Air Transport Management MSc

Overview
Content & Structure
Teaching & Assessment
Fees & Funding
Careers/Further Study

Overview

The MSc Air Transport Management has the core objective of improving the contributions that experienced professionals (aircrew, engineers, air traffic controllers etc) can make to their organisations. It was first initiated by the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN) both to increase the career opportunities of aircrew and others and to ensure that the air transport industry has a reservoir of experienced talent from which to draw future managers. It provides an academic framework for the experience of air transport professionals and enables them to move productively and effectively onto the first steps of commercial or safety management.

This Programme is one of three parallel MSc Programmes:

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Bursaries

Royal Academy of Engineering Bursaries - up to £9,500 for UK applicants.

School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences

Entry Requirements:

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Course Fees:

Part-time EU: £11,400 - Total amount payable over 3 years - (2013/14 fees)
Part-time Non EU: £11,400 - Total amount payable over 3 years - (2013/14 fees)

Start Date:

Modular (throughout the year)

How to Apply

Entry Requirements

The normal requirements are Air Transport Pilot's Licence, Aircraft Licence Engineer, Air Traffic Control or a first degree. Students must have at least two years' professional responsibility prior to application and be employed in the air transport industry whilst taking the course.

Pre-requisites

Other Suitable Qualifications

English Requirements

For those students whose first language is not English, one of the following qualifications is also required:

IELTS: 6.5
TOEFL (internetbased): 100

Visa Requirements

City University London retains Highly Trusted Status from UKBA, enabling us to sponsor international students to study in the UK.

The way that you apply may vary depending on the length of your course at City, there are different rules for:

Students on courses of more than 6 months
Students on courses of less than 6 months
Students on a pre-sessional English Language course

For more information see our main Visa page.

When and Where

Start Date:: Modular (throughout the year)
Duration:: Full time: only under exceptional circumstances. Part time: students can take the modules in any sequence. Typically the taught component takes about two years, with the project taking approximately six months.
Duration:

Course Content

Course content:

The course is based on completing eight modules over one to five years, which are taught over three day periods and held frequently throughout the year and at various locations including London, Dubai, Bahrain, Frankfurt and, from 2012, Trinidad.

Students are also required to undertake a project in an air transport related subject, which is usually completed within six months.

Students who choose not to do the project will receive a Postgraduate Certificate on successful completion of five modules or a Postgraduate Diploma on successful completion of nine modules.

Course Structure

Core Modules

* Airline operations
* Airline business
* Air transport economics

Electives Modules

* Human resource management
* Aviation psychology
* Active safety management
* Airline marketing
* Quality management of airline operations
* Fleet planning
* Developing a business plan
* Crisis management
* Financial accounting
* Sustainable aviation
* Airports and ground handling
* Airworthiness
* Airline maintenance Airline Revenue Management, Pricing and Distribution Management

Read the full programme specification.

Teaching and Assessment

Teaching:

Every taught module is assessed by coursework and, for some core modules, also by examination. A dissertation related to experience in the industry is required. There is a high degree of flexibility in terms of sequence and time frame, to suit those working in airlines, air traffic control, air forces and other organisations.

Learning Outcomes:

This course aims to provide you with a recognised career-developing qualification, control of your own career and the ability to contribute better to the management of air transport? The course is totally flexible and can be taken while working - modules are held in central London plus a number of modules in Bahrain, Dubai, Frankfurt and Trinidad.

At the end of your studies you will have the opportunity to improve your:

Presentation skills - through regular opportunities within each module and the project
Report writing and analytical skills - through coursework and project
Personal management skills - through the careful use of resources to complete assignments on time

The successful MSc graduate from this course will have on completion:

a basic understanding of business analysis, finance, human motivation, and management of the air transport industry;
a good understanding for the national and international regulatory and commercial business environment and be able to prepare a sound business case
knowledge of aspects of fleet planning, route management, engineering and Air Traffic Management issues.
A proven ability to write a substantial analytical report.

For the employers, the course has the core objective of improving the contributions that experienced professionals (aircrew, engineers, air traffic controllers etc) can make to their organisations. They were initiated by the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN) both to increase the career opportunities of aircrew and others and to ensure that the air transport industry has a reservoir of experienced talent from which to draw future managers. The programmes provide an academic framework to the experience of air transport professionals and enable them to move productively and effectively onto the first steps of commercial or safety management. The course has many facets of knowledge and skills learning. The knowledge base is best illustrated by the list of modules. However, as important are the skills that graduates are expected to have on completion.

These include:

Being able to assimilate core themes from the talks given by a number of industry speakers, some of whom may have different positions.
Being able to write succinct and clear English.
Preparing a valid business case for a company and, at least as important, to know when a potential case is not viable.
Having a wider knowledge of the interfaces of any single organisation with other in the industry.
Being able to make a short verbal presentation and to defend a project under examination.

The average age of students of the programme is about early to mid thirties, though there are a number who are over fifty. Given the likely continuation of the large number of unexpected events that have happened to the industry over the last few years combined with increased competition (eg low cost carriers, flat-bed seats) and technological and regulatory changes (EASA, e-tickets, electronic flight bags), every organisation needs a core of capable management to ensure continued prosperity. That is why some of the most successful air transport organisations now fund students on the City University London Programmes.

Assessment:

Every taught module is assessed by coursework and, for some core modules, also by examination. Each module comprises:

Part I: Prior reading before the module where appropriate.
Part II: Attendance at the University (or other locations) for the module, three days.
Part III: Examinations are held at the end of the core modules.
Part IV: Coursework for assessment. Coursework is required within six weeks of the taught module.

Read the full programme specification.

Fees

Part-time EU: £11,400 - Total amount payable over 3 years - (2013/14 fees)
Part-time Non EU: £11,400 - Total amount payable over 3 years - (2013/14 fees)

* Split into 2 equal installments spread over the duration of the course (18 months to 3 years).

Students may continue their studies for up to 5 years in total but must pay an extra £500 for the fourth and fifth year.

Funding

For up-to-date information about tuition fees, living costs and financial support, visit Undergraduate Fees and Finance or Postgraduate Fees and Finance.

Fees and funding information for School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences postgraduate courses

Bursaries

GAPAN offer up to three Bursaries of part payment of fees per year for the MSc Air Transport Management and the Air Safety Management MSc Programmes each year.

AJ Walter offer an annual Bursary for a student on the MSc Maintenance Management Programme, usually allocated to a different geographical region each year.

All students may apply for a scholarship from the ISTAT Foundation that is competitive with other universities across the world, see http://www.istat.org/ISTATFoundation/ScholarshipProgram/tabid/124/Default.aspx

Career Prospects

Graduate Destinations

This is a mainly a vocational Programme and as such its success can judged by the subsequent career progression of students and alumni. Of the 250 alumni about 85% remain in contact, sending information on their career and personal life developments, In the last year the information includes the following:

A Captain with a small regional airline, when enrolled, a 2002 Graduate has set up his own airline, Jet Time, and is its President and CEO. It will acquire its third 737 in 2007
A Check-in clerk at Gatwick when enrolled, a 2000 Graduate is now Manager of Corporate Strategy, Qatar Airways.
A business jet pilot when enrolled, a 2003 Graduate is now Chief Pilot with a German Regional airline.
A cabin crew when enrolled, a 2006 Graduate is now Slot manager for a Spanish start-up airline, Clickair, supported by Iberia. The CEO is also a City Graduate.
A cabin crew when enrolled, a 2006 Graduate is now a Cabin Services Manager responsible for over 800 staff.
A First Officer when enrolled and in 2005 the first UAE National sponsored by Emirates to Graduate is now a Management Captain, responsible for their Cadet Training programme.
A ground staff administrator for Kuwaiti Airways when enrolled, a 2004 graduate has started a private airline staff training school in Delhi, India.
An engineer when enrolled, a 2004 Graduate is now Vice President, Support Services, GECAS, Singapore.
An RAF pilot when enrolled a 2003 Graduate is now Director, Marketing for Bombardier , Eastern Europe and Soviet Union.
An RAF Air Traffic Controller at an RAF station with about 10 aircraft movements a week and bored out of his mind, a 2006 Graduate immediately moved into a senior training position at Eurocontrol, Brussels.
A pilot with Cargolux, a 2000 Graduate has joined British Airways and has a son!
An engineer manager of an outstation of British Airways with about 12 staff when he enrolled, a 2005 Graduate is now Vice President Airbus fleet Emirates.
An RAF pilot when enrolled, a 2005 Graduate is now Managing Director of a Business aircraft broker, JetCard.
A Crossair pilot when enrolled, a 2004 Graduate is now operations manager for a business class airline based in Geneva, Club airways.
An Emirates maintenance engineer when enrolled, a student nearing completion is now for setting up and managing the Emirates New York base which turns-round three flights a day and deals with over 600,000 passengers a year.
An electronics engineer when enrolled, a 2004 Graduate has become Marketing Manager for Ashford(Lydd) Airport.
A Self-employed electronics engineer when enrolled, a 2003 Graduate has joined ICOA in a senior position of air traffic control in Montreal.
An RAF ground operations administrator student who is nearing completion has joined the Norwegian CAA.
A student who was a shift controller has become Deputy Manager KLM/Air France Terminal staff, Heathrow.
A student, unemployed when enrolled, has been appointed Financial Controller GBAirways from Jan 2007.
A student who was a check-in clerk when enrolled is now Ground Services Manager, Cork Airport for a growing regional carrier.
A Captain with Oman Air when enrolled, a 2006 Graduate is Chief Pilot for Airbus in India.
An unlicensed air traffic controller when enrolled, a 2006 Graduate is now employed by the German Aircraft Accident Investigation Agency as their only air traffic control investigator.
All four students and graduates known to have applied to join Emirates have been accepted, despite fierce competition.
An RAF Group Captain about to retire from the Service notes: "The MSc certainly helped significantly with my future civilian career. It helped me to get into aviation safety management within the RAF, which then opened many more doors and training courses. The MSc was good evidence of an aviation perspective outside the RAF and proved knowledge of the wider business. In the end, I made 5 cold enquiries for jobs - got 4 interviews and 3 job offers - all with significant pay rises above the RAF! I have accepted a post with the CAA as an Air Traffic Management Safety Policy Specialist, starting in mid April working from Gatwick. Along with a project management qualification that I recently completed, the package of skills topped off by the MSc with distinction seemed to make me in demand."

Find out more about City University London

Apply for an MSc in Air Transport Management

We encourage online applications. However, we ask that you also send two references and your original transcript by post to The Postgraduate Courses Offices, School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, City University London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB as soon as possible after submitting your online application.

Aircraft Maintenance Management

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