BEng or MEng
Both cover Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineering and usually for the first 2 years you will cover the same information for both. At the end of your second year of study you will then separate into two different groups. BEng students are usually able to advance onto an MEng course provided that they achieve a high enough score in their end of year exams. The MEng course is an extended version of the BEng and usually allows you the chance of specialising in one particular discipline over a further 2 year. (Total of 4 years)
What topics will I cover on a typical course?
Below is a typical course structure from Loughborough University. If you need more details you should visit their website directly.
Year 1
Aircraft Configuration & Design
Aircraft Systems & Performance
Computing
Electrotechnology
Engineering Mathematics
Engineering Mechanics
Fluid Mechanics
Mechanics of Materials
Thermodynamics
French or German (MEng only) or Risk Analysis.
Year 2
Aircraft Design
Control Engineering
Dynamics
Engineering Mathematics
High Speed Aerodynamics
Low Speed Aerodynamics
Mechanics of Solids
Structural Design Project
Turbomachinery & Propulsion
French or German (MEng only), or Systems Reliability Assessment.
It is possible to transfer from the BEng to the MEng variant at the end of year 2, providing grades meet the required standard.
Year 3 (BEng Final Year)
Final year BEng students undertake an individual project and must include a design module in their choice of options. MEng students concentrate on design studies, management and a range of options in Year 3 and may also continue with a language.
Options Include
Aerodynamics
Aeronautical Noise Control
Aircraft Design
Aircraft Flight Dynamics
Avionic Systems
Composite Materials & Structures
Computational Fluid Dynamics
Finite Element Methods
Flight Control Systems
Gas Turbine Design
Gas Turbine Theory
Mechanical Vibration
Signal Analysis
Stress Analysis
MEng Final Year
In their final year MEng students continue with a group project in aircraft design and a module in Advanced Reliability, Availability & Maintainability, with optional modules in Semester 1 and carry out an extensive individual project in Semester 2.
Options Include
Aerospace Structures
Aircraft Performance
Computational Aerodynamics
Experimental Fluid Mechanics
Sound Radiation from Structures
Structural Vibration
Turbulence & Turbulence Modelling
What is a Flight Test Course?
Some Universities offer flight testing as part of their course. At Loughborough all students carry out a week of flight testing on a Jetstream aircraft, flying from Nottingham East Midlands Airport.
Ensure your course has Professional Recognition
You should ensure that the courses you look at studying are accredited by both The Royal Aeronautical Society and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Should I try and do Industrial Training?
To give yourself a head start when it comes to applying for jobs it can help if you have previous Industrial Training. Universities cater for this with a sandwich course. Students on such sandwich programmes spend one year doing approved industrial training, usually in the Third year of study.
Careers and Further Study
Aerospace engineers design, develop, and test aircraft, spacecraft, and missiles and supervise the manufacture of these products. Aerospace engineers develop new technologies for use in aviation, defense systems, and space exploration, often specialising in areas such as structural design, guidance, navigation and control, instrumentation and communication, or production methods. They also may specialise in a particular type of aerospace product, such as commercial aircraft, military fighter jets, helicopters, spacecraft, or missiles and rockets, and may become experts in aerodynamics, thermodynamics, celestial mechanics, propulsion, acoustics, or guidance and control systems.
