BSc (Honours) Aerospace Technology
Four years full-time (including one year work placement) or three years full-time
UCAS code • H401
Location • City Campus
Subject area • Engineering
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Watch a video describing the flight simulator we have available for our aerospace students to use.
Read about the activities of the Aerospace Society and what is happening during 2011-12.
View a 360 degree tour of our precision workshop.
Watch a video of Mark Thompson, head of undergraduate recruitment for engineering, talking about our engineering courses.
Read about SHU Racing and our formula racing team.
Watch a video about our formula student racing car and the benefits of being involved in the team.
Find out about our engineering teaching team.
Find out about Creative Spark, our annual graduate showcase of final year students' work, and Brightest Spark, an exhibition featuring projects completed by our elite students.
Sheffield Hallam University has been shortlisted for a Times Higher Education Award for its innovative work in engaging with regional and national employers. Find out more.
Our Digital Design Centre can print medium to large format high quality outputs on a range of different media. The laboratories have software supporting 2D and 3D engineering and creative design applications. Find out more.
One of the most valuable resources available for you to access is our highly experienced technical support team. Find out how they can help support your development.
View profiles of students on this course.
At a glance
Prepare for a career in aerospace using industry standard facilities, which include a state-of-the-art Merlin full motion flight simulator. As part of this course, you have the chance to significantly enhance your career prospects with a paid year in industry.
Key points
• Prepare for a career in the aeronautical and aerospace sectors.
• Benefit from industry-standard laboratories, including a Merlin flight simulator.
• Prototype and test your designs with excellent workshop facilities.
• Take the opportunity to go on a paid placement within the aerospace industry.
What is aerospace technology?
Aerospace technology involves the application of engineering to the design, manufacture, testing and operation of products and systems within the aeronautical and aerospace sectors.
This course
This course prepares you for a career in the aerospace and aeronautical industry. You gain knowledge, skills and experience in • aerospace technology • flight mechanics and aerodynamics • engineering design • materials and manufacturing • aircraft design • aerospace structures • electronics/avionics • propulsion systems.
Your studies are centred around our industry-standard engineering facilities, designed to prepare you for the workplace. You learn in dedicated aerospace engineering labs that include a sub-sonic wind tunnel for aerodynamics and flight mechanics studies.
We also have a state-of-the-art Merlin, full motion, engineering flight simulator for handling, stability and control studies of existing and concept aircraft. The Merlin simulator allows you to experience and assess, first hand, the handling and performance characteristics of commercial and light aircraft. The simulator also allows aircraft designs developed in class to be flight tested without leaving the ground.
You also make use of general engineering labs for • materials science • mechanics • thermofluids • dynamics and control • power electronics and transmission • avionics • Computer Aided Design (CAD) • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).
There are also excellent workshop facilities that include manual and CNC machines, fabrication rapid prototyping and laser cutting. You use these for workshop practice, design-make-test based teaching and prototyping, and proof-of-concept style final-year projects.
Once you’ve developed skills and knowledge in our labs and workshops, you can apply what you’ve learnt on a paid work placement in your third year. This is usually within the aerospace sector or a high profile engineering company.
This opportunity allows you to gain new skills and improve your subject and industry understanding, making you more valuable to employers. Sometimes your placement can lead to the offer of a permanent job after you graduate, or may lead you onto a graduate scheme.
Previous students have worked with companies such as Rolls-Royce, Airbus, Augusta Westland, Lockheed Martin and Smiths Aerospace. Currently the average salary for a student on placement is £14,000. Typical placement roles include those in areas such as CAD, design engineering, product design, test engineering and manufacturing.
We have very good links with local flying clubs and you have the opportunity to have trial lessons or progress to a formal qualification on fixed wing aircraft, such as the NPPL, PPL or gliding certificate. Other clubs cater for those interested in hang gliding, microlights or paragliding.
Key areas of study
Throughout the course there is a strong element of project work focusing on • analysis • design • prototyping • manufacture • testing of aerospace systems and components.
The UK is the second largest aerospace industry in the world after the USA.
Find out more about BSc (Honours) Aerospace Technology
Related courses
You apply for this course through UCAS.
2013/14 academic year
For 2013 entry, membership of professional bodies is included in the course fee.
The course fee may be subject to annual inflationary increase. For further information on fees and funding see www.shu.ac.uk/study/ug/fees-and-funding
2013/14 academic year
Typically £10,680 a year
2014/15 academic year
Typically £11,250 a year
The course fee may be subject to annual inflationary increase. For further information on fees, scholarships and bursaries see www.shu.ac.uk/international/fees
• examinations • coursework • drawings • models • posters • reports • working prototypes
You also take larger individual and team design projects, which we assess at certain stages and by final report.
Find out about work placements and how we can support your placement experience.
Optional year-long work placements are normally gained by competitive interview and are not a guaranteed part of a course.
The course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and subject to continuing accreditation by the Institution of Engineering and Technology. It counts towards the academic requirements for registration as a chartered engineer.
Key Information Set 
Flight simulator (1:47)
Watch a video describing the flight simulator we have available for our students to use.
Aerospace Society
The Aerospace Society (AeroSoc) is both a social and an academic society for students with a passion for aerospace. It runs a series of social events and society meetings during the year and has recently being nominated as the most improved (Hallam Students' Union) society.
Recent society events include the heavy lift challenge and taking flying lessons. The heavy lift challenge involved a group designing and building a miniature aircraft that entered the British Model Flying Association's University and Schools Challenge. Another group of society members visited a local flying club for individual flying lessons.
Special interest groups take part in activities such as designing aircraft simulator programs to use with the University's Merlin flight simulator.
Society days out have included a trip to see and hear about the retired Vulcan bomber and trip to the Royal Aeronautical Society Careers fair in London. This gave members an opportunity to to speak to big industry companies and start a network of contacts to gain opportunities for work placements and graduate employment.
Engineering precision workshop
The workshop is supported by technicians who are there to provide you with help and guidance. You can use the facilities for individual projects outside timetabled classes.
About our courses (1:19)
Mark Thompson, head of undergraduate recruitment for engineering, talks about studying engineering courses at Sheffield Hallam. Mark covers topics including employability, practical-skills building, specialist facilities and student support.
SHU Racing
SHU Racing 2011 team
Students from almost every engineering and technology course make up our SHU Racing team. If you feel you have the enthusiasm and dedication to work on an exciting motorsport project from start to finish, then you could be an ideal team member.
SHU Racing develops your personal and technical skills. It gives you valuable business experience as the outcome relies on the performance of every team member.
You work on every part of the project including • design • manufacture • business • liaising with sponsors. This experience increases your value to all types of engineering companies when you graduate.
You design, build and test the car with a view to competing in the Formula Student event at Silverstone.
The Formula Student competition, which is run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, aims to inspire and develop young engineers. Universities from across the globe are challenged to design and build a single-seat racing car which is judged for its racing performance, design and the strength of the teams' business models.
Cars are judged by a panel of experts from the field of automotive engineering. The competition is backed by Ross Brawn OBE, who has worked for a number of Formula One teams, serving as the technical director of the championship-winning Benetton and Ferrari teams.
SHU Racing and the Formula Student project is a popular choice for many of our students as a final year project. It also forms an integral part of the BSc (Honours) Automotive Design Technology.
Formula student (2:02)
Watch a video about the benefits of being involved in the SHU Formula student racing team.
Previous SHU Racing team members have gone on to work for Formula 1 racing teams.
Download a transcript of this video.
Dr Mark Thompson
Principal lecturer
I gained an upper second degree in BEng Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from Humberside University in1994.
I then studied for a PhD at York University, applying artificial intelligence techniques to the control of antenna systems, resulting in the development of a software package and the publication of a number of international papers.
After gaining my doctorate in 1997, I worked as a research associate for a number of years, first at Hull University, developing fault monitoring and diagnosis systems. I then worked at the University of Sheffield developing an artificial intelligent control system for a chemical processing plant. In 2000 I became a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam.
I am currently head of undergraduate admissions for engineering and have designed courses for a number employers including Rolls-Royce, Bombardier and Kimberly-Clark in collaboration with Derby College, Rotherham College of Arts and Technology and North Lindsey College. This has helped to ensure that our courses are relevant to the needs of industry.
Dr Karen Vernon-Parry
Course leader for the Extended Degree in Engineering
Phone 0114 225 4852
E-mail k.vernon-parry@shu.ac.uk
I studied materials science at Oxford University, and also completed my DPhil there, which was on the microstructure and properties of superconducting thin films. After a post-doctoral position at Oxford, I moved to the University of Manchester and then to UMIST. In 2004 I came to Sheffield Hallam University, becoming a senior lecturer in 2006. I have been course leader for the Extended Degree in Engineering (prep year) since January 2009.
I am interested in the correlation between the structure and the physical properties of materials at the atomic scale. In the past 10 years this has concentrated on the development and evolution of process-induced defects in semiconductors, initially ion implantation damage in silicon and silicon-germanium alloys, and more recently defects such as grain boundaries in multicrystalline semiconducting diamond. Such studies are in support of electronic device development. I also collaborate with the electroceramics group at Manchester University to investigate the role of specific dopant species in varistor formulations.
I have recently become involved in a multi-disciplinary research program developing 'intelligent' materials, particularly for healthcare applications.
I am a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College and am a Member of the Institute of Physics
Dr Qinling Li
Senior lecturer in thermo-fluids
I am a senior lecturer in thermo-fluids. I am interested in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology and applications. Before moving to Sheffield Hallam, I was a research associate in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP), University of Cambridge.
I also spent part time in the CFD Lab, which is part of the Acoustics, Fluid Mechanics, Turbomachinery and Thermodynamics Division, Engineering Department, University of Cambridge.
From 2003-2006, I worked as a research associate in the Aeronautical and Automatics Engineering Department, Loughborough University.
I studied for a PhD degree in the Aerodynamic Flight Mechanics Research Group, Southampton University, in 2003. And I obtained my first and master degrees, and used to be a lecture at Xi'an Jiaotong University, China.
Research interests
• fundamentals of turbulence
• direct numerical simulation (DNS) of compressibility effects in wall-bounded channel flow
• large eddy simulation (LES) of fan/outlet guide vane (OGV) broadband noise prediction
• les for short take-off and vertical landing aircraft (STOVL)
• turbine blade cooling
• biomechanical
• fluid-structure interaction (FSI)
Dr Andy Young
Principal lecturer
On leaving school I became a craft apprentice in a defence company manufacturing naval artillery, where I was trained as a precision miller-turner-fitter. In 1989 I was awarded a Whitworth Scholarship from the IMechE to encourage practical engineers to seek higher education, which led to my enrolment on a Manufacturing Systems Engineering degree at The University of Leeds.
In my first year I transferred onto mechanical engineering to get a more general education, and by the third year I developed an interest in computer modelling of how fluids behave. I was awarded prizes from the IMechE and Sun Microcomputers for project work, a Parkinson scholarship for continued study from the University, and sponsorship from International Paper to embark on a PhD research degree into thin film generation for the printing industry.
I was then employed as a Research Fellow in the Industrial Coating Research Group, where I focused on the transference of academic research to industrial problems, working with companies such as Kodak, 3M, and Ilford.
I moved to a leading industrial consultancy company called Fluent in 1998, and became focused on thermo-fluids and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). I worked in materials processing industries, helping manufacturers apply technology to understand how to make better glass, polymer, and metals products.
In 2005 I began teaching engineering fundamentals and their industrial applications to students. I joined engineering at Sheffield Hallam leading the teaching for thermo-fluids and CFD, and supervising PhD students.
In 2009 I recognised an opportunity to start-up a new venture in the University called Hallam Energy which works directly with industry to reduce their energy costs and carbon emissions by the application of technology.
David Legge
Senior lecturer, engineering and mathematics
I am a senior lecturer in the engineering design subject group. I am a time served engineer with professional experience in design, manufacturing, logistics and organisational development.
I teach on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules, with a bias towards design and manufacture. I am particularly keen on developing the formal and informal formative experiences of undergraduate engineers; especially within the aerospace degrees, which are a relatively new group of degrees at Sheffield Hallam. I feel well placed to do this as I am a qualified gliding instructor and own my own glider.
My education was in manufacturing systems engineering. I also have a postgraduate degree (Technical Licentiate) from Lulea University of Technology, Sweden. This was for research into off-line programming of coordinate measuring machines (CMM's) and standards for data transfer between CMM's and computer aided design (CAD) software.
My previous academic role was as a senior lecturer in the Department of Manufacturing Development at Lulea University of Technology (LTU). For the last few years I have been a freelance consultant in logistics and LEAN. I divide my time between Sweden, where I have lived for the past 20 years, and the UK.
I have some 20 research publications to my name. Areas in which I have carried out research or have particular skills include CAD/CAM, CNC machining, metal cutting, metrology, robotics, organisational development, LEAN, workspace design and pedagogy.
Chris Short
Principal lecturer
I trained as an apprentice engineer in the hand tools industry, during which time I completed a degree in mechanical and production engineering.
After graduating I worked in the design departments of a number of companies designing special purpose machine tools before beginning a postgraduate teaching qualification. I subsequently taught a range of engineering subjects in the further education sector for eight years before joining Sheffield Hallam in 1990.
My role is a Portfolio Director with responsibility for all the BSc technology degrees, and I teach on several design modules at all years of the courses.
I am a chartered mechanical engineer and a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
My areas of interest and research are design, design management, the implementation of new technology and engineering education. I have completed a range of research and consultancy work with companies implementing new technology or developing new products and have written around 30 publications.
The most recent development in my portfolio has been the addition of an aerospace technology degree and this has proved very exciting for me.
Profiles
Dr Mark Thompson
Principal lecturer
Dr Karen Vernon-Parry
Course leader for the Extended Degree in Engineering
Dr Qinling Li
Senior lecturer in thermo-fluids
Dr Andy Young
Principal lecturer
David Legge
Senior lecturer, engineering and mathematics
Chris Short
Principal lecturer
Spark - be creative
Subjects included are • animation • architecture • computers • creative writing • digital media production • engineering • fashion design • film and visual effects • film and media production • fine art • furniture and product design • games design • graphic design • interior design • jewellery and metalwork • performing arts • photography • product design.
Creative Spark
Creative Spark is an annual showcase of student work and celebrates the innovation, creativity and imagination of our most talented graduates. Creative Spark is hosted across four university venues • Owen • Cantor • Sheaf • Arundel Gate Court and S1 in the city centre.
For further information visit the Creative Spark website.
Brightest Spark
Brightest Spark is an exhibition housed in the SIA Gallery and Cantor building. This exhibition features the elite students in each Sheffield of Institute of Arts course as chosen by industry professionals.
For further information visit the Brightest Spark website.
Project Spark
Sheffield Hallam students have the opportunity to play a key role in the promotion of the Creative Spark and Brightest Spark exhibitions by submitting entries for Project Spark. The 2012 competitions included • concept design • branding and wayfinding • creative writing • image • brightest spark logo and branding.
For further information visit the Project Spark website.
University recognised for its links with industry
Sheffield Hallam University were shortlisted for a Times Higher Education Award for its "innovative" work in engaging with regional and national employers.
The University was nominated in the Outstanding Employer Engagement Initiative category for its work delivering flexible engineering education, which has been recognised as a "strategic and innovative approach to delivering employers’ workforce development needs."
Through its "engineering hub", the University works with industrial partners such as Rolls-Royce, Kimberly-Clark and Severn Trent Water to offer their employees the chance to study while they work.
Employees can study on the University's Integrated Engineering course, which has four specialist engineering routes and leads to professional accreditation by the Institution of Engineering Technology.
Delivery of the courses is completely flexible allowing for staff development that suits business requirements.
Gary Herbert, a mechanical technician for Kimberly-Clark, has been studying for a foundation degree at the University, which offers him the flexibility to learn with ten days' study time over the academic year.
He said: "I have been working in my technician role for the last 12 years. This opportunity to study through Sheffield Hallam University gives me a chance to consolidate the knowledge I have acquired through my role within Kimberly-Clark alongside a more academic route."
Rolls-Royce has worked with the University to support the development of its young engineers.
Chris Keane, from Rolls-Royce's UK apprentice development team, said: "The foundation degree has provided an excellent framework in which to develop Rolls-Royce's engineers of the future. The students are able to develop their knowledge and qualifications quickly, whilst continuing to contribute to the company."
Martin Howarth, head of the engineering and mathematics department at the University, said: "We identified the need for greater flexibility in both course content and delivery in order to meet the needs of both employers and their staff.
"Our flexible approach means employers can choose how and when their staff access learning, as well as contribute to the course content.
"This ensures we are providing consistent, relevant education and making a key contribution to the development of engineers in the United Kingdom."
The Digital Design Centre
The Digital Design Centre comprises a suite of 6 IT laboratories (4 PC and 2 MAC) together with the Print Output room, an area for printing medium to large format high quality output on a range of different media. The laboratories have a wide range of software supporting 2D and 3D engineering and creative design applications.
The Digital Design Centre runs a high quality computer printing facility and has the ability to print sizes between A4 and A0 and wide format banners. A3, A2, A1, A0 and Banner photo quality printing is available on a range of papers, as well as AutoCAD type plans ( B & W ) on standard paper.
Technical support team
While you will find excellent facilities throughout, the most valuable resource you will have at your disposal is access to our extremely dedicated, highly experienced technical staff.
All the staff are there to support you during your time in the workshops. The technical team with its professionally qualified staff and practicing professionals, has a wealth of knowledge and expertise across all areas of our provision and comprises engineers, designers, silversmiths and jewellers, fine artists, media arts specialists and IT experts.
The team are committed to using their diverse range of skills and knowledge to support practical aspects of your
course work, whether solving a simple software problem, producing a complex engineering project or creating design work for an international exhibition. There are currently 50 technical staff directly supporting the Technical Resource Centres and the research institutes of the faculty.
Daniel McKenna
BSc (Honours) Aerospace Technology
`I chose this course as I had a keen interest in aerospace and engineering design. The partnership with Rolls Royce was a huge selling point but the largest draw was the city of Sheffield itself; the music and the culture.
`The principles I learnt in the first two years did prepare me to an extent for industry. This was in terms of report writing, working in teams, researching and engineering principles. Initially this link is not apparent as projects are much more specialised than in Uni, but as you work on more projects you realise that you are using the same core principles you learnt, just in a slightly different way.
`I had a fantastic placement experience at helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland. This was mainly down to a well structured programme focused on personal development as much as the overall contribution to the company’s core business. This meant I was able to get involved with all sorts of events from air shows to careers fairs to local school glider competitions, all aiding in my professional development.
`On the engineering side I spent time in three departments; systems safety where I was involved in aircraft certification, aerodynamics where I performed a drag audit on two helicopters and research and development, I researched state-of-the-art composite manufacturing processes for application to helicopter parts.
`I was lucky enough to visit the company’s headquarters in Italy and also most of its manufacturing and training facilities in Northern Italy.
`Due to the nature of HR’s approach in developing you personally as well as technically, graduates get lots of interesting opportunities. The Grad scheme is split into four, six month placements and you have the choice to tailor where you go. I have also been assigned a chartership mentor who is guiding me through the certification process and placements are being tailored to incorporate the criteria for this.
`I am currently in composites manufacturing engineering, which is responsible for the production and repair of all composite components on the helicopter but primarily rotor blades.
`I will be returning to Italy, although Rome this time, in July for an international graduates conference of parent company, Finmeccanica. This is the climax of a year spent networking and completing projects with the international graduate community within Finmeccanica.'
Profiles
Daniel McKenna
BSc (Honours) Aerospace Technology
