Cranfield University is a British postgraduate and research-based public university specialising in science, engineering, technology and management. Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics in 1946. Through the 1950s and 1960s, the development of aircraft research led to growth and diversification into other areas such as manufacturing and management, and in 1967, to the founding of the Cranfield School of Management. In 1969, the College of Aeronautics was renamed the Cranfield Institute of Technology, was incorporated by Royal Charter, gained degree awarding powers, and became a university. In 1993, it adopted its current name.
Cranfield University has two campuses: the main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire, and the second is at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom at Shrivenham, southwest Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique[citation needed] in the United Kingdom (and Europe) for having its own semi-operational airport – Cranfield Airport – and its own aircraft, used for teaching and research.
We are proud of our achievements – and especially those of our graduates. Some notable facts about Cranfield:
- In 2018, 54% of our students were from the UK, 21% from EU countries and 25% from the rest of the world.
- There is one member of academic staff to every seven students, one of the best ratios for any university in the UK.
- Over half of all aerospace engineering master's students in the UK study at Cranfield each year.
- Half of our students are over 30 years of age.
- In a typical year, our academics deliver courses in 45 countries outside the UK.
- More than half of our students and learners study part-time.
- Over 10,000 people come to Cranfield each year to benefit from our executive and professional development programmes.
- We have 30 international alumni communities across the world, including Australia (which sponsors an annual MBA scholarship), China (Beijing and Shanghai), India and Switzerland (Zurich).
We are ranked in the top ten in the UK for commercial research, consultancy and professional development. According to the Research Excellence Framework 2014, 81% of our research is classed as world-leading or internationally excellent. We're number one in the UK for research income from industry per academic (Times Higher Education, 2017).
At Cranfield School of Management:
- Our Management MSc is ranked number one in the UK and seventh in the world (The Economist Which MBA? Masters in Management (MiM) 2017 rankings).
- We are ranked third in the UK and tenth in the world (outside the US) in Forbes’ ranking of The Best International MBAs: One-Year Programs 2017.
- We are consistently ranked among the top 15 business schools in Europe and one of the top five in the UK for both open and customised executive development programmes. We are in the top ten in the world for the international reach of our customised programmes (Financial Times Executive Education rankings).
- The School is one of an elite group worldwide to hold the triple accreditation of: AACSB International (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) and AMBA (the Association of MBAs).
We are a specialist postgraduate university with world-class, large-scale facilities and a staff-to-student ratio that is one of the best for any university in the UK. Our global success is reflected in our rankings and awards:
- We are ranked number one in the UK for aerospace engineering (more than five times as many master's students in the UK study at Cranfield each year than at the university in second place), HESA 2016/17.
- We are number one in production and manufacturing engineering (28% of the 90 graduates in the UK studied at Cranfield), HESA 2016/17.
- We're number one in the UK for transport and automotive postgraduates (with over twice as many students as the university in second place), HESA 2016/17.
- UK top 10 for commercial research, consultancy and professional development, HESA 2016/17.
Cranfield ranks 5th in the UK for mechanical, aeronautical and manufacturing engineering in the QS World University Rankings 2020.
The Times Higher Education World Rankings, The Times World Rankings, The Complete University Guide and The Guardian, which focus on helping prospective undergraduate students to compare universities, don't list Cranfield University as we are postgraduate only.
Research rankings
Our research is industry-relevant and informed by our close links to business:
- 81% of the research at Cranfield is classed as world-leading or internationally excellent, Research Excellence Framework 2014. This score informs the allocation of research funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
- We are ranked number one in the UK for research income per academic by The Times Higher Education 2017.
- The nano membrane toilet was named by the Financial Times as one of the ’50 ideas to change the world’ in 2017.
- We're number one in aerospace engineering PhDs (22% of all aerospace engineering research degrees of the 140 graduating in the UK), HESA2016/17.
Cranfield School of Management rankings
Cranfield School of Management consistently ranks highly for its MBAs, management qualifications and executive education:
- 1st in the UK and 7th in the world in The Economist's 'Which MBA? Masters in Management (MiM)' 2017 ranking.
- In the Financial Times Executive Education rankings 2020, we are ranked among the top 30 business schools in Europe and one of the top 10 in the UK for executive development programmes. We are in the top 15 in the world for the international reach of our programmes and top 10 in the world for business school partners.
- 3rd in the UK and 10th in the world (outside the US) in Forbes' ranking of 'The Best International MBAS: One-Year Programs' 2017.
- 1st outside the US and 11th globally in the Supply Chain Management World 'University 100' annual survey 2016.
