You will study the same courses in the first three years whether you are on the BEng or MEng degree programme.

Year 1

In your first year you will study core subjects in aeronautical and electrical systems, which will provide you with the necessary groundwork for future years of study.

Years 2 and 3

In the second and third years you will concentrate on aerospace dynamics, aeronautical engineering, electronics and systems, electrical circuits and mathematics. Also, throughout the programme there will be a focus on developing key software programming skills.

Years 4 and 5

The main route to becoming a fully chartered engineer is through the MEng degree, which usually takes five years. The BEng degree remains popular and can normally be completed in four years. To become a fully chartered engineer with a BEng degree requires further study after graduation, which can be done part-time from work. Your selection for BEng or MEng depends on your progress record in your first three years.

As a BEng student you will study topics including flight simulation, aerospace vehicle guidance and control, radio and radar, spacecraft systems, dynamics, aircraft handling qualities and aircraft operations.
If you are an MEng student, in your fourth year you will begin to deal with some of the more advanced concepts that make the development of aerospace systems so crucial to the success of an aircraft design. You will also take the in-flight testing laboratory and the scope of your project work is different to BEng students.

Fifth-year study widens your knowledge at the same time as providing you with more in-depth study of aircraft systems. You will learn about aircraft handling qualities, aircraft operations, and advanced control concepts. Half of your fifth year is devoted to project work.

Laboratories are present in each year of study. These may involve running computer simulations or require measurements in an experimental test.

A feature of the fourth year of the MEng is a flight-testing course in a Jetstream Aircraft.

Industry involvement comes both from contributions to aircraft design classes by engineers from the industrial sector and, whenever possible, from visits to industrial sites.

The MEng degree programme allows you to take your fifth-year project in one of our partner universities and organisations in continental Europe. In addition to this, we have partner universities in the USA and Australia, and some students have taken their third year of study in these institutions.

The School of Engineering is one of three in the UK selected by BAE Systems for ‘preferred’ status, which has favourable implications for industrial involvement in the programme and for jobs with the company.

The constant demand for the renewing of aircraft and the increase in the complexity of aircraft systems leads to a demand for aerospace systems engineers, with a wide spectrum of career opportunities in the fields of software and hardware design, simulation and expert systems. Past graduates have gained employment with companies such as QinetiQ, Logica, BAE Systems, Thales and Unisys,while a number of graduates have proceeded to postgraduate research in this specialised and expanding branch of engineering.