Studying Aerospace Engineering

We prepare you for your future

Here in Sheffield, our aerospace engineering courses will equip you with the hands-on industry experience and knowledge to pursue whatever career you choose.

Making you employable

Our courses are designed to prepare work-ready future engineers so whether you've always dreamed of becoming a chartered engineer or are still weighing up your options, we'll make sure you have the skills and attributes to stand out from the crowd.

We work with some of the world's leading engineering companies to help share the future of aerospace engineering globally. You'll benefit from the strong links we've established and their industrial input into the design of our courses.

The experience you'll gain in problem solving, leadership responsibility, communication, interpersonal skills and more will pave the way for an engineering career of your choice.

Read more about the career opportunities available to you. 

You'll be an engineer from day one

As an aerospace engineering student you'll thrive within a connected environment. Our focus is entirely on you, shaping your experience and preparing you for a successful future career.

You'll develop an interest in how things work and learn more about the science behind it - connecting it to the world around you to help solve engineering problems and improve lives.  

What our students say

Don't just take our word for it, hear what some of our students have to say.

My experience at Sheffield has been incredibly empowering, and I’ve learned that gender is not a barrier to success in this industry.

Denisse MEng Aerospace Engineering

Denisse describes how a culture of experimentation & growth motivates students to think creatively, tackle complex problems, and engage with cutting-edge aerospace developments.

My advice? Get involved with as much as you can with the Early Careers community

Parisha Mistry Company: BAE Systems Placement

Parisha is an Aerospace Engineering student who was placed at BAE Systems.

My degree provided ample opportunities to develop both hands-on engineering skills and a strong theoretical foundation

Ethan BEng Aerospace Engineering

After studying for his BEng in Aerospace Engineering with a Foundation Year, Ethan is now pursuing a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering here in Sheffield.

Studying aerospace engineering opens up a number of opportunities and gives you the ability to choose an industry you’re passionate about.

Hannah Clague BEng Aerospace Engineering

After graduating with her degree in Aerospace Engineering, Hannah joined Siemens Gamesa as a Renewables Graduate Engineer, and is working on the development of wind turbines.

Challenging you to succeed

Our course is designed to challenge you to be the best engineer you can be. It won't be easy and you'll have to work hard, but we'll help you to meet that challenge, so that you're able to problem-solve and think like an engineer. You'll put theory into practice and get hands-on with real engineering projects.

Hands-on engineering

From your first year, you'll work in small groups in our design, build and test module which closely simulates real-world engineering processes, to introduce you to skills essential for the aerospace industry. You'll tackle complex design projects, from concept through to manufacture, applying systems engineering to integrate aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, avionics and control.

In industry, collaboration and innovation are at the heart of engineering. Engineers from different backgrounds with mixed skill sets work on projects together in groups. Here at Sheffield you will take part in our project weeks that not only look at solving a real world problem, but also allow you to work within interdisciplinary groups with students from across the entire Faculty of Engineering. 

Global Engineering Challenge

In your first year the week-long Global Engineering Challenge will give you the opportunity to tackle real world engineering problems within fields including digital, sanitation, or the built environment for example, whilst developing team-working and problem-solving skills. Alumni are also on hand to offer support, guidance and feedback to you.

I think the Global Engineering Challenge was a great opportunity to see how multidisciplinary teams work together, to research new challenges faced by different communities across the globe, find solutions to these challenges and propose solutions and concepts which tackle these problems. There was a certain thrill to finding ingenious solutions to the problems proposed, which required thinking outside-of-the-box and creativity. 

Deniz

Engineering: You're Hired 

In second year, this interdisciplinary Engineering: You're Hired week builds on the Global Engineering Challenge. You work in teams from a mix of disciplines, alongside home and international students, replicating the modern engineering world. You will bring your own discipline knowledge to collaboratively propose a design and a plan to take it to the proof-of-concept stage.

Many of the projects are suggested by industry, which creates a current and relevant opportunity for you to apply your academic learning to industry. Mentors from industry will support you throughout the project, giving you insights and real life experience into how to approach the problems proposed.

I found the week to be a fantastic opportunity to develop my teamwork and problem-solving skills in a fast-paced, interdisciplinary environment. Collaborating with students from different engineering disciplines gave me a fresh perspective on real-world challenges, and engaging with industry professionals and alumni provided valuable insights into how we apply these skills in our future careers. 

Yaseen

Quality teaching

We're more than just a top-ranked aerospace engineering programme, Sheffield is a vibrant community where your curiosity, creativity, and collaboration will thrive. We're not just about amazing experiences inside and outside the classroom; we're committed to delivering a high-quality education that sets you up for success.

Your learning will be active and engaging as we combine small group sessions, personal tutoring and research-led teaching with real-world projects, industry connections, and access to our world-class facilities, as well as lots of opportunities to get involved in student-led initiatives.

Dr Carolanne Vouriot 

Dr Carolanne Vouriot teaches Thermofluids for our architectural engineering programme and is also one of our admissions tutors.

Lightbulb Moment? When I was in high school in France, I got the chance to do the Aeronautical Initiation Certificate which introduced me to aeronautics and allowed me to fly a light aircraft (under close supervision!). This programme showed me how the physics and maths I had been learning could be applied in practice and encouraged me to study engineering.  

Why study aerospace engineering?  I think studying Aerospace Engineering at Sheffield is great because of the design stream that runs across the years that allows you to get hands on experience with designing, building and testing different types of small aircrafts.

Tells us about your research. Although I'm an aeronautical engineer by training, my research now focuses on building fluid dynamics. During the Covid-19 pandemic I was involved with modelling infection risk - a very different kind of airborne challenge!

Ellis Marriott 

Ellis Marriott is a university teaching associate, teaching on the aerospace design stream particularly in the second year where students design, build and test a quadcopter drone. He is also the year tutor for second year.

Best thing about being an engineer? For me it's the ability to get hands on with tools, equipment and materials when trying to find a solution to a problem. Engineering combines established theory with the limitless creativity people bring.

Why study aerospace engineering?  Aerospace engineering at Sheffield gives you the opportunity to undertake practical, real-world engineering challenges, such as designing, building and then flying a mission with your own VTOL-capable unmanned air system. You are given a huge amount of design freedom while being supported all the way by passionate and knowledgeable tutors.

We're proud to say that our students are truly exceptional. As you can see from our NSS rankings, you’ll have a great time and leave with fantastic skills for the future. You'll find a friendly community of like-minded individuals here, where you can grow your skills and invest in your future. We hope you'll choose to join us and take your next steps in making the world a better place. I look forward to welcoming you to our First Year in September and wish you all the best as you prepare for university. 

Professor Martin Mayfield-Tulip

Head of the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering

Stay in touch

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