From zero-emission travel to searching for life on Mars, Cranfield University is a seriously respected research institution.

Beginning life in 1946 as the College of Aeronautics at RAF Cranfield, the university has stood by its early traditions with 54% of aerospace engineering postgrads graduating from here. With over 10% of engineering and sciences PhDs in the UK awarded by Cranfield, the university stands as one of the top five research-intensive universities in the UK and has a huge reputation in business and industry.

Cranfield is the only university in the UK to solely educate at postgraduate level, giving a definite focus and drive for the 2,000 students learning in their fantastic facilities. Not only can Cranfield boast to be the only institution in the country with its very own airfield, but their facilities are the envy of many multinational organizations, with state of the art ice tunnels and equipment that brings Formula 1 teams begging for a try. The university identifies the following as areas of specific expertise; aerospace, automotive and motorsport, defence, engineering, health, management, manufacturing, environment and water, and has strong links with over one hundred European organisations in related fields.

The student campus is small; giving a close knit community experience, and offers one of the lowest students to tutor ratios in the UK. The Cranfield campus is close to the M1 and not far from lively Milton Keynes, though postgrad students here have little time or desire to indulge themselves in the drinking and party life typical of undergraduate living.