students on the MSc in Autonomous Vehicle Dynamics and Control benefit from a distinct educational experience and unique facilities, including our drone laboratory, allowing you to gain hands-on experience in the development of the autonomous flight systems and technologies of tomorrow. The course content has been designed based on advice and industry insights from our Industrial Advisory Board, comprising industrial representatives from big primes to small- and medium-sized enterprises, and is accredited by the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer.
Compulsory Modules
All the modules in the following list need to be taken as part of this course.
- UAS Dynamics and Control
- Aerial Communications Systems
- UAS Modelling and Simulation
- Sensor Fusion
- Autonomous Vehicle Control Systems
- Artificial Intelligence for Autonomous Systems
- Guidance and Navigation for Autonomous Systems
- Multi-Agent Systems
- Cranfield University has been ranked amongst the world’s top universities in the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject.
- In Engineering – Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing, Cranfield has been ranked 27th in the world and attained top scores in Employer and Academic Reputation.
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.
Cranfield University GREAT Scholarship
In partnership with the British Council and the GREAT Britain Campaign, Cranfield University is offering 5 scholarships of financial support to the value of £10,000 to students from Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Thailand and Vietnam.
Master's Loan from Student Finance England
A Master's Loan is now available for UK 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.
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.
Graduates from this course will be equipped with the advanced skills which could be applied to the security, defence, marine, environmental and aerospace industries. This approach offers you a wide range of career choices as an autonomous systems engineer, design engineer or in an operations role, at graduation and in the future.
Others decide to continue their education through PhD studies available within Cranfield University or elsewhere.
This course provides graduates from a range of disciplines with the advanced skills that can be applied to the security, defence, marine, environmental and aerospace industries.
Typically, students have academic backgrounds in engineering, science, physics or applied mathematics and have a keen interest in aerospace and autonomous aerial vehicles.
Why this course?
This course is unique in that it offers a combination of subjects much sought after in the autonomous vehicle industry. Successful graduates of our MSc course become conversant in key aspects of autonomy, which places them at an advantage in today's competitive employment market.
The Autonomous Vehicle Dynamics and Control MSc includes eight taught compulsory modules, which are generally delivered from October to March. The course begins with the fundamentals of autonomous vehicle dynamics and control, and progresses to the core subjects of guidance and navigation, sensor fusion, advanced control, decision making, and AI for autonomous systems.
The taught segment of the course is followed by individual research projects (IRPs), and the topic of each of the IRPs is provided by one of the members of the Industrial Advisory Board. The real-world relevance of the IRP topics is another unique feature of the MSc course and can be another effective differentiator in the job market.
A key feature of the MSc is the inclusion of a CAA-approved UAV remote pilot competence course. The course incorporates a ground school element for flight planning – covering principles of flight, rules and regulations of the air, using aviation charts, risk assessment and meteorology – and flight training to provide basic pilot competence, including how to respond in an emergency and being able to operate safety features. Successful completion of the course allows students to fly small UAVs in the Open Category.
The taught course element consists of lectures in three areas: dynamics, control systems, and autonomous systems and technology. The MSc course consists of two equally weighted components, taught modules, an individual research project, and a group project.
Taught modules 10% | Group project 50% | Individual research project 40%
Group Project
The group design project facilitates the design, build and operation of autonomous vehicles, thus integrating and applying the knowledge students acquire in the taught modules. The group design project also aims to provide students with experience of working on a collaborative engineering project, within an industry structured team, developing transferable skills that include working in a team with members having diverse backgrounds and expertise, project management and technical presentations.
Individual Project
Our industry partners sponsor individual research projects, allowing you to choose a topic that is commercially relevant and current. Topics are chosen during the first teaching period in October, and you begin work during the second half of the MSc course (May-August). The project allows you to delve deeper into an area of specific interest, taking the theory from the taught modules and joining it with practical experience.
Projects encompass various aspects of operations, not only concerned with design but including payloads, civil applications, systems, sensors and other feasibility studies the industry wishes to explore.
For the duration of the project, each student is assigned both a university and an industry supervisor. In recent years, students have been based at sponsor companies for sections of their research and have been given access to company software/facilities.
During the thesis project, all students give regular presentations to the course team and class, which provides an opportunity to improve their presentation skills and learn more about the broad range of industry-sponsored projects.
Previous projects have included:
- Adaptive Flight Control
- Control System for a Novel UAV
- Mars Terrain Visual and Spectral Analysis
- Optimal Control Inputs for a Racing Car in a Racing Circuit