Apply for 2026 / 2027 intake.
Study at Cranfield University
- Location
- Cranfield, Shrivenham
- Founded
- 1946 (as College of Aeronautics); university status 1969; current name 1993
- Students
- about 5,000, all postgraduates (2024/25)
- Type
- Public postgraduate research university
- Main intakes
- September; January on selected courses
- Study levels
- Postgraduate taught, Postgraduate research, Professional development
Cranfield University is unusual in one important respect: it takes postgraduates only. It's a public research university in Bedfordshire, England, founded in 1946 as the College of Aeronautics. University status came by royal charter in 1969, when it was called the Cranfield Institute of Technology, and it became Cranfield University in 1993. Around 5,000 students study here, every one of them a postgraduate, spread across sites at Cranfield and Shrivenham.
Why study at Cranfield University
The whole university is built around science, engineering, design, technology and management. Four schools cover aerospace, transport and manufacturing; water, energy and environment; management; and defence and security. The Cranfield campus has its own airport next door and large-scale research facilities on site, which tells you something about how practical and industry-linked the work is. Over in the School of Management you'll find MBA programmes sitting alongside specialist master's degrees. Cranfield Defence and Security teaches its postgraduate courses at Shrivenham.
Location and student life
You'll find the main campus next to the village of Cranfield in Bedfordshire, about 50 miles north of central London and roughly eight miles from both Bedford and Milton Keynes. The second site is at Shrivenham in Oxfordshire, near Swindon, inside the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. That's where the defence and security courses are taught.
Cranfield itself is a small, self-contained place: halls, shops, libraries, laboratories and the airport all on one site. For high-street shops, restaurants and entertainment, Bedford and Milton Keynes are a short trip away, and London can be done as a day trip. Don't expect big-city nightlife. Life here is quieter, and it's centred on a mature postgraduate community with students from all over the world.
Courses and subjects
Teaching and research sit in four schools: the School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing; the School of Water, Energy and Environment; the School of Management; and Cranfield Defence and Security, at Shrivenham. The established strengths are aerospace, manufacturing, defence and security, water, energy and agrifood, and management, including the MBA and a range of specialist master's degrees.
Because Cranfield is postgraduate-only, there are no bachelor's degrees and no general undergraduate foundation route. What's on offer instead is master's degrees, MBAs, PhDs and professional development courses. As an international applicant you apply directly for postgraduate study, and each course page sets out exactly what that programme asks for.
Entry requirements for international students
You will need a bachelor's degree that matches the UK requirement stated on the course page. That commonly means a first or second-class honours degree in a relevant subject. For English, the university's minimum is IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with 5.5 in each component, or an accepted equivalent such as TOEFL iBT or PTE Academic. Some courses set the bar higher. If your score is below what's required, you may be able to take a Pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course first. Requirements do differ between courses, so read the course page and the university's entry requirements page before applying.
Accommodation
On the Cranfield campus you can live in a room in a hall of residence or in a shared house. There are also apartments for couples and houses for families, which matters for postgraduates who arrive with a partner or children. Rooms are allocated first come, first served through the student portal, and utility bills and Wi-Fi are included in what you pay. Our advice is to apply as early as you can once you've accepted your offer. Current prices, contract lengths and booking details are on the accommodation pages.
Scholarships and funding
If you're applying to the School of Management, look at the Cranfield Excellence International Scholarships and Merit Scholarships. They're open to full-time MSc offer holders paying overseas fees and have been worth up to £10,000 in recent intakes. The university's central funding pages list other awards for eligible postgraduates, including externally funded schemes such as Commonwealth Master's Scholarships. What's available, what it's worth and when you have to apply by all change from year to year, so check the funding and scholarships pages for the intake you're considering.