Cranfield University

Cranfield University is a postgraduate public research university in the United Kingdom that specialises in science, engineering, design, technology and management.

Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics (CoA) 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 in the United Kingdom (and Europe) for having its own airport – Cranfield Airport – and its own aircraft, used for teaching and research.

On 14 May 2026, Cranfield University and King's College London announced a joint proposal that Cranfield would become part of King's College London with effect from August 2027.

History

College of Aeronautics (1946–1969)

Cranfield University was formed in 1946 as the College of Aeronautics, on the then Royal Air Force base of RAF Cranfield. A major role was played in the development of the college by Roxbee Cox, later Lord Kings Norton, who was appointed to be the first governor of the college in 1945 and then served as vice-chair and (from 1962) chair of the board. He led the drive for the college to diversify, with the Cranfield University School of Management being established in 1967, and petitioned successfully for a royal charter and degree awarding powers. When these were granted in 1969, he became the first chancellor of the Cranfield Institute of Technology, serving until 1997.

Cranfield Institute of Technology (1969–1993)

The Cranfield Institute of Technology was incorporated by royal charter in 1969, giving the institution its own degree-awarding powers and making it a full university in its own right.

In 1975 the National College of Agricultural Engineering, founded in 1963 at Silsoe, Bedfordshire, was merged with Cranfield and run as Silsoe College.

An academic partnership with the Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) at Shrivenham was formed in 1984.

Cranfield University (1993–present)

In 1993 the institution's royal charter was amended changing its name to Cranfield University. A decade later in 2003, Cranfield became wholly postgraduate and the Shrivenham site admitted its last undergraduates.

In 2007, the university's first international campus was opened by the Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, located in the Torrens Building in Adelaide, alongside the Carnegie Mellon University. It offered short-term postgraduate degrees in defence management and technology, in partnership with local institutions and using some distance learning courses. However South Australia's "defence boom" did not materialise and its failure to attract enough students caused the closure of the campus in 2010.

In 2009, Silsoe College was closed and its activities were relocated to the main campus at Cranfield.

Location and campus

Cranfield campus is approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of central London and adjacent to the village of Cranfield, Bedfordshire. The closest city is Milton Keynes and closest town Bedford, the centres of which are both about 8 miles (13 km) away. Cambridge is about 30 miles (48 km) east.

Shrivenham is about 73 miles (117 km) west of London, adjacent to Shrivenham village, 7 miles (11 km) from the centre of the nearest town, Swindon, and around 23 miles (37 km) from Oxford.

The Cranfield campus sits within the Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford growth corridor, a region that spans Oxfordshire, Bucks, Northamptonshire, Beds and Cambs with a focus on boosting regional and national capability and productivity. There is also a proposal for a rapid transit system between (an expanding) Milton Keynes and the campus which will also connect the Universal Studios development in progress in nearby Stewartby, due for completion in 2031.

Technology park

There are a number of companies located on the Cranfield University Technology Park ranging from large international companies to small start-ups. Major companies on the park include:

The Nissan Technical Centre Europe, which designs and develops cars for the European market. The NTC Europe facility occupies 19.7 hectares (49 acres) of the Technology Park, representing an investment of £46m by Nissan.

Innovation Centre: The technology park is also the location for a large number of smaller companies.

Prior to 2016:

Trafficmaster plc occupied a 10-acre (40,000 m2) site for its European Headquarters.

Milton Keynes

In 2017, Cranfield University became the academic partner in a project with Milton Keynes City Council to establish a new university, code-named MK:U, in nearby Milton Keynes. The plan anticipated opening by 2023, with a campus in Central Milton Keynes. In January 2019, the partners announced an international competition to design a new campus near the Central railway station. In May 2019, Santander Bank announced a 'seed funding' grant of £30 million to help with building and initial running costs. On 4 July 2019, the shortlisted proposals for the campus were announced. On 30 July 2019, the evaluation panel announced that Hopkins Architects had produced the winning design.

Although project plans for a new central Milton Keynes campus stalled following a government decision to deny funding, MK:U continues to operate from its Silbury Boulevard premises, delivering Level 6 apprenticeship education in Cyber Security, Digital and Technology Solutions, Supply Chain Leadership, Project Management, Data Science and Chartered Management.

Coat of arms

The university's motto, post nubes lux, means "after clouds light". It is depicted on the university coat of arms which was introduced when the university was awarded its royal charter.

Organisation and governance

Chancellors

• 1969–1997: Harold Roxbee Cox, Lord Kings Norton
• 1998–2010: Richard Vincent, Lord Vincent of Coleshill
• 2010–2020: Baroness Young of Old Scone
• 2021–2024: Dame Deirdre Hutton
• 2024–present: Julia King, The Baroness Brown of Cambridge

Vice-chancellors

• 1970–1989: Henry Chilver, Lord Chilver
• 1989–2006: Frank Robinson Hartley
• 2006–2012: Sir John (James) O'Reilly
• 2013: Clifford Michael Friend – interim vice-chancellor
• 2013–2021: Sir Peter Gregson
• 2021–present: Dame Karen Holford

Faculties

Cranfield is arranged into three faculties:

• Faculty of Business and Management
• Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences
• MK:U

Academic specialisms

Cranfield's 23 specialisms are sector-aligned. They can be accessed via postgraduate taught degrees, postgraduate research degrees, professional learning including short courses and customised programmes, research projects with industry, or consultancy with academic experts.

Academic profile

Reputation and rankings

As an exclusively postgraduate university, Cranfield University is excluded from the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, The Times World Rankings, The Complete University Guide and The Guardian, which focuses on helping prospective undergraduate students to compare universities. Consequently, direct comparison with undergraduate institutions is difficult. Some key facts and figures are:

Eighty-eight per cent of Cranfield's research was rated world-leading or internationally excellent in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF).

Cranfield School of Management's full-time one-year MBA programme was ranked 9th in the UK, 27th in Europe and 80th in the world in the flagship 2024 Financial Times Rankings.

Cranfield School of Management ranked 8th in the UK and 37th in Europe in the Financial Times European Business School Rankings 2023.

Cranfield University ranked in the world top 30 for Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering in the 2024 QS World University Rankings by Subject. In ‘Business and Management’ Cranfield maintains a top 150 position, and it also keeps a top 200 position in ‘Environmental Sciences’. Cranfield's ‘Materials Science’ subject area has moved up into the global top 200.

Cranfield is in the top 15% of universities globally in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2024. The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023 placed Cranfield in the global top 40 for their actions supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goal 17.

Cranfield has received the Queen's Anniversary Prize six times: in 2005 for Further and Higher Education for the Fellowship in Manufacturing Management (FMM) programme; in 2007 for its role in humanitarian demining; in 2011 for contribution to aviation safety through research and training in accident investigation; in 2015 for its work in water and sanitation; in 2017 for its research and education in large-scale soil and environmental data for the sustainable use of natural resources. and in 2019 for the work of the National Flying Laboratory Centre;

Students on Cranfield's Global Security programme were awarded the Imbert Prize in 2006, 2008 and 2009 for the development of ideas for the advancement of risk and security management in the UK.

Admissions

Cranfield welcomes around 5,000 postgraduate students from more than 100 countries each year. 41% of Cranfield University's students are over 30 years of age.

Partnerships

Cranfield University has links with business, industry and governments. Cranfield University has mutually beneficial relationships with nearly 1,500 organisations around the world including small owner-managed SMEs to large multinational conglomerates; British and international universities, non-government organisations and governments. Some of Cranfield's close partnerships include Airbus, Rolls-Royce Group, Grant Thornton, BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Ford, BP, British Airways, PWC, Jacobs, Metro Bank, L'Oréal, Royal Dutch Shell, Jaguar Land Rover, Oracle Corporation, PepsiCo, Unilever, to name just a few.

Student life

Facilities at the Cranfield University campus include a sports centre, which incorporates a fitness centre and aerobics studio, playing fields, sports pitches and several tennis courts. On campus there are two small shops, one run by the CSA and one by Budgens. There are a limited range of eateries open during mealtimes, two Costa Coffee outlets, and one bar, also run by the CSA, which is open intermittently Monday to Friday.

Students' union

Cranfield Students Association (CSA) is the students' union and runs the main student bar, cafe and shop on the Cranfield campus. It is based in building 114 close to the centre of the campus.

The CSA is run by a team of elected students and supported by a small team of staff. The aim of the CSA is to support and represent Cranfield University students, promote student welfare and organise social, cultural and sporting activities.

Student accommodation

At the Cranfield University campus, accommodation for full-time students includes halls of residence, shared houses, apartments for couples and houses for families.

For part-time students, there are two options available – the 186-room Cranfield Management Development Centre and the 114-room Mitchell Hall, both of which are situated on campus.

Notable current and former staff

Dame Helen Atkinson - engineer

Cyril Cleverdon – librarian and computer scientist

Notable alumni

Cranfield University has a number of notable academic staff and alumni, including politicians, business people, entrepreneurs, engineers, scientists, authors, and TV personalities. Cranfield University was in the top 1% of institutions in the world for alumni who hold CEO positions at the world's top companies, according to the Centre for World University Rankings in 2017.

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