Cranfield facts and figures

Cranfield Defence and Security

Did you know:

  • Cranfield is the only university in the UK to have its own airfield.

  • A significant amount of our funding comes from research and consultancy, with only 14% from central government.

  • We are one of the top five research-intensive universities in the UK, alongside Oxford, Cambridge and London’s Imperial College.

  • 54% of all aerospace engineering postgraduates and 25% of all agricultural and environmental sciences postgraduates in the UK graduate at Cranfield.  And over 10% of the UK’s engineering and sciences PhDs are awarded by Cranfield.

  • Cranfield has facilities that are the envy of the industrial world: a unique cabin evacuation research facility seating over 200 people, a large flight simulator, icing tunnels, a crash impact centre, a sewage works, ranges for testing weapons and explosives, and precision engineering laboratories which house the most accurate diamond machining facilities in the world.

  • Cranfield’s staff:student ratio is positioned second among UK universities. 

  • Cranfield’s world-renowned MBA is ranked 11th in the world according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, places Cranfield above such competitors as Harvard, LBS and INSEAD

  • 93% of our students go on to relevant work or further study within 6 months of graduation.

  • With only 2,000 students, Cranfield is a close-knit campus, offering a focused and mature atmosphere. 

  • Cranfield’s partners include more than 100 European institutions. 

  • Cranfield has alliances with a number of leading international institutions including the Institute of Clinical Research (India), Darden Graduate School of Business Administration (USA) and China Europe International Business School (Shanghai).

  • Cranfield offers a unique support service called CUBIC in which fledgling companies can rent space from the University.

  • We have strategic relationships with household names such as Boeing, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems.

  • Cultural diversity characterises Cranfield – students representing over 100 of the world’s nationalities come to study here.

  • The University is the biggest employer in mid-Bedfordshire and the University’s Technology Park is the second biggest.

  • Cranfield’s unique MTech allows students to combine study on campus with company-based study.

  • About 850 students study at Cranfield Defence and Security in Shrivenham, Wiltshire. 

  • 27% of Cranfield’s graduates find employment in the Defence and Security sector.