Masters degrees in Control Systems equip postgraduates with the skills to apply engineering principles to the electrical and electronic measurement, regulation and operation of various devices.
Taught MSc degrees are typical for the field, though research-based MRes and MPhil programmes may also be available at some institutions. Entry requirements normally include an undergraduate degree in relevant subject such as Electrical or Electronic Engineering.
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.
This option will not only teach you about the fundamental and advanced concepts of modelling, simulation, control, optimisation and systems engineering, but also provides you with a range of management techniques, including: project management, risk management, professional skills and effective management of innovative development.
Our world-leading research and our partnerships with industry give you an advantage in a competitive careers market. You’ll learn about the very latest developments in systems, control, computational intelligence and robotics – effectively preparing you for a future in engineering.
[Push yourself further]]
We have cutting edge facilities and technology, including: advanced control and systems software, modelling, simulation and controller design tools, robotics and a flexible manufacturing systems laboratory, evolutionary computing laboratory and clean facilities for the assembly of satellite instrumentation.
You could pursue a career with a large international organisation or government department. Our graduates work in sectors such as manufacturing, power generation and sustainable energy, with companies including British Airways, Jaguar Land Rover, NASA, IBM, Rolls-Royce and Unilever.
A masters from Sheffield is the mark of someone with the skills to apply their knowledge in industry, anywhere in the world. Our MSc in Advanced Control and Systems Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Council UK, IET and InstMC. These marks of assurance mean our degrees meet the high standards set by the engineering profession.
A Sheffield masters is a strong foundation for a career in industry or research.
We have strong links with industrial partners such as Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems. Our industrial partners help us to design our courses, making sure you learn the right skills.
Rolls-Royce has a research and development centre here, using our expertise to explore today’s challenges. Our masters students often work side by side with researchers at these facilities.
The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) rates us No 1 in the UK for research output, ahead of Oxford and Cambridge, and No 3 for overall research excellence. Our world-class reputation attracts highly motivated staff and students.
You’ll be taught by staff who work on real-world projects, developing new ideas – for submarines, robots, Formula One and even space exploration. Their approach to teaching is just as innovative: ideas like the award-winning take-home lab kit and e-puck mobile robotics activities help you develop the problem-solving skills you need for a trailblazing career.
Foundations of Control Systems; State-Space, Optimal Control and Nonlinear Systems; Signal Processing and Estimation; Embedded Systems and Rapid Control Prototyping; Managing Engineering Projects and Risk; Design Innovation Toolbox; Professional Responsibilities of the Engineer; Control Systems Project and Dissertation.
Advanced Industrial Control; Robotic and Autonomous Systems; Intelligent and Vision Systems; Multisensor and Decision Systems; Nonlinear and Hybrid Systems.
There are lectures, tutorials, laboratory work and individual assignments. You will be assessed on examinations, coursework assignments and a project dissertation.
Our flagship course blends theory and practice, giving you a strong grounding for a career in industry or research. This continually evolving course has been running for over 40 years and is well supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The core modules provide you with the basic skills you’ll need to become a control and systems engineer. You’ll take advanced modules in current areas of interest and complete a research-level dissertation project.
We have cutting edge facilities and technology, including: advanced control
and systems software, modelling, simulation and controller design tools, robotics and a flexible manufacturing systems laboratory, evolutionary computing laboratory and clean facilities for the assembly of satellite instrumentation.
You could pursue a career with a large international organisation or government department. Our graduates work in sectors such as manufacturing, power generation and sustainable energy, with companies including British Airways, Jaguar Land Rover, NASA, IBM, Rolls-Royce and Unilever.
A masters from Sheffield is the mark of someone with the skills to apply their knowledge in industry, anywhere in the world. Our MSc in Advanced Control and Systems Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Council UK, IET and InstMC. These marks of assurance mean our degrees meet the high standards set by the engineering profession.
A Sheffield masters is a strong foundation for a career in industry or research.
We have strong links with industrial partners such as Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems. Our industrial partners help us to design our courses, making sure you learn the right skills.
Rolls-Royce has a research and development centre here, using our expertise to explore today’s challenges. Our masters students often work side by side with researchers at these facilities.
The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) rates us No 1 in the UK for research output, ahead of Oxford and Cambridge, and No 3 for overall research excellence. Our world-class reputation attracts highly motivated staff and students.
You’ll be taught by staff who work on real-world projects, developing new ideas – for submarines, robots, Formula One and even space exploration. Their approach to teaching is just as innovative: ideas like the award-winning take-home lab kit and e-puck mobile robotics activities help you develop the problem-solving skills you need for a trailblazing career.
You can use our award-winning take-home lab kits to explore core concepts at home. It supports our teaching, giving you the chance to learn by doing, when you want to, not just in classes. You’ll work on a major project of your own as part of your final assessment and there are chances to contribute to other projects throughout the course.
You can expect a mix of lectures, tutorials, laboratory work and individual assignments. All the lectures and tutorials are for our systems and control students only. This helps you to bond with your fellow students, so you can learn from each other.
You're assessed via exams, coursework assignments and a project dissertation.
This version of our flagship course includes a 12-month work placement. In the first year, you’ll take basic and advanced modules. In the second year, you’ll put your knowledge and skills to work.
We’ll give you training in research skills. You’ll carry out an extended research project with a dissertation. You’ll also write a report and give a presentation based on your work placement.
We have cutting edge facilities and technology, including: advanced control
and systems software, modelling, simulation and controller design tools, robotics and a flexible manufacturing systems laboratory, evolutionary computing laboratory and clean facilities for the assembly of satellite instrumentation.
You could pursue a career with a large international organisation or government department. Our graduates work in sectors such as manufacturing, power generation and sustainable energy, with companies including British Airways, Jaguar Land Rover, NASA, IBM, Rolls-Royce and Unilever.
A masters from Sheffield is the mark of someone with the skills to apply their knowledge in industry, anywhere in the world. Our MSc in Advanced Control and Systems Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Council UK, IET and InstMC. These marks of assurance mean our degrees meet the high standards set by the engineering profession.
A Sheffield masters is a strong foundation for a career in industry or research.
We have strong links with industrial partners such as Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems. Our industrial partners help us to design our courses, making sure you learn the right skills.
Rolls-Royce has a research and development centre here, using our expertise to explore today’s challenges. Our masters students often work side by side with researchers at these facilities.
The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) rates us No 1 in the UK for research output, ahead of Oxford and Cambridge, and No 3 for overall research excellence. Our world-class reputation attracts highly motivated staff and students.
You’ll be taught by staff who work on real-world projects, developing new ideas – for submarines, robots, Formula One and even space exploration. Their approach to teaching is just as innovative: ideas like the award-winning take-home lab kit and e-puck mobile robotics activities help you develop the problem-solving skills you need for a trailblazing career.
Foundations of Control Systems; State-Space, Optimal Control and Nonlinear Systems; Signal Processing and Estimation; Embedded Systems and Rapid Control Prototyping; Managing Engineering Projects and Risk; Design Innovation Toolbox; Professional Responsibilities of the Engineer; Control Systems Project and Dissertation.
Advanced Industrial Control; Robotic and Autonomous Systems; Intelligent and Vision Systems; Multisensor and Decision Systems; Nonlinear and Hybrid Systems.
You can expect a mix of lectures, tutorials, laboratory work and individual assignments. All the lectures and tutorials are for our systems and control students only. This helps you to bond with your fellow students, so you can learn from each other. You’re assessed on exams, coursework assignments and a project dissertation.
We worked with industry professionals to develop an MSc Applied Instrument and Control programme that is accredited by the Institute of Measurement and Control (InstMC). It covers both the latest developments in the field and the industry knowledge we've gained through years of experience.
You'll acquire a specialised skillset and expertise that's highly desirable to employers, making you a competitive candidate for rewarding careers in many industries, with oil and gas pathways available. The programme draws on relevant case studies with real-world implications, so you'll gain practical knowledge that you can apply on the job from day one.
The programme also fulfils the Engineering Council's further learning requirements for registration as a Chartered Engineer.
At GCU, you'll find a welcoming community of people like yourself - hardworking, career-focused individuals with the vision and discipline to pursue meaningful work. We'll help you develop the tools to be successful, in your career and in your life.
We hope you'll use those tools to make a positive impact on your community and contribute to the common good through everything you do.
The curriculum has been developed in consultation with industry and can be broadly grouped in three areas: the introduction of new facts and concepts in measurement and control; the application of facts and concepts to real measurement problems and systems; and subjects which are of general importance to the professional engineer, for example safety and safety management and management ethics and project planning.
Students complete eight taught modules - four in trimester A and four in trimester B; and a Masters project in trimester C.The MSc project will be carried out at the student's workplace; this can be in an area relevant to the company's production/maintenance function, thus providing maximum benefit to both the company and the individual.
Control Systems
Consolidates advanced classical and modern control design techniques emphasising the practical considerations in applying control design in an industrial environment. The appropriateness and difficulties encountered in applying various design techniques in practice will be explored. In particular system sensitivity, robustness and nonlinearity will be studied.
Data Acquisition and Analysis
Develops the ability to evaluate, in a given situation, the most appropriate strategy for acquiring data and understand the merits of this strategy with respect to other approaches. A range of modern time and frequency domain analysis techniques will also be discussed.
Industrial Case Studies
Following on from the foundation in measurement and instrumentation provided by the Measurement Theory and Devices module, students will now be equipped to study in depth instrumentation in industrial processes. This module will cover aspects of designing sensor systems for industrial measurements, instrument control, system troubleshooting and optimisation in industrial applications.
Distributed Instrumentation
Develops the ability to evaluate, in a given situation, the most appropriate strategy for acquiring and transmitting data and understand the merits of this strategy with respect to other approaches. A wide range of different instrument communication and networking techniques will be studied. In addition the module provides practical experience of hardware setup and software development, relating to these techniques.
Industrial Process Systems
Identification and system modelling from real data play an important role in this module. This approach thus leads to more complex and realistic models that can be used to design more robust and reliable controllers that take into account problematic physical effects such as time-delays and sensor noise. The module will cover more advanced aspects of control design such as feed forward and multivariable control.
Measurement Systems
A range of advanced measurement systems will be studied in depth. Sensors, signal processing, low-level signal measurements, noise-reduction methods and appropriate measurement strategies will be applied to industrial and environmental applications. The influence of environmental factors and operation conditions will be considered in relation to the optimisation of the measurement system.
Measurement Theory and Devices
Adopts a generalised approach to measurement theory and devices, allowing students to become familiar with the characteristics of measurement systems in terms of the underlying principles. In this way, the students will be able to develop a systems approach to problem solving. They should find this methodology to be a considerable benefit to them when they have to apply their expertise to solving more complex industrial measurement problems.
Professional Practice
Develops the students' ability to select, develop and plan an MSc research project, to research and critically analyse the literature associated with the project and to present research findings effectively, it will also provide students with the ability to apply a competent process of thinking to project planning and give them a critical understanding of safe and ethical working.
The programme is accredited by the Institute of Measurement and Control (InstMC) as meeting the Engineering Council’s further learning requirements for registration as a Chartered Engineer.
The MSc Applied Instrumentation and Control offers graduates a highly focused skillset that's valuable to an extremely wide range of industries - any business that benefits from the measurement of process variables and environmental factors. For instance, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, optics and optoelectronics, medical instrumentation and more.
Across these industries, you might focus on computer-controlled instrumentation systems, process instrumentation, technical management and sales, process control and automation, sensor development and manufacturing, instrument networking, industrial development or test and measurement systems.
You might also pursue a career with a company that designs and manufactures measurement systems.
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.
Our new MRes in Control and Systems Engineering provides you with an excellent introduction to research methods while benefiting from lectures and lab work to consolidate your knowledge in the discipline.
During your MRes, you will subsidise your knowledge with taught modules while having the freedom to pursue a research topic of your choosing. You will specialise in an area of Control and Systems Engineering you are passionate about.
Reseach is an exciting career path which will open the door to working in R&D jobs or in academia. Our academics work on a range of research projects in their specific areas, often working alongside top industry professionals and research leaders across the globe.
This course is perfect for those who want to pursue a career in research or those who wish to specialise in one topic within the discipline.
You could pursue a career with a large international organisation or government department. Our graduates work in sectors such as manufacturing, power generation and sustainable energy, with companies including British Airways, Jaguar Land Rover, NASA, IBM, Rolls-Royce and Unilever.
A masters from Sheffield is the mark of someone with the skills to apply their knowledge in industry, anywhere in the world. Our MSc in Advanced Control and Systems Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Council UK, IET and InstMC. These marks of assurance mean our degrees meet the high standards set by the engineering profession
A Sheffield masters is a strong foundation for a career in industry or research.
We have strong links with industrial partners such as Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems. Our industrial partners help us to design our courses, making sure you learn the right skills.
Rolls-Royce has a research and development centre here, using our expertise to explore today’s challenges. Our masters students often work side by side with researchers at these facilities.
The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) rates us No 1 in the UK for research output, ahead of Oxford and Cambridge, and No 3 for overall research excellence. Our world-class reputation attracts highly motivated staff and students.
You’ll be taught by staff who work on real-world projects, developing new ideas – for submarines, robots, Formula One and even space exploration. Their approach to teaching is just as innovative: ideas like the award-winning take-home lab kit and e-puck mobile robotics activities help you develop the problem-solving skills you need for a trailblazing career.
You will want to research a specific area of control and systems engineering. This area could include one of the following:
· Cybersecurity in Electricity Grids
· Space Weather Forecast
· Multimodal Control of Prosthetic Limbs/Paralysed Muscles
· Virtual Human-Robot Collaboration
· Optimal control of disease dynamics
· Predictive and optimization-based control of smart grids: theory and algorithms
You will receive training in research skills and will undertake a major project of your own - allowing you to specialise even further. This will form part of your final assessment. There will also be opportunities to contribute to other projects throughout the course.
Our teaching uses lectures, tutorials, laboratory work and individual assignments. All of the lectures and tutorials are just for our systems and control students. This means you form a unique bond as a cohort of colleagues and friends, learning together and from each other. Assessment is by examination, lab assignments, coursework and project dissertation.
As well as conventional labs, we have portable equipment that you can use to explore core concepts away from the normal teaching environment. It supports our teaching, giving you the chance to learn by doing, when you want to, not just in classes.
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.
This course provides the necessary academic, practical and professional education to help you learn and acquire high-tech competencies and advanced technological skills in the interlinked areas of signal processing, dynamic systems and automatic control. These three areas are the crucial building blocks of modern engineering methodologies applied for the design, development, implementation, and analysis of complex systems ranging from engineering applications and industrial problems, to more mundane situations such as financial modelling and environmental control.
Through this course, you will learn how to look out for, and capture, the similarities and structures of different systems and processes, how to extract useful information from typically large amounts of data generated by such systems, and how to optimise and control their behaviour. You will learn the relevant basic theories, design methodologies and implementation techniques within the areas of system modelling, signal processing, dynamics and systems, automatic control, computer vision, machine learning and computational intelligence. By the end of this course you would thus be able to apply these hi-tech skills in a wide range of professional areas such as system automation, process control, biomedical engineering, manufacturing, transport and robotics to name but a few.
The course is open to graduates in engineering, information technology, physics, mathematics and related areas. The language of instruction is English.
Course Structure
The programmes of study in full-time or part-time mode are summarised below. More detailed information on course learning outcomes, study-unit descriptions etc. are available from these links: full-time or part-time.
How to Apply
Interested persons wishing to apply for this course are invited to apply through the University's Online Application facility by clicking on these links for the full-time or part-time mode.
Further information regarding the application process and deadlines is available here.
Students applying for this course are eligible to benefit from the Get Qualified 2014-2020 scheme. Further information on the application process is available here.
Prospective international applicants wishing to obtain further information prior to submitting an application, are advised to contact the International and EU Office.
Further Information
Additional details on tuition fees, administrative issues, general entry requirements and related matters are available here.
Queries can also be directed by [email protected].
Process systems engineering deals with the design, operation, optimisation and control of all kinds of chemical, physical, and biological processes through the use of systematic computer-aided approaches. Its major challenges are the development of concepts, methodologies and models for the prediction of performance and for decision-making for an engineered system.
Suitable for engineering and applied science graduates who wish to embark on successful careers as process systems engineering professionals.
The course equips graduates and practising engineers with an in-depth knowledge of the fundamentals of process systems and an excellent competency in the use of state-of-the-art approaches to deal with the major operational and design issues of the modern process industry. The course provides up-to-date technical knowledge and skills required for achieving the best management, design, control and operation of efficient process systems.
Process systems engineering constitutes an interdisciplinary research area within the chemical engineering discipline. It focuses on the use of experimental techniques and systematic computer-aided methodologies for the design, operation, optimisation and control of chemical, physical, and biological processes, e.g. from chemical and petrochemical processes to pharmaceutical and food processes.
A distinguished feature of this course is that it is not directed exclusively at chemical engineering graduates. Throughout the years, the course has evolved from discussions with industrial advisory panels, employers, sponsors and previous students. The content of the study programme is updated regularly to reflect changes arising from technical advances, economic factors and changes in legislation, regulations and standards.
By completing this course, a diligent student will be able to:
This MSc degree is accredited by Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
The taught programme for the MSc in Process Systems Engineering is delivered from October to February and is comprised of six compulsory taught modules. There are four optional modules to select the remaining two modules from.
Group project
The Group Project, which runs between February and April, enables you to put the skills and knowledge developed during the course modules into practice in an applied context while gaining transferable skills in project management, teamwork and independent research. The group project is usually sponsored by industrial partners who provide particular problems linked to their plant operations. Projects generally require the group to provide a solution to the operational problem. Potential future employers value this experience. This group project is shared across the MSc in Process Systems Engineering and other courses, giving the added benefit of gaining new insights, ways of thinking, experience and skills from students with other backgrounds
During the project you will develop a range of skills including learning how to establish team member roles and responsibilities, project management, and delivering technical presentations. At the end of the project, all groups submit a written report and deliver a presentation to the industrial partner. This presentation provides the opportunity to develop interpersonal and presentation skills within a professional environment.
It is clear that the modern engineer cannot be divorced from the commercial world. In order to provide practice in this matter, a poster presentation will be required from all students. This presentation provides the opportunity to develop presentation skills and effectively handle questions about complex issues in a professional manner.
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.
Individual project
The individual research project allows you to delve deeper into a specific area of interest. As our academic research is so closely related to industry, it is very common for our industrial partners to put forward real-world problems or areas of development as potential research topics.
The individual research project component takes place between April/May and August for full-time students. For part-time students, it is common that their research projects are undertaken in collaboration with their place of work under academic supervision; given the approval of the Course Director.
Individual research projects undertaken may involve designs, computer simulations, feasibility assessments, reviews, practical evaluations and experimental investigations.
Typical research areas include:
Assessment
Taught modules 40%, Group project 20% (dissertation for part-time students), Individual Research Project 40%.
Graduates of the course have been successful in gaining employment in:
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