Cranfield University

Age: 65

History: Founded as the first postgraduate college of aeronautics after the Second World War on the site of RAF Cranfield in 1946. Then it was Cranfield Institute of Technology, achieving university status in 1969 and renamed Cranfield University in 1993.

Address: Two sites: Cranfield in Bedfordshire, and the Defence College of Management and Technology (formerly the Royal Military College of Science), at Shrivenham in Wiltshire.

Ambience: A mature atmosphere and a focused learning environment for ambitious individuals. It is the only UK university with its own airfield and sewerage plant.

Vital statistics: A postgraduate university offering Masters, PhDs and other doctorates, and short courses. Main study areas include aerospace, automotive, defence, energy, environment, bio-sci and health, management, manufacturing, and security. About 4,000 students, of whom just over 2,200 are full-time and the rest part-time. Students from over 100 different countries, including many non-EU countries.

Added value: Excels at finding work for its graduates – 93 per cent enter relevant work or embark on further study within 6 months of graduating. The secret is that many students do research for top companies while at Cranfield. Student support is impressive – Cranfield's student to staff ratio is the best in the UK.

Easy to get into? MBA students need three years in industry. Other postgraduates usually require a first or second-class honours degree.

Glittering alumni: John Fozard, who designed the Harrier jump jet; Rear Admiral Monk; Air Marshal Richardson; Alan Brown, designer of the Stealth Fighter.

Transport links: Ideally, you need a car, but you can, of course, fly. Cranfield campus is one hour from London up the M1 between junctions 13 and 14. You can take the train and a bus from Milton Keynes. Both campuses are close to rail and bus links to main towns or cities.

Who's the boss? Electronics and telecommunications expert Professor Sir John O'Reilly, former head of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and knighted in 2007 for contributions to science.

Teaching: Cranfield does not take part in the National Student Survey, but claims its academics are 'world class'.

Research: 83 per cent of the University's submissions to the Research Assessment Exercise was internationally recognised in terms of originality, significance and rigour, with 50 per cent being 'internationally excellent' and 15 per cent being 'world-leading'.

Nightlife: Quiet on campus but close to Milton Keynes and Bedford. Both campuses have bars and social activities.

How green is it? Not great – came joint 73rd out of 138 universities graded by People and Planet for their 'Green League 2011'.

Any accommodation? Yes. Halls on the Cranfield campus range between £85 and £141 per week, and rooms in shared houses start at £69 per week. At Shrivenham, staff help students to find self-catering rooms, shared housing or houses to rent in the local area. British military students normally live in military accommodation on site.

Cheap to live there? About average – private accommodation ranges from £60 to £90 per week.

Sports Ranking: 139th in the BUCS league table.

Fees: Vary dependant on course. Masters' start at around £5,000 but an MBA will set you back £33,000 for 2011 entry.

Bursaries: Cranfield Health, the school of applied sciences, the school of management and the school of engineering all offer bursaries for UK MSc students. For more details visit the website.

Prospectus: 01234 758 008; www.cranfield.ac.uk

UCAS code: Not part of UCAS