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Instrumentation and control engineers are highly sought after in a range of industries including oil and gas, petrochemicals, chemical engineering, manufacturing, research, transport and infrastructure.
There are three routes you can select from to gain a postgraduate Master’s award:
The one-year programme is a great option if you want to gain a traditional MSc qualification – you can find out more here. This two-year master’s degree with advanced practice enhances your qualification by adding to the one-year master’s programme an internship, research or study abroad experience.
The MSc Instrumentation and Control Engineering (with Advanced Practice) offers you the chance to enhance your qualification by completing an internship, research or study abroad experience in addition to the content of the one-year MSc. This programme helps you develop your knowledge and skills in instrumentation, electronics and control engineering. And you develop your ability to synthesise information from a variety of sources and make effective decisions on complex instrumentation and control engineering problems.
For the MSc with advanced practice, you complete 120 credits of taught modules, a 60-credit master’s research project and 60 credits of advanced practice.
Examples of past MSc research projects:
Course structure
Core modules
Advanced Practice options
Modules offered may vary.
How you learn
You learn through lectures, tutorials and practical sessions. Lectures provide the theoretical underpinning while practical sessions give you the opportunity to put theory into practice, applying your knowledge to specific problems.
Tutorials and seminars provide a context for interactive learning and allow you to explore relevant topics in depth. In addition to the taught sessions, you undertake a substantive MSc research project.
In addition to the taught sessions, you undertake a substantive MSc research project and the Advanced Practice module. This module enables you to experience and develop employability or research attributes and experiential learning opportunities in either an external workplace, internal research environment or by studying abroad. You also critically engage with either external stakeholders or internal academic staff, and reflect on your own personal development through your Advanced Practice experience.
How you are assessed
Assessment varies from module to module. It may include in-course assignments, design exercises, technical reports, presentations or formal examinations. For your MSc project you prepare a dissertation.
Your Advanced Practice module is assessed by an individual written reflective report (3,000 words) together with a study or workplace log, where appropriate, and through a poster presentation.
An instrumentation and control engineer may be involved in designing, developing, installing, managing and maintaining equipment which is used to monitor and control engineering systems, machinery and processes. As a graduate you can expect to be employed in a range of sectors including industries involved with oil and gas, petrochemicals, chemical engineering, manufacturing, research, transport and infrastructure.
Instrumentation and control engineers are highly sought after in a range of industries, including oil and gas, petrochemicals, chemical engineering, manufacturing, research, transport and infrastructure.
This programme will help you develop your knowledge and skills in instrumentation, electronics and control engineering, and it will help you develop the ability to synthesise information from a variety of sources and make effective decisions on complex instrumentation and control engineering problems.
For the Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) award you must successfully complete 120 credits of taught modules. For an MSc award you must successfully complete 120 credits of taught modules and a 60-credit master's research project.
Examples of past MSc research projects:
Course structure
Core modules
MSc only
Modules offered may vary.
How you learn
You learn through lectures, tutorials and practical sessions. Lectures provide the theoretical underpinning while practical sessions give you the opportunity to put theory into practice, applying your knowledge to specific problems.
Tutorials and seminars provide a context for interactive learning and allow you to explore relevant topics in depth. In addition to the taught sessions, you undertake a substantive MSc research project.
How you are assessed
Assessment varies from module to module. The assessment methodology could include in-course assignments, design exercises, technical reports, presentations or formal examinations. For your MSc project you prepare a dissertation.
An instrumentation and control engineer may be involved in designing, developing, installing, managing and maintaining equipment which is used to monitor and control engineering systems, machinery and processes. Graduates can expect to be employed in a wide range of sectors, including industries involved with oil and gas, petrochemicals, chemical engineering, manufacturing, research, transport and infrastructure.
The MSc in Corrosion Control Engineering provides you with a thorough training in corrosion and its control. Initially, you will study the fundamental chemistry, physics, and metallurgy underpinning corrosion processes. Subsequently, you will learn about approaches to corrosion control, ranging from material selection, through cathodic protection, to corrosion inhibition and protective coatings. Finally, you will cover industrial scenarios where knowledge of corrosion and its control is paramount, e.g. oil production. This MSc is the ideal preparation for a career either in industry as a corrosion scientist or engineer, or for cutting-edge academic research.
Aims of the course:
Aims of the course:
Embarking upon the Corrosion Control Engineering MSc gives you direct access to the knowledge, skills and expertise of 10 leading academics in the field of corrosion. They will teach you the fundamentals of corrosion, and provide you with insight into cutting-edge corrosion engineering problems and solutions in their specialist fields. Latterly, you will work more closely with one of these academics, becoming an active member of their research group during your dissertation project. Further to the teaching by academics, eminent guest speakers from industry are a key feature of the course, delivering invaluable first-hand practical knowledge and case studies.
Unit 1 is assessed by an in-sessional exam at the end of the Unit. Units 2-6 are examined by both exam (75%) and coursework (25%). The nature of the coursework differs from Unit to Unit, but is largely a mix of laboratory reports and case studies. As regards the research project, the mark for this section of the course is based upon the independent assessment of two academics.
The taught units include:
Research project
You will spend 4 months carrying out research on a topic of interest, working in one of the corrosion focused research groups. Both fundamental and more applied projects are available. You will produce a dissertation detailing your results and their interpretation at the end of this period.
Unfortunately, The University of Manchester does not have any funding at present. There may be external funding opportunities, please see the link for more information:http://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/masters/funding/
Most of the MSc course is hosted within The Mill, where corrosion research activities are centred. There is a lecture theatre, and a dedicated laboratory for corrosion teaching. Also, there is a computer cluster, which students can access at any time to study and prepare coursework. There is also a coffee lounge, where students can socialise and meet with other members of the corrosion family.
Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: [email protected]
Opportunities for our graduates are wide ranging, with the majority of graduates going on to fill key posts as corrosion scientists, engineers, managers, and consultants in industry, or proceeding towards a career in academia. Our graduates are highly sought after and employed across a diverse range of sectors such as oil and gas, nuclear, energy production, and manufacturing. Leading industrial players target our students, with many going on to develop their careers in world renowned companies, e.g. Shell, Rolls Royce, Tata Steel, and BP.
The MSc in Corrosion Control Engineering is accredited by the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining (IoM3).
The overall objective of this course is to add value to your first degree and previous relevant experience by developing a focused, integrated and critically aware understanding of underlying theory and current policy and practice in the field of control systems engineering.
The course is control systems focused, with the emphasis on control systems theory together with a range of control applications including industrial control (SCADA), intelligent control, flight control and robotic control. The control systems approach provides continuity in learning throughout the one year of study.
This course has been awarded accredited status by both the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) for 2010 to 2014 intake cohorts as meeting the exemplifying academic benchmark for registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng) for students who also hold an accredited BEng Honours degree. Candidates who do not hold an appropriately accredited BEng Honours degree will gain partial exemption for CEng status; these candidates will need to have their first qualification individually assessed if they wish to progress onto CEng registration.
Professional registration and Institution membership will enhance your career in the following ways:
On completion of the course you should have a critical awareness and understanding of current problems in control engineering, techniques applicable to research in the field of control systems and how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the field of control systems. You should also be able to deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make sound judgments in the absence of complete data, and communicate your conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialists.
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of lectures, tutorials, computer workshops and laboratory activities.
Mechanical Lab – This lab is used to understand material behaviour under different loading conditions and contains a tensile test machine and static loading experiments – typical laboratory sessions would include tensile testing of materials and investigation into the bending and buckling behaviour of beams.
Aerodynamics Lab – Contains low speed and supersonic wind tunnels – typical laboratory experiments would include determining the aerodynamic properties of an aerofoil section and influence of wing sweep on the lift and drag characteristics of a tapered wing section.
Composite Material Lab – This lab contains wet lay-up and pre-preg facilities for fabrication of composite material test sections. The facility is particularly utilised for final year project work.
Control & Dynamics Lab – Contains flight simulators (see details below) and programmable control experiments – typical laboratory sessions would include studying the effects of damping and short period oscillation analysis, forced vibration due to rotating imbalance, and understanding the design and performance of proportional and integral controllers.
Flight Simulators
Merlin MP520-T Engineering Simulator
Elite Flight Training System
A wide range of control and automation opportunities in manufacturing and engineering companies, opportunities in the aerospace sector.
There are opportunities to go on to further research study within our CASE control and Intelligent Systems Research Centre.
Research themes in the Centre include:
Control Engineering is a multi-disciplinary subject, with applications across a wide range of industrial sectors. The Control Systems Group in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Manchester has been running an MSc course in Advanced Control and Systems Engineering since 1968. The course is geared for graduates from a variety of scientific and engineering disciplines.
The aims of the course are to:
Students acquire a range of intellectual skills that cover the design, analysis and simulation of control systems. A strong emphasis is placed on practical and transferable skills through laboratory exercises and the use of software packages.
The taught part of the course comprises six course units of 15 credits each. This is assessed by written examinations, coursework and laboratory reports.
A strong feature of the course is the dissertation project, which constitutes 60 Credits. The project introduces students to cutting edge control theory and applications.
Typical course units include Control and Computer Laboratory, Linear Optimal Control, Intelligent Systems, Non-linear Controllers & Systems, Self-tuning and Adaptive Systems, Manufacturing Automation and Data Engineering, Fault Detection and Diagnosis, and Process Control Systems.
Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: [email protected]
In 2008 we celebrated the 40 th anniversary of our MSc course. In that time graduates of the course have achieved top ranking industrial and academic positions in their home countries, in the UK and around the world.
Graduates from the course are employed in a variety of industries, including process and petro-chemical industries, manufacturing, power generation and the automotive and aerospace sectors. Recently there has been a surge in demand for control engineers in the field of biomedicine. More generally feedback control and systems engineering skills play an important part in an ever widening range of high tech applications.
The MSc can also be used a spring board for postgraduate research. Approximately 50% of the current PhD students in the Control Systems Group are graduates from the MSc course.
A crucial part of the oil and gas industry, energy and marine based industries, Subsea Engineering is an essential and highly trained area of work involving all discipline areas within Engineering. University of Aberdeen has gained an industry reputation in the energy industry which is located in the City due to extensive research and collaboration since the industry grew in the 1970s. This level of research and work within industry who also advise on many of the vocational/academic programmes at the University ensures a level of rigour which will carry you as a professional right throughout your career.
You combine technical knowledge with understanding of systems, types of risks, challenges in very hard to reach areas, integrity, inspection, maintenance, controls, flow assurance, reliability and mechanics of various structures and facilities. The industry continuously changes as more technology comes on board to support integrity and reliability issues, but the basics remain the same in requiring solid engineering skills, knowledge, analysis and problem solving ability.
Careers in this area can include: Analysis Engineer, Marine Contractor, Subsea Field Engineer, Subsea Installation Engineer, and similar positions in the energy industry. There are also other industries which involve Subsea Engineering and knowledge. You gain plenty of accreditations of professional standing as follows:
University of Aberdeen offers this programme on campus and online to allow some level of flexibility in studying from different locations. The University is highly regarded in the energy industry and offers programmes which are tailored to operations, facilities and professional management of the oil and gas industry. There are world renowned experts who teach on specific programmes at the University such as Energy Economics, MBA, Energy Law, Engineering, Geology and other subject areas such as strategic planning and risk management.
You can study both on campus or online.
Courses listed for the programme
Semester 1
Semester 2
Semester 3
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.
Find out more about fees
View all funding options on our funding database via the latest opportunities page
Find out more about:
Find out more about living in Aberdeen and Living costs
Other engineering disciplines you may be interested in:
Automation, control and robotics are pervasive enabling technologies found in almost every modern technical system, particularly in manufacturing and production. They combine the diverse and rapidly expanding disciplines of automation, control, mechanics, software and signal processing.
This course is ideal if you wish to develop comprehensive knowledge and understanding of • classical and modern control theory • industrial automation • systems analysis • design and simulation • robotics.
You gain the ability to apply principles of modelling, classical and modern control concepts and controller design packages in various areas of industry. You also learn how to design and exploit automation and robotic systems in a range of manufacturing and industrial applications.
The course has six core modules which cover the major aspects of industrial automation and control systems engineering and robotics, ranging from classical linear control system design to non-linear, optimal and intelligent control systems, including distributed control systems, robotics, computer networks and artificial intelligence.
You also choose two optional modules relevant to automation and control to suit your interests. For example, if you wish to work in the manufacturing industry you can choose manufacturing systems or machine vision. There is the opportunity to study one or two management modules if you wish to apply yourself to a more managerial role.
To gain the masters you complete a major research-based project, which can be focused on an area of your particular interest or career need.
You work alongside staff from the Electrical, Electronic and Control Engineering Group and the Centre for Automation and Robotics Research (CARR) at Sheffield Hallam. This provides the opportunity to work with active researchers.
This course is seeking accreditation by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirements for registration as a Chartered Engineer. The MSc will meet, in part, the exemplifying academic benchmark requirements for registration as a Chartered Engineer; graduates who have a BEng (Hons) accredited for CEng will be able to show that they have satisfied the further learning requirement for CEng accreditation.
Core modules
Options
Choose two from
MSc
This course provides you with the knowledge and skills for further advanced study in this area.
You can also apply your skills in an industrial setting for automated manufacturing, control system design, or in the wide range of industries that exploit intelligent robotics. Graduates from this course find career opportunities in areas including • automation and control • process and petrochemical • biomedical • manufacturing • energy • automotive • aerospace.
You can also pursue careers in engineering design and development, engineering research, engineering consultancy and engineering management.
Completing this course combined with further work-based experience enables you to gain Chartered Engineer status.
On this course you gain the knowledge the skills you need to work as an engineer, building on your existing degree in science or technology.
A rewarding career
Engineers apply scientific and technological principles to solve problems in a creative way. It’s a well-paid and rewarding career that is constantly changing with new developments in technology. And with a shortage of electrical and electronic engineers in the UK, your skills will be in demand.
Electrical engineers are at the forefront of many innovations in the way we live and work today. They design, produce and install systems which power and control a range of products and digital communications.
What you study
You can follow your interests to create the right programme of study for you. Initially, you take two modules in engineering principles. Then, with guidance from your course leader, you select from a range of technical modules covering topics including electrical and control engineering and electronic systems.
In addition to your technical modules, you also take an engineering management subject and participate in a multidisciplinary product development project with MSc students from a range of engineering specialisms. You develop an understanding of how engineering projects work and how they relate to the commercial world, as well as becoming part of our engineering community and learning to think like an engineer.
One third of your study will be an individual project and dissertation. You specialise in a technical area of your interest and carry out your own in-depth investigation into a particular problem. Where possible, this will be an industry-related problem.
Expertise
Many of our academic staff are actively involved in research. Examples of recent projects include • developing equipment to monitor the bone mineral density of young children for Sheffield Children's Hospital • developing palm-sized robots to enable firefighters to safely enter and negotiate hazards in burning buildings.
Core modules
Plus one of either
or
Options
Your remaining four modules are themed in the following subjects.
You can choose to specialise in one theme or a mix of both:
Electrical and Control Engineering
• electrical energy systems • efficient machines and electromagnetic applications • control of linear systems • industrial automation
Electronic Systems
• digital electronic systems design • mixed signal design • digital signal processing • microprocessor engineering
Assessments will be a mix of coursework and exam, depending on the specific module studied.
You can work in areas such as • global telecommunications • consumer electronics • computer electronics • aerospace • automotive • railway • robotics • general manufacturing • water, gas and electricity supply.
You can specialise in the design of • computers • mobile phones • media streamers • satellite dishes • instrumentation and control systems • aeroplanes • military equipment • cars • electrical energy systems.
Our graduates have developed careers with companies including • BBC • Tata Steel • Emhart Glass • Sony Mobile Communications • Honeywell Control Systems • Motorola • Rolls-Royce • First ScotRail • Siemens • Vodafone.
You can access six study streams on this Masters programme:
As well as supporting the career development of Civil Engineering graduates, this programme provides the necessary further learning for engineers working in the construction industry who hold related first degrees such as engineering geology or construction management.
It is also designed to update the technical skills of practising engineers engaged in the planning, design, construction and operation of civil-engineering works.
This programme is studied full-time over one academic year and part-time / distance learning for between two to five academic years. It consists of eight taught modules and a dissertation.
This degree is accredited as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer (CEng) for candidates who have already acquired an Accredited CEng (Partial) BEng(Hons) or an Accredited IEng (Full) BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree.
Example module listing
The following modules are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that not all modules described are compulsory and may be subject to teaching availability and/or student demand.
Structural Engineering Group Modules
Bridge Engineering Group Modules
Geotechnical Engineering Group Modules
Construction Management Group Modules
Infrastructure Engineering Group Modules
Water and Environmental Engineering Group Modules
Dissertation
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas:
Knowledge and understanding
Intellectual / cognitive skills
Professional practical skills
Key / transferable skills
We often give our students the opportunity to acquire international experience during their degrees by taking advantage of our exchange agreements with overseas universities.
In addition to the hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience, time spent abroad adds a distinctive element to your CV.
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