MSc in CFD : Cranfield or Leeds? Help !!! Your views on the matter

I have been offered a place for MSc in Computational Fluid Dynamics at both Cranfield University and at the University of Leeds. And I, from India, with only the resources from the internet, am having a difficulty in deciding which to chose. So, I would like to know how others think about the matter. Give in as much information as you know.

[ Forum Moderators are welcome to move this thread to another section if there is a better section to discuss such matters. ]

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Reply 1

callmejackie

A few questions more. I request you to please answer them separately for each Universities.

1. How good is the Library? The website claims that they have x no: of books, y no: of journals and digital library. But, I want to know how is the experience.

2. How is the living? In and around the University township.

Reply 2

callmejackie

*bump*

Please... anyone with any information.. The deadline for accepting the offer from Cranfield is this Saturday.

*bump*

hi unfortunately in this forum, engineering is not a very discussed topic and plus cfd is a very specific subject itself.

Anyway, I would like to help you on your choice but I would probably choose Leeds simply because, the university is not in the middle of nowhere like Cranfield. I have been to Cranfield and did not like the atmosphere it just looked a bit sad.

But please don't take my words for granted. I might be absolutely wrong.

Anyway, Leeds has got quite good name for engineering.

Reply 5

Dirac Delta Function

Original post by federvo.mala

Pretty sure Cranfield's name is stronger.

Reply 6

federvo.mala

Original post by Dirac Delta Function

Pretty sure Cranfield's name is stronger.

Yeah I expressed myself pretty bad but I agree with you that Cranfield is rather stronger than Leeds on the subject. Just wanted to say that I'd choose Leeds over Cranfield because I did not like the atmosphere and PLUS engineering is not bad at LEEDS either.

Reply 7

callmejackie

Oh wow, a million thanks for the reply. I know CFD is a highly specialized course. But, I am not looking for CFD or anything. I just want to know what the university is like.

Yes, I know Cranfield is a village, somewhat remote and definitely not anything like the Leeds. I actually dont mind that much and I actually do riding through the countrysides.. So, thats not an issue..

The very important thing that is affecting my judgement is that Cranfield is as good as Leeds and vice versa. What can you guys tell me about the teaching styles at both universities?

Reply 8

encarta

Hi callmejackie,

I was the Course Representative of the CFD course in Cranfield last year, and i'm currently following a PhD course in the same department this year.

What i can tell you about the course is you'll be very well prepared for both the research and industry worlds. Some of my mates of last year are currently working for BMW (Germany), Marussia F1 Team (England), etc.

But this course is very intensive, you'll have lectures one week over two, and the remaining week, you'll have an assignment to write using the techniques learned the previous week. For that, you'll have access to Astral, which is a supercomputer with about 1500CPUs and 7TFlops of computation capacity, which is really nice considering the cost of CFD simulations.

The lectures are given by some of the world experts in their domain, Dr. Drikakis, Dr. Thornber, etc. and are very interesting. You'll cover a very wide range of theory and practice during this year, from the incompressible to the compressible flows, classical turbulence modelling (RANS) and more advanced (LES, DNS), nano-flows, flows for rotating wings, automotive, ...

In my opinion, this is one of the best MSc in CFD you can get, it is also the opinion of a lot of industrial companies.

To answer your question concerning the library, it is very good and very well furnished with papers and books. You'll also have an electronic access to most of the papers relevant to CFD, as the library does receive most of them.

Finally, even though Cranfield is indeed in the middle of nowhere, the atmosphere is really nice, as most of the students are here for one year, so everyone is in the same situation. You'll spent most of your time working believe me, but there is free shuttles to go in Milton Keynes for the cinema, night clubs, etc. If you have a car, Cranfield is as good as Leeds for living.

Hope i answered most of your questions. If you have any further, please MP me and i'll be glad to give you some link with some of my indians mate on the campus. They will be able to answer much more precisely than me.

Reply 9

callmejackie

Hi encarta,
Thank you for your reply. The kind of one I was really expecting..
I accepted the offer from Cranfield last week and I am glad that I made the right choice. I never had doubt as to which offer I was going to chose. But, I needed assurance that I was making the best choice because, it cant be neglected that Leeds is also an equally good competent University.. And since Cranfield is unknown to even people who live in UK( primarily because it is a wholly postgraduate university), it was difficult to get a good feedback. ( BTW, me, from India, have heard about Cranfield way before I heard about Leeds.. :biggrin:

no offence meant )

The Admissions team, Cranfield Students Union and the Course Director Dr. Ben Thornber was very very helpful with information. I am really looking forward to being there in September this year. In the meantime, I am getting all my paper works done, arranging finances and preparing for the shift.

On another note, I think it would be very informative if the alumni start a forum so that the future applicants will find it easy to get information.

Thanking you for your reply which is the best I’ve read for a long time :biggrin:

Reply 10

kizdp

Hi callmejackie,

I just read this whole thread and I agree with most people in the UK not knowing about Cranfield University. However, after doing some research and going to the open day I saw that it seems like a nice MSc and University.
I will also be joining you this year for the same so... I'll see you soon! :smile:

Reply 11

M a Hossain

Hi encarta,

I have started my MSc in Cranfield this year. It looks great!!

Reply 12

callmejackie

Me again.

Just thought, I would update the thread with my experience so that any future student can go through and get the feel.

I just finished my MSc in CFD at Cranfield University. Dr. Drikakis was the head, and Dr. Ben Thornber was our course director during my time. (Dr. Ben later moved out and was replaced by Dr. Nick towards the final few months of my course ).

11 Compulsory modules plus 5 electives (chosen from a list of 7) will keep you up and working even through Christmas night. The modules are taught by a VERY friendly group of professors who are very knowledgeable and experienced when it comes to research oriented CFD and numerics. They wont work you too hard but, will give you tasks ( assignments for every module ) which will keep your bum on fire. Time management is the very first thing you will learn at Cranfield. There is an extensive library and a huge collection of journals and publishings both in hard copies as well as soft copies. Moreover, Cranfield Uni Library - The Lord Kings Norton Library is connected to almost all the technical Universities around the globe and can pull out any resources from any one of them for free in just a few hours.
Cranfield also houses a very large HPC cluster for scientific computing and several small ones in each departments, and MSc CFD students are its biggest customers. During thesis times, even these systems will be very busy and running at full load with a long queue.

Talking about living in Cranfield, the Engligh coutryside is very soothing and serene..offering long walks, bike rides and other adventures.. The village of Cranfield, is around 30minutes walk away ( 5 min bus ride) from the Uni and has two supermarkets, a surgery, a postoffice, churches and park. Its a nice very nice place to stay if you dont get accommodation in the halls.

I think thats it.. I could go on and on, but, enough for now.. If there is anything else anyone wants to know, just drop in a message.. I will be more than happy to reply..

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 13

aero91

I have applied for AVD course at Cranfield for oct 2014 intake, its been more than a month since I applied.

My application still says decision pending and I have already got offers from other universities.

Is it normal for the course directors to take this long to make a decision?

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Reply 14

callmejackie

Hey,

Not to worry. You have applied for the AVD 2014 intake. AVD is one of the highly sought after courses in Cranfield and the course directors usually have a hundred applications to go through. So, let them decide on their pace.

But, I would say, keep in touch with him..

Reply 15

aero91

Oh I see, yes I did meet him at the open day a while ago. I will wait a few weeks and then contact him. Thx for your help :smile:

Reply 16

callmejackie

Why wait?

Just shoot a nonchalant mail.. Ask him the status of your application..
The AVD course director is a very friendly guy.. He definitely will reply.

Reply 17

aero91

oh i ok, i was just a bit worried that if i emailed him i have other offers and needed to know my application status with cranfield i might come off as impatient.