Study an Energy and Power MSc at Cranfield
This MSc is a general, advanced mechanical engineering course particularly relevant to the energy sector which include mechanical engineering design and assessment. Students will learn project management, design, computer-aided engineering, operation and optimisation of machinery, structural mechanics and integrity making them suited to a future career in industry, government or research. Why study Energy and Power at Cranfield? - hear from Dr Gill Drew.
Hear from Advanced Mechanical Engineering MSc alumnus Giulio Gatti
At a glance
- Start dateFull-time: October. Part-time: October
- DurationOne year full-time; two-three years part-time
- DeliveryTaught modules 40%; Group Project 20%; Individual Research Project 40%
- QualificationMSc, PgDip, PgCert
- Study typeFull-time / Part-time
Who is it for?
Advanced Mechanical Engineering at Cranfield is unique in that it offers you a broad range of mechanical engineering projects with an added management component. This provides the opportunity for you to enhance your mechanical engineering skill, with a view to developing your career managing large engineering projects.
In addition to management, communication, team work and research skills, you will attain at least the following learning outcomes from this degree course:
- Application of knowledge, fundamental understanding and critical awareness of advanced mechanical engineering techniques to provide solutions in the energy sector
- Evaluate appropriate advanced technologies and management issues to provide solutions for international industries and/or research organisations
- Acquire, critically assess the relative merits, and effectively use appropriate information from a variety of sources.
Your career
Industry driven research makes our graduates some of the most desirable in the world for recruitment. The MSc in Advanced Mechanical Engineering takes you onto a challenging career in industry, government or research. The course reflects the strengths and reputation of Cranfield particularly in the energy and management sectors. Graduates of this course have been successful in gaining employment including in the following roles:
- Mechanical Design Engineer at Siemens
- Production Line Supervisor & Lean Implementer at GKN Land Systems
- Staff Engineer at BPP Technical Services Ltd working on offshore oil and gas engineering.
- Engineer at Det Norske Veritas
- Management Associate at BMW Group UK Limited
- Project Engineer at BASF Coatings S.A.
Cranfield Careers Service
Our Careers Service can help you find the job you want after leaving Cranfield. We will work with you to identify suitable opportunities and support you in the job application process for up to three years after graduation. We have been providing Masters level training for over 20 years. Our strong reputation and links with potential employers provide you with outstanding opportunities to secure interesting jobs and develop successful careers. The increasing interest in sustainability and corporate and social responsibility has also enhanced the career prospects of our graduates.
Why this course?
The MSc in Advanced Mechanical Engineering is differentiated from other courses available primarily by its industrial context delivered through the strong links we have with national and international industry. We build our industrial links through our research and consultancy, which allows us to provide practical and current examples to help illustrate learning throughout the course.
Informed by Industry
This degree is particularly industrially focused; course staff are heavily involved in industrially funded and oriented research and development.
Course content is reviewed annually by the course team and project/group work is by and large related to the Department's industrially funded research.
Your teaching team
You will be taught by Cranfield’s leading academic experts including, the course also includes visiting lecturers from industry who will relate the theory to current best practise.
Course details
The taught programme for the Advanced Mechanical Engineering masters is generally delivered from October until March and is comprised of eight compulsory taught modules. Students on the part-time programme will complete all of the compulsory modules based on a flexible schedule that will be agreed with the Course Director.
This course is also available on a part-time basis for individuals who wish to study whilst remaining in full-time employment. This enables students from all over the world to complete this qualification whilst balancing work/life commitments. We are very well located for visiting part-time students from all over the world, and offer a range of library and support facilities to support your studies. This MSc programme benefits from a wide range of cultural backgrounds which significantly enhances the learning experience for both staff and students.
Group project
The group project, undertaken between October and April, enables you to put the skills and knowledge developed during the taught modules into practice in an applied context using practice analytical and numerical skills. You will also gain transferable skills in project management, teamwork and independent research.
The aim of the group project is to provide you with direct experience of applying knowledge to an industrially relevant problem that requires a team-based multidisciplinary solution. You will develop a fundamental range of skills required to work in a team including team member roles and responsibilities, project management, delivering technical presentations and exploiting the variety of expertise of each individual member. Industry involvement is an integral component for the group project, to give you first-hand experience at working within real life challenging situations.
It is clear that the modern design engineer cannot be divorced from the commercial world. In order to provide practice in this matter, a presentation and poster will be required from all students. This provides the opportunity to develop presentation skills and effectively handle questions about complex issues in a professional manner. All groups submit a written report and deliver a presentation to the industry partner.
Part-time students are encouraged to participate in a group project as it provides a wealth of learning opportunities. However, an option of an individual dissertation is available if agreed with the Course Director.
Recent group projects include:
- Preliminary design of an offshore floating wind turbine
- Multi-disciplinary design of an high speed marine vehicle with aerodynamic surfaces
- Design optimisation of the drive train for a vertical axis wind turbine.
- Conversion of consumer waste plastic into new plastics
- Design specification of pilot scale 142 kWth air/rock
- Thermodynamic modelling of using Ca-based sorbents for heavy metal emission control during contaminated biomass combustion
- Conceptual and preliminary design of a SPAR for a 5 MW VAWT
- OpenO&M: Optimising availability of floating wind turbines for increased safety
- Investigation of severe slugging in pipelines
Individual project
The aim of the individual research project is to provide you with direct experience in undertaking a research/development project in a relevant industrial or research area. You will make a formal presentation of your findings to a panel of academics and industry experts and submit a research thesis.
The individual research project component takes place from March to August.
For part-time students it is common that their research thesis is undertaken in collaboration with their place of work and supported by academic supervision.
Recent individual research projects include:
- Comparison of a panel method and Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) method to estimate the aerodynamic coefficients of a profile flying in ground effect
- The stress shielding effect of cracks in loaded components
- Review and modelling of heave and roll motion passive damping systems for offshore floating support structures for wind turbines.
Assessment
Taught modules 40%; Group Project 20%; Individual Research Project 40%University Disclaimer
Keeping our courses up-to-date and current requires constant innovation and change. The modules we offer reflect the needs of business and industry and the research interests of our staff and, as a result, may change or be withdrawn due to research developments, legislation changes or for a variety of other reasons. Changes may also be designed to improve the student learning experience or to respond to feedback from students, external examiners, accreditation bodies and industrial advisory panels.
To give you a taster, we have listed the compulsory modules and (where applicable) some elective modules affiliated with this programme which ran in the academic year 2017–2018. There is no guarantee that these modules will run for 2018 entry. All modules are subject to change depending on your year of entry.
Compulsory modules
All the modules in the following list need to be taken as part of this course
Fluid Mechanics and Loading
| Aim |
To provide a theoretical and applied understanding of fluid mechanics and fluid loading on structures. |
|---|---|
| Syllabus |
Principles of fluid dynamics: Dynamics of floating bodies: from simple hydrostatics to complex dynamic response in waves. |
| Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
|
Advanced Control Systems
| Aim |
To introduce methodologies for the design of control systems for industrial applications. |
|---|---|
| Syllabus |
|
| Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Risk and Reliability Engineering
| Module Leader |
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|---|---|
| Aim |
To introduce the principles of risk management and reliability engineering and solve relevant engineering problems through widely applied methods and tools. |
| Syllabus |
|
| Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Engineering Stress Analysis: Theory and Simulations
| Aim |
This module brings together theoretical and computational stress analysis through Finite Element simulations, allowing students to appreciate how the two disciplines interact in practice and what their strengths and limitations are. The examination of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for various practical applications (e.g. engineering components, composite structures, rotating disks, cracked geometries) in conjunction with relevant case studies will allow students to combine theoretical understanding with practical experience in order to develop their skills to model and analyse complex engineering problems. |
|---|---|
| Syllabus |
|
| Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Computational Fluid Dynamics for Renewable Energy
| Aim |
To introduce the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques and tools for modelling, simulating and analysing practical engineering problems with hands on experience using commercial software packages used in industry. |
|---|---|
| Syllabus |
|
| Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Heat and Power Generation Systems
| Aim |
Understanding of the principles of operation, configuration, characteristics and key implementation issues of various types of power plant. |
|---|---|
| Syllabus |
|
| Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Structural Integrity
| Aim |
To provide an understanding of pertinent issues concerning the use of engineering materials and practical tools for solving structural integrity and structural fitness-for-service problems. |
|---|---|
| Syllabus |
|
| Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Management for Technology
| Module Leader |
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|---|---|
| Aim |
The importance of technology leadership in driving the technical aspects of an organisations products, innovation, programmes, operations and strategy is paramount, especially in today’s turbulent commercial environment with its unprecedented pace of technological development. Demand for ever more complex products and services has become the norm. The challenge for today’s manager is to deal with uncertainty, to allow technological innovation and change to flourish but also to remain within planned parameters of performance. Many organisations engaged with technological innovation struggle to find engineers with the right skills. Specifically, engineers have extensive subject/discipline knowledge but do not understand management processes in organisational context. In addition, STEM graduates often lack interpersonal skills. |
| Syllabus |
|
| Intended learning outcomes |
On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
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Fees and funding
European Union students applying for university places in the 2018 to 2019 academic year will still have access to student funding support. Please see the UK Government’s announcement (21 April 2017).
Cranfield University welcomes applications from students from all over the world for our postgraduate programmes. The Home/EU student fees listed continue to apply to EU students.
| MSc Full-time | £8,500 |
| MSc Part-time | £1,635 * |
| PgDip Full-time | £6,500 |
| PgDip Part-time | £1,635 * |
| PgCert Full-time | £3,250 |
| PgCert Part-time | £1,635 * |
Fee notes:
- The fees outlined apply to all students whose initial date of registration falls on or between 1 August 2018 and 31 July 2019.
- All students pay the tuition fee set by the University for the full duration of their registration period agreed at their initial registration.
- A deposit may be payable, depending on your course.
- Additional fees for extensions to the agreed registration period may be charged.
- Fee eligibility at the Home/EU rate is determined with reference to UK Government regulations. As a guiding principle, EU nationals (including UK) who are ordinarily resident in the EU pay Home/EU tuition fees, all other students (including those from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man) pay Overseas fees.
| MSc Full-time | £19,000 |
| MSc Part-time | £19,000 ** |
| PgDip Full-time | £15,200 |
| PgDip Part-time | £15,200 ** |
| PgCert Full-time | £7,600 |
| PgCert Part-time | £11,310 ** |
Fee notes:
- The fees outlined apply to all students whose initial date of registration falls on or between 1 August 2018 and 31 July 2019.
- All students pay the tuition fee set by the University for the full duration of their registration period agreed at their initial registration.
- A deposit may be payable, depending on your course.
- Additional fees for extensions to the agreed registration period may be charged.
- Fee eligibility at the Home/EU rate is determined with reference to UK Government regulations. As a guiding principle, EU nationals (including UK) who are ordinarily resident in the EU pay Home/EU tuition fees, all other students (including those from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man) pay Overseas fees.
Funding Opportunities
To help students in finding and securing 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.
GREAT China Scholarship
The GREAT Cranfield University Scholarship China is jointly funded by Cranfield University and the British Council. Two scholarships of £11,000 each for Chinese students are available.
We have a limited number of scholarships available for candidates from around the world applying for the 2018 intake. Scholarships are awarded to applicants who show both aptitude and ability for the subject they are applying. Find out more about the Cranfield Scholarship
Postgraduate Loan from Student Finance EnglandA Postgraduate Loan is now available for UK and EU applicants to help you pay for your Master’s course. You can apply for a loan at GOV.UK
Santander MSc ScholarshipThe Santander Scholarship at Cranfield University is worth £5,000 towards tuition fees for full-time master's courses. Check the scholarship page to find out if you are from an eligible Santander Universities programme country.
Commonwealth Scholarships for Developing CountriesStudents 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 monthly stipend for Master’s study.
Future Finance Student LoansCranfield University has partnered with Future Finance as an alternative source of funding for our students.
Chevening ScholarshipsChevening Scholarships are awarded to outstanding emerging leaders to pursue a one-year master’s at Cranfield university. The scholarship includes tuition fees, travel and monthly stipend for Master’s study.
Commonwealth Shared ScholarshipStudents from developing countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the UK can apply for a Commonwealth Shared Scholarship which includes tuition fees, travel and monthly stipend for Master’s study, jointly supported by Cranfield University.
Cranfield Postgraduate Loan Scheme (CPLS)The Cranfield Postgraduate Loan Scheme (CPLS) is a funding programme providing affordable tuition fee and maintenance loans for full-time UK/EU students studying technology-based MSc courses.
Conacyt (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia)Cranfield offers competitive scholarships for Mexican students in conjunction with Conacyt (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia) in science, technology and engineering.
BPP-Tech Scholarships
The following industry scholarships, worth up to £1,500, are available to the candidates applying to the MSc in Advanced Mechanical Engineering:
- One “BPP-Tech Excellence in Energy Studies” partial tuition fees scholarship, sponsored by BPP-Tech (www.bpp-tech.com)
- One “BPP-Cables Sustainable Futures” partial tuition fees scholarship, sponsored by BPP-Tech (www.bpp-tech.com)
IMechE is offering a number of postgraduate research Scholarships worth up to £6,500 to graduates with a 2:1 honours IMechE accredited BEng(Hons) degree to allow them to undertake an IMechE accredited Masters degree.
IGEM Postgraduate Masters ScholarshipThe Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM) is offering postgraduate Masters Scholarships worth £6,500 to those studying an Engineering Council accredited degree.
Royal Aeronautical SocietyThe Royal Aeronautical Society offer Centennial Scholarships and British Aviation Group Scholarships.
Entry requirements
A first or second class UK Honours degree (or equivalent) in mathematics, physics or an engineering discipline. Other recognised professional qualifications or several years relevant industrial experience may be accepted as equivalent; subject to approval by the Course Director.
Applicants who do not fulfill the standard entry requirements can apply for the Pre-Masters programme, successful completion of which will qualify them for entry to this course for a second year of study.
English Language
If you are an international student you will need to provide evidence that you have achieved a satisfactory test result in an English qualification. Our minimum requirements are as follows:
- IELTS Academic - 6.5 overall
- TOEFL - 92
- Pearson PTE Academic - 65
- Cambridge English Scale - 180
- Cambridge English: Advanced - C
- Cambridge English: Proficiency - C
- Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English III - minimum overall score of pass
In addition to these minimum scores you are also expected to achieve a balanced score across all elements of the test. We reserve the right to reject any test score if any one element of the test score is too low.
We can only accept tests taken within two years of your registration date (with the exception of Cambridge English tests which have no expiry date).
Students requiring a Tier 4 (General) visa must ensure they can meet the English language requirements set out by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and we recommend booking a IELTS for UKVI test.
Applicants who do not already meet the English language entry requirement for their chosen Cranfield course can apply to attend one of our Presessional English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses. We offer Winter/Spring and Summer programmes each year to offer holders.
