University College London (UCL)
Manufacturing with Innovation and Enterprise MSc
London, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 39,800 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international students: full time £39,800 | UK students: full time £20,500. Additional fees may apply
This master's program focuses on how manufacturing companies can innovate and grow in today’s competitive world. It combines technical knowledge with business skills, giving students a solid foundation in manufacturing processes, design, and enterprise strategies. You’ll learn how to develop new products, optimize production, and implement sustainable solutions. The course blends theory with real-world challenges, preparing students to lead change and foster innovation in manufacturing settings.
The program emphasizes entrepreneurship and management alongside technical training, helping students understand the full picture of manufacturing enterprises. It encourages a collaborative learning environment, often involving industry projects and guest lectures from experts. Graduates will gain relevant skills for roles that involve improving manufacturing systems, managing innovation projects, or starting their own ventures. This course aims to equip students with the practical knowledge needed to adapt to the evolving manufacturing landscape and contribute to technological progress.
Teaching and learning
This MSc programme is delivered through a mix of tutorials, lectures, laboratory work, projects and practicals, which frequently draw upon real-life industry case studies.
Assessment is through examinations, presentations, coursework, the group design project, and your individual research project.
Full-time students on this programme can expect approximately 12-16 hours of contact hours per teaching week. The exact number of contact hours and composition varies throughout the terms, depending on the module choices of the student. A full-time weekly schedule will amount to 35-40 hours a week, which comprises contact time, self-directed study, and preparing for assessments.
Your project module will see you conduct research, write up your final report, and engage in regular contact with your project supervisor(s), who will guide and support you throughout your project.
Modules
Full-time
This programme involves you undertaking two projects: an Innovation Group Design Project and an Individual Research Project. Both projects should have a focus on innovation and manufacturing, and many of these projects will have a strong collaboration with industry. In the first, you will work in small groups to either solve an industrial problem or develop your own idea that could be launched to market. For the second project, you work individually on aspects of a novel idea.
You will take four compulsory modules in the areas of finance, entrepreneurship, characterisation of materials and nanoengineering, as well as two optional modules. Designed to develop additional engineering knowledge and modelling skills, as well as transferable skills enabling you to work in interdisciplinary ways.
Students on this programme will work alongside students on the Future Manufacturing and Nanoscale Engineering MSc programme to collaborate in modules across new areas in Nanoengineering and Advanced Material Characterisation.
The Group Design Project is assessed via written reports and presentations. The Individual Research Project comprises a large part of the programme running from March to September. This is carried out under the supervision of an academic member of staff and is assessed via a written report and a project presentation.
Compulsory modules
- MSc Individual Project (60 Credits)
- Innovation and Group Design Project
- Entrepreneurial Finance
- Mastering Entrepreneurship
- Fundamentals of Nanoengineering
- Advanced Characterisation & Laboratory Techniques
Optional modules
- Advanced Computer Applications in Engineering
- Material Design for Manufacturing
- Precision Manufacturing
- Sustainability Analysis of Engineering Systems
Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment, and module content and availability are subject to change.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Manufacturing with Innovation and Enterprise.
Placement
Internships, industrial mentorships and work experience are available to students as part of their individual project.
UCL Scholarships
There are a number of scholarships available to postgraduate students, including our UCL Master's Bursary for UK students and our UCL Global Master's Scholarship for international students. You can click the link below to search via the scholarships finder for awards that you might be eligible for. Your academic department will also be able to provide you with more information about funding.
External Scholarships
Online aggregators like Postgraduate Studentships, Scholarship Search, Postgraduate Funding and International Financial Aid and College Scholarship Search contain information on a variety of external schemes.
If you have specific circumstances or an ethnic or religious background, it is worth searching for scholarships/bursaries/grants that relate to those things. Some schemes are very specific.
Funding for disabled students
Master's students who have a disability may be able to get extra funding for additional costs they incur to study.
What this course will give you
This programme offers you the following benefits and opportunities.
- A postgraduate degree from a top-ranked university. UCL is consistently ranked among the best universities globally (ranked 9th in the latest QS World University Rankings 2025), providing you with a prestigious qualification that is highly regarded by employers worldwide.
- The chance to study at UCL Mechanical Engineering, the first in the world to introduce laboratories in engineering education in 1878.
- A Master’s degree, which is in the process of being accredited by the IMechE on behalf of the Engineering Council. This means that on completion of this MSc, you could meet the academic requirements to register as a Chartered Engineer.
- Creative solutions for a better future, with lifecycle thinking approaches that ensure your innovations are inclusively designed with positive cultural, social and environmental impact.
- Skills to develop and implement advanced design materials, using computational modelling techniques. In-depth knowledge and understanding of emerging fields such as precision manufacturing.
- Collaboration opportunities with your peers and industry partners (where possible) on the group design project and individual projects, using everything you’ve learned to design and deliver a working prototype. Students have previously done individual projects on internships at Archipelago Technology and Afga, while other projects were mentored by Aricode and Domino Printing Sciences plc.
- Real-world manufacturing conditions at our new, purpose-built engineering facilities at UCL East Campus on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
- Perspectives from leading academics and external industry partners across both engineering and entrepreneurial disciplines, with regular consultation hours, module-specific discussion forums and a self-directed individual research project developed in close liaison with your project supervisor.
The foundation of your career
The skills you will learn on this Master's will be valuable either in a start-up scenario, or in a variety of exciting career opportunities with established organisations.
Recent graduates of our department have gone onto work for organisations such as Rolls Royce, SpaceX, Mercedes AMG and the Royal Navy (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2017-22).
Others have successfully launched their own enterprises, including environmental firm Greenr, custom-fit cycle helmet company Hexr, and biomedical outfit Oxford Heartbeat.
Employability
Graduating with this Master’s means you will have the technical skills and entrepreneurial expertise to either launch your own innovative product or start-up, or step into any number of exciting positions at leading companies in the manufacturing, automotive or aerospace industries. You’ll also get enterprise-ready through a wealth of entrepreneurship guidance and training, including the UCL Innovation and Enterprise entrepreneurship skills programme. This programme offers an entire ecosystem of start-up support, with events, lectures, enterprise bootcamps, competitions and more.
Networking
You’ll have regular opportunities to connect, collaborate and build professional contacts as part of your Master’s. You will be able to:
- Get involved with tailored events at both the faculty and departmental level, facilitated by UCL Careers, UCL’s alumni team, and UCL Innovation and Enterprise.
- Enjoy regular access to industry experts throughout the programme, including industry supervision over your group project.
- Join and organise student-led events, such as industry visits or guest lectures, with a focus on specific industrial sectors relevant to your studies.
Accreditation
This course has been accredited by the IMechE on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer.
The accredited MSc will meet, in part, the exemplifying academic benchmark requirements for registration as a Chartered Engineering. Accredited MSc graduates who also have a BEng (Hons) accredited for CEng will be able to show that they have satisfied the educational base for CEng registration.