Cranfield University

We are the only university in Europe with our own airport and runway. Through the strong links with industry we have built over the past 70 years, we focus on defining and delivering the aircraft, airport and airspace management of the future.

Using our expertise in propulsion, aeronautical engineering, intelligent automation, autonomous systems, and computational engineering we are creating tomorrow’s air vehicles and businesses here today.

Our blue-sky research generates concepts that, through then building and testing, we actually put into practice in physical flight demonstrations. Using our airport at Cranfield we show how our ideas are more than theories but work on the ground and in the air. Find out more about our global research airport and expertise in aircraft electrification and urban air mobility.

Because our work starts with ideas and culminates in actual delivery Cranfield offers something for industry partners and also people at all stages of their career.

We have more than 200 doctoral students and 400 MSc Aerospace students drawn from universities around the world. We are the UK’s top destination for aerospace engineering postgraduate students and the largest provider of accredited aerospace degree courses.

Our professional short courses provide highly targeted learning to develop career-enhancing skills.

Our highly sought-after students and researchers work with some of the world’s top aerospace companies on research projects. Through these connections, our students gain insight into the latest technologies and business thinking as part of our teaching.

Cranfield offers unique validation and demonstration facilities. Many of our alumni go on to work in the aerospace, space and associated industries. Senior employees in aerospace organisations around the world have a connection to Cranfield, as former students, researchers or through taking one of our professional development courses.

Cranfield Forensic Institute Cranfield University’s Forensic Institute is a world class teaching institute for the many Forensic related disciplines such as ballistics, explosives, materials science, engineering failures, digital forensics and investigative sciences. The recent investment of £7.2 million in the latest forensic science technology, teaching spaces and industry experienced academic staff is creating a new forensic science teaching and research facility at our Cranfield campus which will be unparalleled in the UK. In addition, our unique relationship with the UK Ministry of Defence allows access to a range of facilities not found in any comparable academic institution. Cranfield Forensic Institute (CFI) has a long history of providing the next generation of forensic experts, and alumni have gone on to work around the world for a multitude of public, private and government services. Students have opportunities to join existing research teams, study overseas, produce research papers and be involved in real life fieldwork projects. CFI has become a leading international player in the field known for the best research and postgraduate teaching and we significantly enhance the employability of students by producing postgraduates of the highest quality. At the heart of our teaching is the Forensic Modular Master's programme, which is complemented by a suite of ancillary short courses. The majority of our MSc courses are accredited by the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences whom are a professional body representing forensic sciences and supporting students transition into early careers forensic professionals. www.cranfield.ac.uk/cfi

Cranfield Defence and Security Cranfield University is one of the world's leading universities for defence and security education, research and consultancy. Our staff and facilities are at the forefront of their fields, offering a diverse range of capabilities from energetics and forensic sciences to international stabilisation, counterterrorism and cyber security. Cranfield offers a wide range of defence courses, enabling you to take advantage of our excellent test and evaluation capabilities and our Cranfield University at Shrivenham campus includes unique facilities and large-scale test environments which are used by our students for exceptional research. We provide specialist knowledge to industry, security and emergency services, military, governments and NGOs, underpinning defence and security sector reform around the world. As a postgraduate academic provider to the UK’s Ministry of Defence, we offer a unique gateway to delivering practical education and solutions that make a real difference to the lives of military, security and civilian personnel. Cranfield is leading the Academic Resilience and Security Community (A-RiSC), a network of over 60 UK universities formed to help Government and industry access academic experts and the latest research and knowledge in national security. www.cranfield.ac.uk/defenceandsecurity

Innovative companies today (large or small) strive for excellence to create the next breakthrough innovation - whether that be to advance technology, stay competitive in the market place, or to provide positive change for a more sustainable future. To achieve this, companies need to maintain their competitive edge, employing talented professionals with creative ideas and vision, coupled with the skills to pioneer with confidence. We believe that Design Thinking is a powerful process that when mastered will empower our professional learners to unlock their creative potential to generate novel ideas and to translate these ideas into tangible and impactful outputs for innovation.

Cranfield has decades of experience working closely with partners across the globe including governments, regulatory agencies, research councils and other academic collaborators. We work with businesses including Total, BP, E.ON, Shanks Alstom Power, EDF Energy and Siemens Power Generation amongst others.

The changing energy landscape presents exciting opportunities and the potential for the UK to lead in new technologies and services related to low carbon energy and power generation. The current priority for the UK is replacing its ageing fleet of power stations with viable secure, reliable and affordable options while meeting challenging carbon reduction targets. We collaborate with industry and research partners to solve these challenges. Our focus is on world-class, industrial-scale research and pilot-scale demonstration programmes. Our institutional strength is in low carbon energy supply, power generation, advanced fossil fuel technologies and transport systems. . Activity ranges from offshore renewables, the production and clean utilisation of fossil fuels, through micro-generation and the use of energy crops, to the design of lightweight vehicles, turbine technology and the utilisation of wastes as fuel.

Global concern for environmentally friendly and sustainable energy solutions is a long-term issue and therefore a career in this industry offers longevity and the potential to work all over the world. We create an ideal learning environment for you to pursue your qualification in energy to launch you into the next stage of your career.

Cranfield have been contributing to the ‘green economy’ for over 40 years with deep expertise in environmental governance and sustainability, natural resource management, agriculture and land management, energy and the environment, environmental engineering for the treatment of water, wastes and contaminated soils.

We combine our scientific expertise in the management of water, soil and biodiversity with world-class innovation in environmental engineering and business management to provide truly sustainable solutions.


Studying at Cranfield means working intimately with our partners in industry, Government or the NGO sector. We provide real-world expertise and prepare our students for the challenges of working in an exciting, growing, globally relevant and intellectually challenging sector. For researchers, we share our expertise internally through our Environment Doctoral Research Centre, the focus of support to our postgraduate research community. Our advanced education and research programmes are internationally recognised; combining natural and social sciences, and engineering with a focus on design, systems and a risk-based approach to environmental management.

We create an ideal learning environment for you to pursue your qualification in environment to launch you into the next stage of your career.

Cranfield has a distinctive approach to manufacturing research, education and training. We combine expertise in design, technology and management, along with research into materials sciences, all with a focus on manufacturing.

We have close partnerships with some of the leading manufacturing organisations such as Rolls-Royce plc, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, General Motors and BAE Systems. Research partnerships are undertaken with more than 500 organisations of all sizes every year. Our work uses facilities on a full production scale, transforming great ideas into effective products, technologies and services.

We create an ideal learning environment for you to pursue your qualification in manufacturing to launch you into the next stage of your career.

Cranfield School of Management consistently performs well in the major school and programme specific rankings, reinforcing our position as a top global management school.
• School of Management: Top 10 in the UK and 34th in Europe in the Financial Times European Business Schools 2021 Rankings, 3rd in the UK and 6th in the world in the Business School Teaching Power Rankings 2021 compiled for the Financial Times
• MBA full-time: 8th in the UK and top 26% worldwide, QS Global MBA Rankings 2022
• Executive MBA: 8th in the UK, 88th in the world, 3rd in the UK for Percentage of Women Students and 1st in the UK for Satisfaction Rate in the Financial Times ranking of Executive MBA programmes 2020
• Management MSc: 6th in the UK, 28th in the world and 23rd in the world for employability in the QS World University Rankings: Masters in Management ranking 2022.
• Finance and Management MSc: 8th in the UK and 42nd in the world overall and 8th in the UK for employability in the QS World University Rankings: Masters in Finance Rankings 2022.
• Strategic Marketing MSc: 5th in the UK and 15th in the world, plus 7th in the world for employability in the QS World University Rankings: Masters in Marketing Rankings 2022
• Logistics and Supply Chain Management MSc: 2nd in the UK and 11th in the world overall and 7th in the world for employability in the QS World University Rankings: Masters in Supply Chain Management Rankings 2022.

Within this increasingly interconnected world, Cranfield is helping to define the future of the industry with our award-winning research and teaching.


We specialise in understanding the whole environment in which transport operates: the vehicles, infrastructure, businesses and logistics, as well as the human aspects of operating, managing and using transport.


Cranfield has over 50 years’ experience working with transportation clients across sectors, including automotive, aviation safety, human factors and transport accident investigation, motorsport, air transport management and the military.


The University features an impressive host of facilities including its own airport, the National Flying Laboratory centre, our Boeing 737-400, a range of vehicle test facilities including a test track for autonomous vehicles, various flight simulators, wind tunnels and an accident investigation laboratory. Furthermore, the Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre (DARTeC) opened in 2021 spearheading the UK’s research into digital aviation technology.


Studying at Cranfield will bring you in close contact with leading industry professionals and practitioners from around the world, enabling you to develop valuable connections and potential career development opportunities. We have mutually beneficial relationships with nearly 1,500 organisations around the world including Airbus, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, Boeing, Ford, Heathrow and Rolls Royce.


Our teaching is recognised for its relevance, focus and excellence. You will learn from experienced academics and industry professionals in an environment that prepares you for the real world. Cranfield is ranked 5th in the UK for mechanical, aeronautical and manufacturing engineering and in 2019 we were awarded our sixth Queen’s Anniversary Prize for delivering in-flight aerospace engineering training for the worldwide aviation industry through our flying classrooms and laboratories.

For more than 40 years now, Cranfield has been delivering high-impact research which advances society’s ability to provide water for people, for food, for the environment, and for business. We welcome candidates from a variety of educational backgrounds; from physics, chemistry, biology, chemical and civil engineering, through geography, environmental science or engineering, and maths, to earth sciences and development studies. The three courses within the Sustainable Water Futures programme will provide you with the applied skills to make a meaningful contribution – whether this is with government, industry, NGOs or pursuing your own vision as an innovator or consultant. We also offer a comprehensive CPD programme of short courses and are happy to talk to organisations about in-house training provision. Our three Water MSc courses, together with our world-class learning environment, play a key role in providing the skills and know-how to address fundamental global changes. In the taught part of your MSc, there is a strong balance between combining the engineering/technology and science aspects with management expertise. All our technical master’s courses include some element of management know-how, enabling us to create well-rounded graduates who are able to excel in their chosen career. Our unique group project is a key component of learning about project management in small teams and is common to all of our courses.