This course meets the requirements of the Level 7 Explosives Ordnance Engineering Master's Apprenticeship Standard. Eligible organisations will be able to use their Apprenticeship Levy to cover the cost of the course tuition fees. View Fees and Funding information, or find out more about Master's Apprenticeships. Applications are now open for the September 2023 cohort. Expressions of interest should be submitted by the deadline of 26th June 2023, with full applications submitted by the deadline of 11th July 2023.

We see, hear and use thousands of explosives around the world every day, from the military and defence sector to mining and other industrial operations. This means the requirement for expertise in explosives and their engineering is crucial. 

The Explosives Ordnance Engineering MSc will teach you the necessary understanding behind explosive engineering, munitions and target response and look to the future in explosives development. 

This course allows you to take several elective modules to suit your career path. The choice can be made to focus on the likes of commercial explosives, safety or rocket propulsion. It becomes critical for those in careers in civilian and non-civilian roles which use, handle or engineering explosives or explosive materials. 

The course offers advanced academic background necessary for students to contribute effectively to technically demanding projects in the field of explosives and explosives ordnance engineering (EOE).

Overview

  • Start dateSeptember
  • DurationMSc: 11 months full-time, up to five years part-time; PgDip: up to 11 months full-time, up to four years part-time; PgCert: up to 11 months full-time, up to 3 years part-time
  • DeliveryCoursework, examination, group project and individual thesis (MSc only)
  • QualificationMSc, PgDip, PgCert
  • Study typeFull-time / Part-time
  • CampusCranfield University at Shrivenham

Who is it for?

This course has been designed specifically to provide an opportunity to a wide range of attendees, including military officers, defence industry staff, government servants and civilian students, to provide knowledge and transferable skills that will enhance employment potential in this field, problem solving, self-direction and informed communication skills.

Students can learn in a flexible manner as it offers both part-time and full-time learning all with full access to an outstanding remote virtual learning environment and online literature through our extensive library facilities.

Why this course?

This course specialises in explosive ordnance and engineering and is world class in teaching and research. We have a diverse student body drawn mainly from personnel linked to the military from numerous industries and institutions in the UK as well as overseas, providing a rich educational experience.

Students are introduced to up-to-date and current research, which enables them to obtain a critical awareness to problem solving and capability to evaluate both military and commercial best practice in the field of EOE.

Some visits are restricted to Five Eyes nations only (i.e. Aus/Can/UK/US/NZ). Please contact us for more information.

 

Course details

Part One of the MSc course contains an introductory period followed by academic instruction, which is in modular form. Students take ten core modules covering the main disciplines and choose two optional modules based upon their particular background, future requirements or research interests. 

Course delivery

Coursework, examination, group project and individual thesis (MSc only)

Group project

To integrate module learning into an overall critical evaluation of new trends in EOE, students undertake a group project, which considers current ‘Hot Topics in EOE’ - for example, nanotechnology, insensitive munitions, analysis and detection and environmental initiatives. The group project involves students working together to research these hot topics and to critically appraise the facts, principles, concepts, and theories relating to a specific area of EOE. They do this as a group and then individually prepare elements of a presentation that they feedback in groups to their peers in an open forum. The presentation is then graded from an individual and group perspective.  

The group project enables the students to work as a team, enhances their communication skills and encourages the ability to present scientific ideas in a clear and concise manner. It also gives the students an understanding of the procedures and challenges associated with peer review and grading, and prioritisation of presented work against a clear assessment framework.

Individual project

The aim of the project phase is to give students an opportunity to apply the skills, knowledge and understanding acquired on the taught phase of the course to a practical problem in EOE. A list of available project titles is produced in the first few months of the course so that a student can make an early choice and begin planning their programmes well before the project phase begins. Suggestions for projects may come from a variety of sources, for example, an individual student’s sponsor, a member of staff or the wider EOE community.

Modules

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 and elective (where applicable) modules which are currently affiliated with this course. All modules are indicative only, and may be subject to change for your year of entry.


Accreditation

The MSc of this course meets the educational requirements for the Engineering Council UK register of Chartered Engineers (CEng); the course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

Accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Candidates must hold a CEng accredited BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree to comply with full CEng registration requirements. 

This course is CEng accredited and fulfils the educational requirements for registration as a Chartered Engineer when presented with a CEng accredited bachelor's programme.

  

 

 

Your career

Many of the students are linked to military employment and as such are sponsored through this route. Therefore, the majority of students continue to work for them on completion of the course. However, the course has the potential to take you on to enhanced career opportunities often at a more senior level across a range of roles corresponding with your experience.

How to apply

Next steps

If you would like to find out more general information about the course and your eligibility to attend the programme, if you'd like specific information on the course please contact the course director Dr Tracey Temple

For employer related enquiries, fees and funding, and the expression of interest/application process, please contact our Apprenticeships Team

Employers: Please complete our Expression of Interest form.
Prospective students: Please ask your employer to submit an Expression of Interest form to indicate their willingness to sponsor you.

Applications for apprenticeship routes have to come via the Expression of Interest form. Apprenticeship applications received via the application button on the non-apprenticeship pages will not be processed.

Under the Apprenticeship Levy scheme employers can fund apprenticeships for any new and current staff with the right to work in the UK and whose main place of work is England. This programme meets the requirements of the Level 7 Ordnance Munitions and Explosives (OME) Apprenticeship Degree. Eligible organisations will be able to use their Apprenticeship Levy to cover the cost of the programme. If you think you could qualify for sponsorship under this scheme please consult the information pages on becoming an Apprentice.