Top 10 Aerospace Engineering Masters Degree Courses In The UK

A Masters in Aerospace Engineering will lead to a career in a fast-growing industry that has a growing number of opportunities for employment outside of the traditional centres of space exploration in America and Russia.

Aerospace Engineering

You will need to have an undergraduate degree in engineering to move onto a postgraduate degree in Aerospace Engineering, but once you are working in this field there are plenty of opportunities for an international career.

Here are the details of 10 of the best Aerospace Engineering masters degree courses that are available to study in the UK*.

Aerospace engineering masters degree courses

MSc in Advanced Aeronautical Engineering – Imperial College London

Tuition fees: Home students – £18,500 / International students – £42,900. This course is studied full time over one year.
What you will learn: Students on the MSc in Advanced Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College London will be taught how to develop new technologies and greener aircraft. The course includes multidisciplinary training in aircraft technologies with the purpose of reducing environmental impact and life-cycle costs. Core study modules include Aerospace Structures; Applied Aerodynamics; Emerging Technology for Green Aviation; and Systems Engineering for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. This course is accredited by the Royal Aeronautical Society.

MSc in Space Systems Engineering – University of Southampton

Tuition fees: Home students – £9,250 / International students – £33,900. This course is studied full time over one year.
What you will learn: The University of Southampton’s MSc in Space Systems Engineering will enable students to develop their expertise in spacecraft engineering whilst studying a course that has been endorsed by the UK Space Agency. It has a strong practical focus and students will participate in both individual and group projects. Core study modules include Advanced Astronautics; Concurrent Space Systems Design; Spacecraft Instrumentation; Spacecraft Structural Design; and Spacecraft Orbital Mechanics. This course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the European Accreditation of Engineering Programmes, and the Royal Aeronautical Society.

MSc in Aerospace Engineering – University of Bristol

Tuition fees: Home students – £15,500 / International students – £33,900. University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% tuition fee reduction. This course is studied full time over one year.
What you will learn: The MSc in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bristol has been designed to enable engineering graduates to further hone their advanced aerospace engineering knowledge and skills. Optional study modules include Aerodynamics and Numerical Simulation Methods; Advanced Structures and Materials; Aircraft Propulsion, Performance and Sustainable Operations; and Further Space Systems Engineering. Students also need to complete a research project and an Aerospace Group Design Project.

MSc in Aerospace Engineering – University of Manchester

Tuition fees: Home students – £15,500 / International students – £36,500. This course is studied full time over one year.
What you will learn: Students studying this MSc in Aerospace Engineering will gain plenty of industrial experience with companies that have close links with the University of Manchester, including BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce. Core study modules include Aerospace Design Project; Experimental Methods; and Engineering and Society. Optional modules include Helicopters; Autonomous Mobile Robots; and Launch and Re-entry Gas Dynamics.

MSc in Aerospace Engineering – University of Sheffield

Tuition fees: Home students – £13,260 / International students – £31,190. This course is studied full time over one year.
What you will learn: Students on the MSc in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Sheffield will benefit from the university’s close ties with some of the world’s leading aerospace companies. Core modules include Aero Propulsion; Aerodynamic Design; Aircraft Design; and Aircraft Dynamics and Control.

MSc by Research in Aerospace Engineering – University of Bristol

Tuition fees: Home students – £4,850 per year, full time over two years; £2,425 per year, part time over four years / International students – £26,700 per year, full time over two years.
What you will learn: The Masters by Research at the University of Bristol has three areas of study – these are Fluid Flow and Aerodynamics; Advanced Composites; and Dynamics and Control. All students on this research masters degree course will be expected to publish in high-quality journals and to present at international conferences.

MSc in Aerospace Engineering – University of Leeds

Tuition fees: Home students – £14,500 / International students – £33,000. This course is studied full time over one year
What you will learn: The University of Leeds has close contacts with the aerospace industry in the UK that students can take advantage of. Students on the MSc in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Leeds will study Advanced Aerodynamics and Aerospace Structures. Optional study modules include Engineering Computational Methods; Surface Engineering and Coatings; Aerospace Systems Engineering; and Spacecraft Dynamics and Control. This course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Royal Aeronautical Society.

MSc in Space Engineering – University of Birmingham

Tuition fees: Home students – £11,740 / International students – £32,510. This course is studied full time over one year.
What you will learn: The MSc in Space Engineering at the University of Birmingham has been designed to teach students advanced concepts of spacecraft engineering. Students will explore physical principles for space missions and space craft design. Core study modules include Materials and Manufacturing for Space Applications; Space Environment; and Advanced Space Mission Analysis and Design. This course is accredited by the Royal Aeronautical Society.

MSc in Advanced Aerospace Engineering – University of Liverpool

Tuition fees: Home students – £13,300 / International students – £29,900. This course is studied full time over one year.
What you will learn: Students on the MSc in Advanced Aerospace Engineering at the University of Liverpool will learn how to design, build and test different aircraft, spacecraft and satellites. Compulsory study modules include Flight Handling Qualities; Advanced Fluid Mechanics and Aerodynamics; and Technical Writing for Engineers. This course is accredited by the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Institute of Mechanical Engineering.

MSc in Astronautics and Space Engineering – Cranfield University

Tuition fees: Home students – £13,960 / International students – £31,775. Home students need to pay a £500 deposit to secure their place and international students need to pay £1,000 deposit. This course is studied full time over one year or part time over three years.
What you will learn: The MSc in Astronautics and Space Engineering at Cranfield University has a strong emphasis on a personal research project (accounting for 45% of the final grade) providing students with a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of aerospace engineering. Compulsory study modules include Space Systems Engineering; Space Propulsion; and Astrodynamics and Mission Analysis.

Editor’s note: this blog was originally published in November 2017. The tuition fees have been updated in July 2025 to reflect the latest tuition fees; and the rankings have been updated to reflect the rankings information in more recent sources.

*SOURCES: 1 & 2

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