Thanks for reaching out. I studied MSc Aerospace Materials at Cranfield University and it was worth my choice due to work ethic, quality of projects, strong collaboration with industry and global exposure thanks to Europeans. Few modules were mind-blowing and others were decent. The faculty are amicable and competent. Considering the success stories of several alumni including Neil Armstrong, it is an esteemed university from both the employers' and students' perspective.
Course Curriculum :
Latest course syllabus. Industrial professionals delivered lectures.
Exams :
I took TOEFL (112), IELTS (8.0) and GRE (323). I only applied to one university and used my IELTS score for admission.
Placement :
You need to know that UK is the most difficult country to find a job and a fully funded PhD. Canada, Singapore, Australia, Netherlands, Germany and USA give you more opportunities for ROI (Return on Investment). To understand why, you need to understand the concept of visa. If someone asked me about UK jobs before Brexit happened, I would explain them how a visa works: a) When a student applies for a student visa, the university is the sponsor. When a student applies for a job, the company is the work visa sponsor. b) Work visa is difficult to obtain by international students because: - Countries prefer their own citizens. - Limited work visas can be annually approved by government. - Many companies don't have sponsorship license to provide work visa. - Even if they do, they don't prefer because they have to do a Resident Labour Market Test (advertising jobs for minimum 28 days in UK and Europe). A lot of paper work is involved to hire a migrant because the company has to prove that there was no UK/EU citizen to take the job. - Company has to pay a penalty (Immigration Skills Charge) to the government if it hires a migrant. - Some companies and students are not aware of sponsorship process. So they want to keep a distance from the troubles. - There are clauses that exempt internationally students and employers from carrying a Resident Labor Market Test and paying Immigration Skills Charge to the government, but the exemptions are a narrow line with limited benefits. - Some companies advertise the vacancies until they find a British/EU citizen, sometimes they are unrelenting about hiring only a Brit. Sometimes it's fair and sometimes it's due to systemic racism. Politics have changed after Brexit. Post-study visa (Graduate Route) (2 years) has been implemented in UK. Students can switch to this visa from their student visa after course completion. All they need is a job offer. Company doesn't need to sponsor if the student switches to post-study visa. However, they need to find a sponsorship after 2 years. That doesn't mean it will be easier. Competition has boomed because international students choose to stay and fight for the jobs. When I was in UK, almost every Indian left UK soon after thesis submission. My friend and I didn't because we got the jobs. That's a story for another day. ? Furthermore, there are no on-campus placements here. Foreign system is different. Ways to get jobs: a) Networking with professionals, faculty members and friends. They have contacts. *Everyone has contacts.* Networking is vital. 70 percent of the jobs in UK/Europe are filled before advertising because companies preferred referred candidates. b) Careers fair (free of cost) and conferences on campus and in different cities (paid/free). You have to ensure that spending money for networking is worth it. c) Websites like LinkedIn, gradcracker, Glassdoor, Reed, Student Circus etc. *What happens in career fairs?* Companies' engineers, graduates and HR set up stalls and you go talk to them, if they are interested they ask for CV and stuff. Don't worry if they don't. They tell about graduate programs, available roles, work visas (they lie hahah), etc. *What are graduate programs?* Companies have paid Graduate Programs for inexperienced/less experienced people. You will be trained and assigned real projects for 2-3 years. Most companies have 3 or 4 rotational placements to sweep you through every business function irrespective of your background. After the program, you will be absorbed as a permanent employee if there are vacancies. Application process is similar to job application (online). The selection hierarchy is: CV screening, Online test, Telephonic Interview/Cloud Video Interview, Assessment Centre, series of interviews (Technical+HR), Job offer. Depending on the candidate experience and the job, company can skip some stages. Every UK University has a *Career Development Services.* It is the department that acts like the Indian placement cells. It finds employers for Cranfield students and occasionally organises company presentations. Unlike Indian placement cells, Careers Development Services helps you prepare for interviews and assessment centres through their myriad of coaching sessions and online, downloadable material. However, they can guide you but not spoon feed you.
Internship :
No.
Fees :
GBP 20000
Scholarship :
Aerospace Departmental Scholarship received: £4000 A journal track record makes a competitive application. Parallely, one should strive to secure funding from: 1) Indian agencies/government (commonwealth scholarship is the best) 2) UK government agencies 3) University you'll apply to (many universities have their own funding programs; available on university website)
Faculty :
Please check QS University rankings for student/faculty ratio. Faculty are experts in their fields and quite welcoming. Every second faculty member left an impact on me.
Campus Life :
Other costs: 1) Laundry Laundry on campus is charged £2.7: washing machine £1.2: drying You can do it via an app or purchase card at the reception. Laundry off-campus depends on the landlord. He may or may not charge you. 2) Food and beverage Friday nights in the on-campus pub (Cranfield Student Association or CSA) could be expensive if you are a drinker. typical alcohol costs £3-5 (single). Don't know about beer. I don't drink beer. Pub entry is free. CSA has a cash machine, small departmental store, lounge, cafe/restaurant, bar and disco. On weekdays, international cuisines are prepared, £5-7 depending on dish. If you live on-campus (with kitchen) or off-campus, grocery shopping could be done in Tesco (nearest is Milton Keynes Kingston district), Lidl and Asda (cheapest retailers in UK). There is one mini-mall (Budgens) on campus, but it's expensive. 3) Sim: Lycamobile is best. That's my opinion. There are other companies too. I use Lyca's bundle £10/month (cheapest). New sim orders are £8 for first month. 4) Life on the weekends is boring because Cranfield is in the middle of nowhere. So people are always traveling to UK cities (nearest London). Europeans travel a lot to their home countries because they are near. Indians can't afford to because it's far. CSA organises one-day coach trips to London, Cambridge and some museums for £13-20 occasionally. Some people stay on campus and study/party. Mitchell hall has 2 study rooms. Other on-campus accomodation have parties once friend groups are formed. Parties (Night/Barbeque) in Cranfield village happen too. It's important to connect with people, if you don't want to die of boredom. Living on campus helps you make more friends than living off-campus.
Hostel :
On campus accomodation: 1) Halls of Residence: I lived on campus, in Mitchell Hall (shared bathroom, washroom, small bedroom and sink) with mess facility. Free wifi on campus. Mess was included in accomodation fees. Other halls of residence (Lanchester, Chilver, String Fellow) are cheaper but without mess. You get a bigger room with big kitchen that has every facility (plates, spoons, fridge, microwave, everything etc). You only have to buy groceries and cook. Mitchell Hall has every facility. Saves time for cooking. It costed me £575/month, inclusive of everything. 2) Shared houses: They are houses with separate rooms. So you'll have flatmates to share your bathrooms and kitchen with. https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/study/life-on-campus/life-at-cranfield/accommodation/halls-of-residence Off campus accommodation: 1) Cranfield village: 10 mins by bus. Price ranges from £320-800 (depending on location and will of landlord). Some landlords live with you, some without. Always choose accommodation with live-out landlord. Most landlords are grumpy old people. 2) Milton Keynes: Houses can be 20-45 mins from University by bus. ?350-500 for single rooms with shared facilities. 3) Bedford: Minimum 1 hour from University by bus. Cheapest rooms, not quite safe. https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/study/life-on-campus/life-at-cranfield/accommodation/off-campus-accommodation Link to find accommodation in Cranfield village: https://www.cranfieldstudentpad.co.uk/Accommodation
