Cranfield University

Cranfield University Overview

An investment in postgraduate education at Cranfield University is a transformative step towards advancing a professional career. As a university with a global reputation, Cranfield offers students the opportunity to build strong connections with some of the world’s leading companies across various industries.

Cranfield University is exclusively postgraduate and specialises in key areas such as aerospace, defence and security, energy and power, environment and agrifood, manufacturing, transport systems, and water. Cranfield School of Management is internationally recognised for excellence in management education and research, contributing significantly to the university's reputation.

Distinctive Features of Cranfield University

• Queen’s Anniversary Prize: Cranfield is a six-time recipient of this prestigious award, the only national honour presented to educational institutions for their contributions to the public good.

• Unique Facilities: The university boasts numerous world-class, large-scale facilities that enhance both teaching and research. It is one of the few universities globally to possess its own airport. The Cranfield Global Research Airport provides a unique setting for transformational research in aviation and aerospace.

• Living Laboratory: Cranfield's campus serves as a living laboratory, offering a testbed for innovative technologies and novel approaches that aim to deliver improved social, economic, and environmental outcomes in urban, transport, and infrastructure systems.

• Industry Collaboration: Cranfield collaborates extensively with business, industry, and governments worldwide. Through its industry partnerships, applied research projects, and executive education and professional development programmes, the university engages with over 1,500 companies and organisations.

• Research Excellence: The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 rated 81% of Cranfield’s research as world-leading or internationally excellent, reflecting the university's commitment to high-quality research outputs.

• Postgraduate Engineering: Cranfield has the largest cohort of postgraduate engineering students in the UK, providing specialised training and research opportunities in various engineering disciplines.

• Staff-to-Student Ratio: With a staff-to-student ratio of one academic staff member for every five students, Cranfield offers personalised and focused academic support, one of the best ratios among UK universities.

• Heritage: Cranfield was established in 1946 as the College of Aeronautics, the first postgraduate institution of its kind. The School of Management was founded in 1967 and has since become a leader in management education, known for its impactful research and teaching.

Cranfield University’s unique blend of cutting-edge facilities, strong industry connections, and commitment to research excellence make it an ideal choice for students seeking a postgraduate education that is closely aligned with the demands of industry and society.

Cranfield University Rankings

• Cranfield is in the global top 150 for ‘Business and Management Studies’ and the top 200 for ‘Environmental Sciences’ in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023.
• The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023 placed Cranfield in the global top 40 for actions supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goal 17. Overall, Cranfield are in the global top 300.
• Cranfield was recognised by The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), 2023 as 8th in the UK for Employability.

Cranfield School of Management consistently ranks highly for its MBAs, management qualifications and executive education.

• The Full-time MBA is recognised amongst the Financial Times Global Top 100 MBAs 2023, noted specifically for the cohort's diversity (#1 in the UK for student sector diversity and #7 in the world for percentage of female students).
• The Full-time MBA is also ranked the 12th best overall programme in Europe, 4th best in UK and the European number one programme for both Learning and Entrepreneurship in the Bloomberg ‘Best B-Schools’ 2023-24 rankings.
• In the Economist WhichMBA? 2022 Full-time Rankings, Cranfield School of Management was ranked first in the world for ratio of alumni to current students (part of “potential to network” ranking), second in the UK and top 20 in the world for quality of faculty, top three in the UK for educational experience and top five in the UK for salary outcomes.
• In the Financial Times Masters in Finance Pre-experience ranking 2023, Cranfield School of Management's Finance MSc (formerly Finance and Management MSc) was ranked 10th in the UK and 48th globally.

Cranfield University Location

Cranfield University campus is 40 minutes away from central London by train, with the nearest towns being Milton Keynes and Bedford. London Luton Airport is the closest to the University, while Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted are all easily accessible via train and coach.

Cranfield Defence and Security is around 50 minutes from London by train and around 25 minutes from Bristol by train. Bath, Cheltenham, Bristol, and Oxford are all within an hour’s drive and London is less than two hours away by car.