In your first year, you’ll learn the fundamental skills and knowledge required by a modern engineer, including principles of flight and aircraft operations. You’ll be introduced to Computer Aided Design package commonly used in the aerospace industry. You will also have an opportunity to take part in an exciting design project. Examples of previous projects are Ground Effect Vehicle made of balsa wood and laser cut mini–Mars Rover controlled by Arduino board. 

In your second year, the first-year core themes are further developed. You’ll learn about the design process through series of lectures and practical activities, and you will take part in another exciting group design project. You will expand your knowledge of aerodynamics, with wind tunnel experiments and you will learn about aerospace structures. You will be introduced to software commonly used in the aerospace industry for Finite Element Analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics.  

Between your second and third year, you can choose to take a work placement or a study abroad year. Both are valuable experiences and something you can add to your CV to make you stand out. 

In your third, or fourth year if you have taken a study abroad or work placement year, you’ll work on two projects:  

• The Aerospace Design group project - is where you’ll showcase your engineering skills. You will be allocated to a team to design a full-size aircraft and test fly it using our flight simulator. Every year the design task is different – in previous years, our students designed wide-body commercial airliners, heavy cargo aircraft, fire-fighting aircraft and even strategic bombers.  
• The Individual Major Project - is where you’ll immerse yourself in an area of aerospace engineering, you’re passionate about, using either the University or industrial facilities. This is a rewarding part of your degree that can lead to future employment.  

In your final year, where you will study at a Masters level, you will further deepen your knowledge and understanding of aerospace topics as well as develop your business and management skills. The Team Project is multi-disciplinary and involves applying your skills to solve an unusual and challenging problem, for example the design of an autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for surveillance on Mars. You could also participate in competitions such as IMechE UAS Challenge, where you and your fellow students have the chance to design and build your own UAV and compete against teams from other universities. 

Work placement

Graduate with invaluable work experience alongside your degree and stand out from the crowd.  

This course offers you the opportunity to enhance your study and CV with a work placement sandwich year. It’s a chance to explore career possibilities, make valuable contacts and gain sought after professional skills.  

Our dedicated Careers and Employment team are here to help guide you through the process.

If you take up a work placement between your second and third year of study, at the University of Hertfordshire you’ll pay no tuition fee for this year. We’ll ask you to make your decision in your second year, so there is plenty of time to think about it. 

What's next for my career?

Having an MEng demonstrates your breadth and depth of understanding about the aerospace industry, therefore making you more attractive to employers. Past graduates have been employed on major projects such as the Airbus A380 or the Typhoon, or in the development of missile systems, satellites and space vehicles.