Curious about studying Advanced Lightweight and Composite Structures MScat Cranfield University? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
MSc - Master of Science
Cranfield Campus
Full Time
Sep 2026
1 Year
With strong industrial engagement, this course provides you with the opportunity to address some of the most pressing sustainability challenges, by equipping you with advanced skills in the design of lightweight and composite structures. You will develop expertise in analytical, experimental, and numerical techniques to create structures that reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions. By applying these skills across key industries such as aerospace, automotive, motorsport, marine, and renewable energy, you will play a vital role in shaping a sustainable future and advancing technologies that help achieve net-zero goals. The MSc in Advanced Lightweight and Composite Structures is suitable for graduates with engineering, science, applied science or related degrees, who are keen to pursue careers as design engineers, stress engineers, research and development engineers, numerical code developers, consultants, and academic researchers. Our students typically hold first degrees or equivalent in mathematics, physics, computing or an engineering discipline. We also welcome applications from candidates from other disciplines and mature applicants with alternative qualifications.
To develop an understanding of the composite materials used in engineering structures.
This module provides an introduction to you on the fundamental knowledge and understanding for the design and analysis of lightweight structures. Classical stress analysis techniques to obtain closed form solutions to thin-walled structures under torsion, shear, and bending will be introduced. The module will develop your understanding upon which advanced lightweight structures are designed and analysed in transport industries.
The module is aimed at giving potential Finite Element users basic understanding of the background of the method. The objective is to introduce users to the terminology, basic numerical and mathematical aspects of the method. This should help you to avoid some of the more common and important user errors, many of which stem from a "black box" approach to this technique. Some basic guidelines are also given on how to approach the modelling of structures using the Finite Element Method.
This module will provide the principals involved in characterising material properties of composites and metals suitable for input to numerical simulations and to examine the challenges, significances and limitations of available experimental processes in extracting reliable, repeatable and relevant material properties. The effect of these properties is then investigated through practical simulation exercises to further enhance the understanding of material models and how to apply them correctly.
To provide you with a fundamental understanding of the buckling of thin walled structures and the ability to calculate the buckling load of a component.
The aim of the module will be to provide you with a general understanding, advantages and limitations of available numerical methods for analysis of solids and structures. Covering theory behind strain rate dependent materials, explicit non-linear finite element solvers, dynamic plasticity and meshless modelling techniques in finite element framework.
To provide you with an understanding of the considerations necessary when designing safe and crashworthy aircraft
To introduce you to the composite materials, manufacturing techniques and analysis methods for the design of aerospace composite structures.
3.6Cranfield University is an exclusive postgraduate university with a main campus in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, and a second...
