Department of Aeronautical Engineering

Options: Aeronautical Engineering (4yr MEng) Aeronautical Engineering with a Year in Europe (4yr MEng)

Aeronautical engineering at Imperial is one of the toughest degrees in the country.
Although many of those who choose to study aeronautics will be driven by a desire to tinker with aircraft and aerodynamic design for the rest of their lives, the course has a surprisingly low degree of contact with actual aircraft for the first two years. Instead, aero is more of a logical extension of maths and physics courses - placing the emphasis on engineering and materials rather than specifically on aeronautical applications.

Consequently, the first two years of the degree have a lot in common with degrees in other departments, particularly mechanical engineering and chemical engineering, with whom aero students share lecture courses in maths and materials. Indeed, part of the reason for the tough nature of the course is simply that to be successful at aeronautics, students need a thorough grounding in almost every physical, mathematical and engineering discipline. These differences between the perception of an aeronautics degree and the reality, coupled with the heavy workload which the course engenders go some way toward the high drop-out rate amongst aero students.

The course is primarily based around compulsory lecture courses in the first two years, with no optional course and coursework counting for just 30%. However, in the third and fourth years, at least half of the courses are selected from a range of options. Coursework also grows in importance, with all lecture courses completed by February in the fourth year, to allow work to start on the major project which counts for the majority of final year students’ marks.

In the last ten years or so, aeronautical engineering at Imperial has undergone a significant change in direction, with the decline of the aeronautics industry in the UK leading to a move away from a heavy work-placement element to the course, so whilst it is still possible to do industry based projects in the final year, more and more students are staying within the department to complete their studies. That said, however, there are plenty of opportunities to study abroad for one year, and even the possibility of a “year in North America” option (although only a few very select students can fill the handful of places available each year).

In correlation to the decline in industrial opportunities, more and more graduates are choosing to leave their engineering studies behind them, and move to management and city jobs. The reputation of the department also makes it a popular destination for post-graduate study.

Socially, the department suffers from the high workload, coupled with a male:female ratio of 9:1, resulting in one of the least socially active departments on campus. However, the small size of the department (just sixty students a year) makes for a friendly atmosphere, where everyone tends to know everyone else and staff have a good relationship with students. There is also a departmental society, Aero Soc, which concentrates its efforts on an annual dinner and the occasional guest lecture.

Entrance to the department requires at least AAB at A-level, the highest offer made for any degree at Imperial, with the department regarding itself as one of the best in the world. The department insists on all students having maths and physics, and whilst further maths provides an advantage during the first year, which A-level you choose to do is relatively unimportant. Indeed, one of the better points about the degree is that there is no correlation between A-level scores and degree results - your level of previous knowledge and experience has little or no effect on the degree you will receive in four years time.