BEng (Honours) Aerospace Engineering
Four years full-time (including one year work placement) or three years full-time
UCAS code • H415
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.
View examples of projects completed by our students on computational fluid dynamics.
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.
At a glance
Study to become an engineer in an exciting industry, where demand for your skills is growing. Learn about the principles of flight and aircraft design in excellent facilities that include a specialist flight simulator. Then apply what you’ve learnt on a paid placement in industry.
Key points
• Specialise in an area where demand for engineers is growing.
• Benefit from industry-standard facilities, including a flight simulator.
• Take the first step towards Chartered Engineer status.
What is aerospace engineering?
Aerospace engineering is the study of fundamental engineering principles which govern the flying behaviour of modern aircraft and spacecraft. These engineering principles are then applied to the design and construction of such vehicles to ensure optimum performance.
This course
Train for a career at the highest level of engineering, with the skills and knowledge required to work in product development or senior management within the aerospace industries.
As a graduate you benefit from a growing demand for trained mechanical engineers in the aerospace industry. And because the course teaches you core mechanical engineering knowledge and skills, you can also find a career in the wider mechanical engineering industry, increasing your employment opportunities.
The first year builds a foundation of mathematics and engineering principles, underpinning your knowledge and fundamental skills. The basic principles of flight, aircraft design and control are introduced, and you cover engineering practice and personal skills development.
The second year starts to apply core mechanical engineering principles together with analysis and design to airframe structures and a specialised version of thermofluid dynamics applicable to aerospace engineering.
We introduce you to the specialist engineering materials used in airframe and engine construction. You also study business and management to broaden your knowledge of the commercial aspects of the engineering industry, and further develop your mathematics and computer-modelling skills.
In your final year you study more specialist aspects of aerodynamics, propulsion systems, finite element methods for structural analysis, flights mechanics and aircraft design principles.
Your studies are centred around our industry-standard engineering facilities based on City Campus. These include a precision workshop, our Digital Design Centre, sub-sonic wind tunnel and state-of-the-art flight simulator which can simulate the effects of enhancements you design in a realistic context.
In year three you can take an optional one year work placement. This may involve working in areas such as a design department, a manufacturing organisation or in commercial research and development. You are able to apply the knowledge gained on the course to commercial engineering practice, gain new skills and learn how industry works.
We help you to find a placement and negotiate a sensible salary, which is usually between £12,000 and £18,000. We have had students at Lockheed Martin, Rolls-Royce and Boeing. Some students return from industrial placements with sponsorships and job offers.
The culmination of your final year is a major individual project. This allows you to apply your knowledge, understanding, skills and qualities to an aerospace topic of your choice.
Key areas of study
Key areas include • aerodynamics (both engineering and computational) • propulsion systems • structural analysis • flight mechanics and aircraft design.
Find out more about BEng (Honours) Aerospace Engineering
Related courses
You apply for this course through UCAS.
2013/14 academic year
For 2013 entry, membership of a professional body 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
• coursework • examinations
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.
A student working in our engineering workshop
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.
Computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics is a key element of aerospace engineering. View examples of computational fluid dynamics projects completed by students on this course.
Blended wing aircraft design and modelling
The blended wing body is an advanced-concept aerospace vehicle that should offer increased Lift: Drag ratio along with reduced takeoff weight and fuel burn over conventional designs.
Gareth Roberts performed FLUENT CFDsimulations to investigate the improvements in drag reduction with blended wings based on the Boeing-NASA ground-breaking design.
Click on the thumbnail to the right to find out more about the project.
The Boeing Chinook C-47: aerodynamics, materials, flight control and crash safety
Helicopters are among the most versatile and intriguing flight vehicles designed by aerospace engineers. The USA’s CH-47 is the world’s only twin-rotor helicopter which has been employed for over 4 decades in rescue, fire fighting, military and cargo operations.
Lauren Wilson completed a critical study of the Chinook CH-47.
Click on the thumbnail to the right to find out more about the project.
Rocket chamber heat transfer
Chemical rocket propulsion is still the most widely employed method for spacecraft, missile and satellite launch.
Amin-Zadeh studied the conduction, convection and radiation heat transfer mechanisms in rocket chambers to appraise the best cooling mechanisms for protecting the chamber walls.
Click on the thumbnail to the right to find out more about the project.
Electrical propulsion for spacecraft
Electric propulsion is a form of advanced rocket propulsion that uses electrical energy for heating and/or directly ejecting propellant. Electric propulsion was pioneered by Professor Robert Jahn, one of the leading propulsion engineers in the world.
Naheem Choudhary investigated the various electric propulsion systems, performing a detailed critique of the best and most practicable for 21st century interplanetary missions.
Click on the thumbnail to the right to find out more about the project.
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 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)
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.
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
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.
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.
Profiles
Dr Qinling Li
Senior lecturer in thermo-fluids
Chris Short
Principal lecturer
Dr Mark Thompson
Principal lecturer
Dr Karen Vernon-Parry
Course leader for the Extended Degree in Engineering
David Legge
Senior lecturer, engineering and mathematics
Dr Andy Young
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.
