Aerospace Systems Engineering (with Placement Year)

• Our Mechanical Engineering courses ranked 3rd in the UK (Guardian University Guide, 2020).
• Expert guest lectures, which previously have covered topics such as green landing systems, airship developments, aircraft design and training, and non-destructive testing in aircraft braking systems (.subject to availability).
• On and off site access to commercial engineering software, including 3D CAD, Finite Element Analysis, Computational Fluid Dynamics and Multibody Systems for design and simulation, as well as training in industry standard Catia, HyperWorks, STAR-CCM+, SIMPACK and Matlab/Simulink software. (Limitations to off-site access may apply)
• Our excellent facilities include a full-size Harrier Jet (used for teaching), 3 full scale flight simulators, wind tunnel, composites lab, metrology lab, environmental test lab, flow lab, AVL engine test cell, automotive workshop, fatigue and tensile testing (Instron), civil engineering specialist testing equipment, a range of CNC machinery and a laser workshop.
• Free student membership of WES, the Women’s Engineering Society, which is an Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity society open to all regardless of gender identity.
• This course is currently accredited by RAeS for the [2021/22] intake. If the accreditation of this course changes, we would seek to notify applicants and students as soon as possible.

The first year aims to build on your established skills to provide a foundation of key engineering subjects and an essential grounding in the key aeronautical principles. You will be provided with an introduction to aerospace topics including aerodynamics, power plants, aircraft systems and structures.

This is reinforced with the use of practical laboratory sessions using our full-sized aircraft, wind tunnel and flight simulator hardware. For example, you will have the opportunity to remove, inspect, overhaul and reinstate critical aircraft components like the aircraft braking system, aileron or rudder.

You will also have the chance to perform a series of aircraft manoeuvres in the Merlin flight simulator to collect data to analyse the flying characteristic of the aircraft and design, develop and manufacture crashworthy landing gears for quadcopter using 3D printers.

The second year builds on the foundations of Year 1 to enhance your specialist knowledge and analysis in the key aerospace systems themes of the programme. The majority of the modules include teaching of industry standard specialist computer aided analysis tools to support your study and enhance your employability.

Following your second year, there is an option to apply for a one-year professional work placement.

Past students have undertaken placements working for Aero Engine Controls, GE Aviation, UTC Actuation Systems, HS Marston, Rolls-Royce, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Airbus Bertrandt, Meggitt, Tata Technologies, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, JCB, BMW, Morgan Materials, GKN Aerospace and Arrowsmith.

If you wish to undertake the optional study abroad/placement year, you will take either the Placement Year module or the Study Abroad Year module which both typically run for a full academic year between levels 5 and 6 of your course. You are normally able to progress onto the relevant module if you have successfully completed the first two years of the course (i.e. having accumulated 240 credits) and have a confirmed opportunity two weeks prior to the start of the academic year, however we encourage international students to confirm their placements earlier to ensure they are able to meet any applicable visa requirements.

Students opting for either the work placement or study abroad module will be registered on a non-credit bearing module and therefore no additional tuition fees apply. While the modules do not bear credits, they do require completion of a marked activities reflecting on your placement/study abroad or work placement experience. Following successful completion of the activities, the module selected will appear on your final academic transcript.

Students will thus graduate with 360 credits in total, assuming successful completion of their final year.

*Please note that we are unable to guarantee any placement or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (e.g. travel, visas and accommodation etc.), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the requirements in this regard, please contact the International Office for further details if you are an EU or International student.

The course culminates with your individual research project. Past students have examined flight data analysis for Red Bull Air Racing, aerodynamic noise reduction of van roof racks, diesel engine duty cycle optimisation and heat exchanger optimisation for local companies. Other projects include real-time control of Segway type rig, winglet design and testing.

MEng students will study this same programme but are streamed in their group projects (Aerospace Systems Design and Aerospace System Prototype and Validation) to ensure that their built aircraft provides the platform for the systems integration module of their final MEng year.

At master’s level, the course is designed to deepen your knowledge and understanding of core aerospace subjects (system integration, propulsion system design, structural design and materials) and strategic management to enable you to solve multidisciplinary problems of increasing complexity.

The MEng year is an optional additional year, and students can chose to exit with a BEng (Hons) degree after three years, or if they meet the entry criteria for the MEng year they may continue (details of criteria are provided for in the programme specification on this course webpage).

Previous graduates have obtained jobs in the military as:

• pilots and engineers
• systems design engineers for Marshalls of Cambridge and Rolls Royce in Derby
• engineers in various aspects of the aerospace industry, with companies such as Meggitt, Goodrich, Moog and HS Marstons

We have graduates currently working overseas at Airbus in France and Berntrandt in Germany.