History
The forerunner of Cranfield University was the College of Aeronautics, created in 1946 and based at the RAF station in Cranfield, Bedfordshire.
In 1967, the School of Management was founded, so 2017 marks our 50th anniversary.
Education
The only wholly postgraduate University in the UK, our world-class programmes, unrivalled facilities, close links with business, industry and governments and an international outlook all combine to attract students and teaching staff from around the globe. The result is a long track record of creating leaders and innovators in our specialist areas of science, technology, engineering and management. Our graduates are in demand and their association with Cranfield brings benefits throughout their careers.
Research
Students undertaking a research degree have the opportunity to spend time focusing solely on one subject area, with their findings being written up as a thesis at the end. Cranfield offers students the chance to work on research projects commissioned by business, and during their time learning, students have access to research facilities including the £35million Aerospace Integration Research Centre. All students will be assigned a supervisor with vast experience in their field of work.
Career
Cranfield has unrivalled links with business, industry, and governments, with relationships in nearly 1,500 organisations around the world. From the smallest owner-managed SMEs to the largest multinational conglomerates, British and international universities, non-government organisations and governments. These organisations frequently offer internships, graduate employment opportunities and research projects to our student body. The University also has 14 formal, high-level industry strategic partnerships reflecting long-term relationships across academic, research and innovation activities.
We create leaders in technology and management, with the knowledge and skills, and to make an impact in the workplace.
Short Courses
- Short Course Advanced Control Systems
- Short Course Advanced Reaction Kinetics for Energy
- Short Course Advanced Sensors Technology
- Short Course Aerial Warfare Engineering
- Short Course Air Transport Engineering - Maintenance Operations
- Short Course Aircraft Survivability
- Short Course Airframe Systems Design
- Short Course Ammonia to Energy
- Short Course Anaerobic Digestion of Waste
- Short Course Applied Safety Assessment Workshop
- Short Course Automotive Autonomy and IoT
- Short Course Automotive HUMS and Diagnostics
- Short Course Composite Material Structures
- Short Course Computational Fluid Dynamics for Renewable Energy
- Certificate Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)
- Short Course Corrosion Training Programme
- Certificate Cost Engineering in the Oil and Gas Industry
- Certificate Data Centric Engineering for Electrification
- Short Course Discrete and Continuous Simulation
- Short Course Dynamics and Control of Multirotors
- Short Course Electro-optic and Infrared Systems 1
- Short Course Electromagnetic Propagation and Devices
- Short Course Embedded Vehicle Control Systems
- Short Course Energy Harvesting Technologies and Applications
- Short Course Engineering Stress Analysis
- Short Course Extreme Surface Engineering and Coatings
- Short Course Failure of Structural Materials
- Short Course Fighting Vehicle Design
- Short Course Finite Element Analysis and Materials Modelling
- Short Course Finite Element Methods in Engineering
- Short Course Fixed Wing Aeromechanics
- Short Course Functional Composites Materials
- Short Course Fundamentals of Aircraft Engine Control
- Short Course Fundamentals of Aircraft System Identification
- Short Course Gas Turbine Performance
- Certificate Gas Turbine Performance for the Gulf
- Short Course Gas Turbine Transient Performance
- Short Course Guidance and Navigation for Autonomous Systems
- Short Course Guided Weapons Energetics
- Certificate Heat and Power Generation Systems
- Short Course High Performance Composite Structures and Components
- Short Course Hybrid and Electric Vehicles Introduction
- Short Course Industrial Robotics Control
- Short Course Intelligent Robotics
- Certificate Introduction to CFD Applied to Multiphase Flows
- Short Course Introduction to Composite Materials
- Short Course Introduction to Defence Simulation
- Short Course Introduction to Explosives Engineering
- Certificate Introduction to Flow Cytometry
- Short Course Introduction to Robotics
- Certificate Introduction to Systems and Systems Engineering
- Short Course Land Engineering Principles and Practices
- Short Course Land Engineering and Water Management
- Short Course Lean Product Development
- Short Course Low Energy Wastewater Treatment Systems
- Short Course Machine Learning for Robotics
- Short Course Manufacture and Materials Properties of Explosives
- Short Course Marine Propulsion System Integration
- Short Course Materials Selection
- Short Course Mechanical Integrity of Gas Turbines
- Short Course Mechatronics for UAV
- Short Course Metal Additive Manufacturing
- Short Course Modelling Simulation and Control
- Short Course Modelling and Simulation of Air Vehicles
- Short Course Nanomaterials and Advanced Composites
- Short Course Numerical Solution for Offshore Platform Design
- Short Course Physical Principles of Remote Sensing
- Certificate Physical Principles of Remote Sensing
- Certificate Principles of Cost Engineering
- Short Course Principles of Renewable Energy Technologies
- Certificate Process Measurement Systems
- Short Course Process Plant Operations
- Short Course Propulsion Systems Performance and Integration
- Certificate Renewable Energy Technologies - Systems
- Certificate Risk and Reliability Engineering
- Short Course Rotary Wing Aeromechanics
- Short Course Simulation Employment Training
- Short Course Simulations for Precision Manufacturing
- Short Course Structural Integrity
- Short Course Surface Engineering and Coatings System Design
- Short Course Technology Applicability Framework (TAF) Workshop
- Short Course Technology Environment and Society
- Certificate Terramechanics and Military Vehicle Mobility
- Short Course Uninhabited Aircraft Systems (UAS)
- Short Course Air Transport Environmental Planning
- Short Course Anaerobic Digestion of Sewage Sludge
- Short Course Applied Environmental Informatics
- Short Course Aquatic Ecology and Management
- Short Course Building the Case for Sustainability
- Short Course Catchment Management
- Short Course Circular Economy for Sanitation
- Short Course Circular Innovation and Sustainability
- Short Course Clean Technologies in Water Energy and Food Nexus
- Certificate Climate Action Planning for SMEs
- Short Course Concepts and Management of Soil Health
- Short Course Disinfection Processes
- Short Course Drinking Water and Sanitation Safety Plans
- Short Course Drought and Water Scarcity
- Short Course Drought and Water Scarcity
- Short Course Emergency Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation
- Short Course Energy Economics and Policy
- Short Course Environmental Awareness and Compliance in Defence
- Certificate Environmental Impacts of My Food Products
- Short Course Environmental Management in Practice
- Short Course Environmental Policy and Risk Governance
- Short Course Environmental Resource Survey
- Short Course Evaluating Environmental Sustainability
- Certificate Evaluating Environmental Sustainability
- Short Course Forensic Ecology
- Short Course Heat Transfer
- Short Course Hygiene Evaluation and Promotion
- Short Course Integrated River Basin Management
- Short Course Introduction to Earth Observation Data Science
- Certificate Introduction to Fire Investigation
- Short Course Introduction to Hydraulics and Pumping
- Short Course Introduction to Hydrological Modelling
- Short Course Irrigation and System Performance Evaluation
- Short Course Land Engineering and Water Management
- Short Course Landscape Ecology
- Certificate Leading Sustainability
- Short Course Low Energy Wastewater Treatment Systems
- Short Course Management and Governance for Water and Sanitation
- Short Course Natural Resource Economics
- Short Course Nature Based Solutions for Water and Land Management
- Short Course Non-Sewered Sanitation Technologies and Delivery
- Certificate Organic Amendment Management of Soils
- Short Course Physical Processes
- Short Course Pile Cloth Media Filtration
- Short Course Plastic in Drinking Water - how worried should we be
- Short Course Pollution Prevention and Remediation Technologies
- Short Course Principles of Sustainability
- Short Course Process Emissions and Control
- Short Course R for Hydrological Modelling and Visualisation
- Certificate Ready for Net Zero Growth
- Short Course Resilience in the Water Industry
- Short Course Soil Degradation by Erosion
- Short Course Soil Erosion - Prevention is better than cure
- Short Course Soil Erosion Control Principles and Practices
- Certificate Soil Erosion Control for Catchment Management
- Short Course Soil Systems
- Short Course Soil and Water Management
- Certificate Statistics for Environmental Professionals
- Short Course Surface and Groundwater Hydrology
- Short Course Sustainable Development in Defence Acquisition
- Short Course Sustainable Future Cities
- Short Course Sustainable Groundwater Sources for Rural Areas
- Short Course Tackling Pesticides in Drinking Water
- Short Course Waste Management in a Circular Economy
- Short Course Wastewater Treatment Principles
- Short Course Water Quality, Standards and Regulation
- Short Course Water Treatment Principles for WASH Practitioners
- Short Course Water and Sustainable Agrifood Systems
- Short Course Water and Wastewater Treatment for Development
- Short Course Air Transport Strategic and Marketing Management
- Short Course Airport Design
- Short Course Airport Strategic Planning
- Certificate Breakthrough Leadership Programme
- Certificate Business Exit Programme
- Certificate Business Growth Programme
- Short Course Business Resilience
- Short Course Capability and Acquisition Awareness
- Short Course Circular Innovation
- Short Course Circular Innovation and Sustainability
- Short Course Crisis Management and Business Continuity
- Certificate Developing Leadership Practice
- Certificate Dialogue and Collaboration
- Short Course Digital Scene Forensics
- Short Course Environmental Policy and Risk Governance
- Certificate Essential Management
- Certificate Finance Fundamentals for Growing Businesses
- Certificate Finance for the Boardroom Programme
- Short Course Flood Risk Management
- Certificate Food Safety and Quality Management
- Certificate General Management Programme
- Certificate Growth Curve Masterclass
- Short Course Harnessing the Power of Applied Innovation
- Certificate Help to Grow - Management Course
- Certificate High Performance Leadership
- Certificate Impact and Influence
- Certificate Improving Project Performance
- Certificate Introduction to Financial Management - Digital
- Short Course Introduction to Operational Research Techniques
- Short Course Investigating Human Performance
- Certificate Key Account Management Best Practice
- Short Course Land Resource Planning
- Certificate Leadership - Digital
- Certificate Leading Complex Projects and Programmes
- Certificate Leading Supply Chain Transformation Programme
- Certificate Leading Sustainability
- Short Course Logistics Modelling
- Short Course Management and Governance for Water and Sanitation
- Short Course Managing Assets and Value
- Certificate Operational Availability and Risk
- Short Course Operational Availability and Risk
- Short Course Project Management for Rural WASH
- Certificate Ready for Scale
- Short Course Risk Communication and Perception
- Short Course Risk and Reliability Engineering
- Certificate Risk and Reliability Engineering
- Short Course Risk, Crisis and Resilience
- Short Course Strategic Foresight
- Certificate Strategic Thinking - Digital
- Certificate Strategic Thinking - Digital
- Certificate THRIVE - Passion, Purpose, Performance
- Certificate Talent Development Programme
- Certificate The Director As Strategic Leader
- Certificate The Non-Executive Directors' Programme
- Short Course Vehicle Control Applications
- Short Course Vehicle Systems Integration
- Certificate Women's Leadership Programme
- Short Course Aerial Warfare Engineering
- Short Course Airport Operations
- Short Course Airworthiness of Military Aircraft
- Short Course Airworthiness of Military Aircraft Fundamentals
- Short Course Analytical Techniques
- Short Course Ballistics
- Short Course CAD and CFD for Military Aeronautics
- Short Course Clean Technologies in Water Energy and Food Nexus
- Short Course DNA (Forensic Biology)
- Certificate Digital Forensic Techniques and Traces
- Short Course Digital Scene Forensics
- Certificate Environmental Impacts of My Food Products
- Short Course Fakes and Forgeries
- Short Course Food Chain Resilience
- Short Course Food Diagnostics
- Certificate Food Safety and Quality Management
- Short Course Forensic Archaeology - Recovering Buried Remains
- Short Course Forensic Ecology
- Short Course Forensic Exploitation and Intelligence
- Short Course Forensic Imaging
- Short Course Fundamentals of Accident Investigation
- Short Course Guided Weapons
- Short Course Guided Weapons Aerodynamics
- Short Course Guided Weapons Propulsion
- Short Course Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance
- Certificate Hydrogen for Civil Aviation - H2 in the Aircraft
- Short Course Introduction to Applied Flight Control
- Short Course Introduction to Avionics
- Short Course Light Weapon Design
- Short Course Mass Fatality Incidents
- Short Course Military Electronic Warfare
- Short Course Military Operational Analysis Appreciation
- Short Course Military Vehicle Dynamics
- Short Course Ordnance Design
- Short Course Ordnance, Munitions and Explosives Safety
- Short Course Plant-Based Food Quality
- Short Course Programming for Digital Forensics
- Short Course Propulsion Systems
- Short Course Protecting Critical National Infrastructure
- Short Course Quality of Food and Beverages
- Short Course Radiographic Investigation in Forensic Science
- Certificate Reasoning for Forensic Science
- Short Course Reliability and System Effectiveness
- Short Course Survivability
- Short Course Trace Evidence
- Short Course Turbulence Modelling
- Short Course Uninhabited Military Vehicle Systems (UMVS)
- Short Course War Gaming and Combat Modelling
- Short Course Weapon System Performance Assessment
- Short Course Weapon Systems Technology
- Short Course Advanced GIS
- Short Course Automotive ECU and Software Architecture
- Short Course Cloud Computing
- Certificate Critical Networks and Cyber-Physical Systems
- Certificate Cyber Attack - Threats and Opportunities
- Short Course Cyberterrorism
- Short Course Data Analytics for Engineers
- Certificate Data Centric Engineering for Electrification
- Short Course Data Integration and Interaction Networks
- Certificate Data Modelling, Storage and Management
- Short Course Disc Brake Design and Analysis
- Short Course Fundamentals of Systems Thinking
- Short Course GIS Fundamentals
- Short Course General Purpose GPU Programming
- Certificate Guided Weapons Systems Integration
- Short Course Image Processing and Analysis
- Short Course Information Networks
- Short Course Intelligent Systems
- Short Course Internet Based Investigations
- Short Course Introduction to Systems Thinking for WASH
- Short Course Machine Learning for Computer Vision Applications
- Short Course Machine Learning for Computer Vision Applications
- Short Course Machine Learning for Metabolomics
- Short Course Machine Learning for Robotics
- Short Course Modelling and Simulation Techniques and Acquisition
- Short Course Programming Using Java
- Short Course Spatial Data Management
- Short Course Spatial data and the internet
- Certificate Spatial data and the internet
- Certificate Stress Testing for Organisational Resilience
- Short Course Synthetic Environments and Virtual Simulation
- Short Course Systems Thinking in Practice
- Short Course Applied Counterterrorism
- Certificate Circularity in Practice
- Short Course Communities and Development
- Certificate Cost Engineering in the Oil and Gas Industry
- Certificate Counterterrorism and Intelligence
- Short Course Cyberterrorism
- Certificate Digitalisation of Cost Engineering
- Short Course Driver Psychology and Behaviour
- Short Course Forensic Archaeology - Mass Grave Excavation
- Short Course Forensic Archaeology - Recovering Buried Remains
- Short Course Fundamentals of Forensic Anthropology - Osteology
- Short Course International Crimes Against Cultural Heritage
- Certificate Making Sense of the Economy - Digital
- Certificate Organisational Behaviour - Digital
- Short Course Practical Archaeological Excavation
- Certificate Principles of Cost Engineering
- Short Course Putting the Circular Economy into Action
- Short Course Royal Engineers Force Protection Engineering
- Certificate Sales Management for Growing Businesses
- Short Course Strategies, Ideologies and Tactics of Terrorism
- Short Course Terrorism and the Law
- Short Course Understanding Terrorism and Counterterrorism
- Short Course Waste Management in a Circular Economy
- Short Course Biofuels and Biorefining
- Short Course Chemical Processes
- Short Course DNA (Forensic Biology)
- Certificate Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing
- Certificate Hydrogen for Civil Aviation - H2 in the Aircraft
- Short Course Introduction to Bioinformatics Using Python
- Short Course Nature Based Treatment Systems
- Short Course Plant-Based Technologies
- Short Course Statistical Analysis and Trials
- Certificate Statistics for Environmental Professionals
- Short Course Aircraft Accident Investigation
- Short Course Applied Safety Assessment Workshop
- Short Course Drinking Water and Sanitation Safety Plans
- Short Course Forensic Imaging
- Certificate Foundation in Healthcare Incident Investigation
- Short Course Health, Hygiene and Sanitation
- Short Course Safety Assessment of Aircraft Systems
- Short Course Advanced Welding Processes
- Short Course Aerial Photography and Digital Photogrammetry
- Short Course Circular Design
- Short Course Disc Brake Design and Analysis
- Short Course Process Design and Simulation
- Short Course Real-Time Graphics
- Certificate Talent Development Programme
- Short Course Toughening of Polymer Resins
- Short Course Urban Sanitation
- Short Course Aflatoxin Mycotoxin Management In Peanuts
- Short Course Agricultural Informatics
- Short Course Applied Marine Accident Investigation
- Short Course Postharvest Technology
- Short Course Water and Sustainable Agrifood Systems
- Short Course Field Methods in Heritage Crime Investigation
- Short Course International Crimes Against Cultural Heritage
- Short Course Interviewing Techniques for Accident Investigators
- Short Course Investigation and Evidence Collection
- Short Course Terrorism and the Law
- Short Course Temporary Mortuary Operations
University Ranking
Student services
As one of our students at Cranfield University, you will benefit from our stimulating and professional learning environment giving you the opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills to achieve a global career, as well as the chance to make worldwide friendships along the way.
Housing services
Living on campus can be a great way for you to meet and socialise with other students, and to benefit from the supportive infrastructure and sense of community spirit this brings. However, we also understand that many students will still want to have the opportunity to live with partners and families, which is why we also offer affordable family homes and apartments for couples.
All our accommodation is within easy reach of the campus buildings and all the great amenities Cranfield University offers. There is plenty of parking space available for students who wish to bring their car.
Take a look at our full range of accommodation options available here:
Library services
You can search nearly 200 academic and leading commercial databases, enabling you to find current, relevant information and explore applied subjects in great depth. This will not only help you succeed at Cranfield; potential employers will value your familiarity with the specialist resources widely used within their industry as well.
ICT services
- We offer high speed networking and wireless connectivity, providing you with access to a wealth of online services including our virtual learning environments, library resources, secure file store and university email.
- Our IT services are accessible from both on and off campus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, giving you the flexibility to work whenever and wherever you prefer.
Campus life
- Both Cranfield and Shrivenham are fully self-contained centres of academic excellence, set in extensive grounds in classic English countryside, just short distances from towns, cities and many other places of interest.
- Excellent transport links make it easy to get around and explore, with London, one of the world’s most global and cosmopolitan cities, just 50 miles from Cranfield and 80 miles from Shrivenham.
- On campus, there is a true sense of community, helping you to forge friendships during your studies and leisure time, in a safe and peaceful environment. Whatever your recreational, social or sporting interests, there are many opportunities to make friends and have a great time.
Sports facilities
- Facilities at the Cranfield campus include our sports centre, which incorporates a fitness centre, playing fields, sports pitches and several tennis courts, while Shrivenham has its own golf course, outdoor heated swimming pool and riding stables.
- At Cranfield, the fitness centre contains an extensive range of cardiovascular and resistance machines and free weights. The centre prides itself on offering excellent value for money, while catering for the varied needs of its members. So whether you want to lift weights or improve your general fitness, this is the place for you.
- A number of our sports clubs also operate within the multi-purpose area of the gym and compete in inter-university and local leagues.
Student clubs
The Cranfield Student Association is run by a team of elected students and supported by a small team of staff. The aim of the CSA is to support and represent Cranfield University students, promote student welfare and organise social, cultural and sporting activities. Together with support from current students, the CSA student officers and school representatives also aim to ensure all students are provided with the support and services they need.
Cranfield is the first University in the UK to receive accreditation from the European Logistics Association.