The programme spans a single academic year (three semesters) and requires full time attendance on campus. The programme outline is provided below. For the first two semesters students will study a mandatory set of core subjects and a suite of optional advanced subjects (electives). Students will engage in a single research project over all three semesters with submission of a research project (thesis) at the end of semester 3. Students will also be provided with training in technical communications and project planning. The Department has strong links with leading aeronautical engineering industries, including AIRBUS, EADS, Bombardier and many others. Research in the Department covers a wide range of topics and the Department also houses research centres in Automation, Biomedical Engineering, Wave Energy, Biofuels, Composite Materials and Computational Fluid and Solid Mechanics. Further details of research fields in the department are available at the department web page, www.ul.ie/mae
To graduate from the programme a student must accumulate 90 credits, comprising 45 credits of taught modules and 45 credits of research work, as outlined in the Table. Credit may be given for prior learning, with the agreement of the Course Director.
Semester 1
Composite Materials (6 Credits); Advanced Stability & Control of Aircraft (6 credits); Research Project (3 credits); Advanced Technical Communication for Engineers (3 credits);
2 Specialist Electives each 6 credits to be chosen from Fundamentals of Continuum Mechanics; Non-linear Finite Element Analysis; Aerospace Metallic Materials; Computational Fluid Dynamics
Semester 2
Advanced Aircraft Structures (6 credits); Research project (12 credits);
2 Specialist Electives 6 credits to be chosen from:- Project Planning & Control; Fracture Mechanics; Advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics; Engineering Mechanics of Plastics & Composites; Operations Analysis; Boundary Layer Theory.
Semester 3
Research Project (30 credits)