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Air Transport Management MSc

This exciting multidisciplinary programme provides students with the practical, analytical and operational skills needed for a career in the international air transport industry. 

Overview

Watch: Professor of Air Transport Management, Lucy Budd discusses the Air Transport Management MSc programme at DMU.

Discover how the air transport business works and enhance your understanding of this dynamic sector. The Air Transport Management MSc has been developed by two leading aviation academics in conjunction with industry partners, to offer a critical, comprehensive and practical understanding of the structure and operation of the international air transport industry. It has been designed to equip future leaders with a range of transferrable and analytical skills that can be directly applied in the workplace.

You will study airline operations, including licensing, scheduling, fleet planning, and aircraft acquisition. You will explore the management and operations of airports and the key challenges facing the sector, and gain insight into the business models and strategies that determine the future of the airline industry. You can also tailor the programme to reflect your particular interests or career aspirations through focusing on a particular area of air transport management in your dissertation.

The programme is suited to both recent graduates and those with existing professional experience who wish to expand their knowledge of the commercial air transport industry. Graduates may choose to pursue roles within airlines, airport operators, air cargo companies, air navigation service providers, national regulators, government agencies and aviation consultancy firms.

Key features

  • Learn from experienced academics. This programme has been developed by two experienced air transport academics, Professor Lucy Budd and Professor Stephen Ison, who have over 30 years' combined experience of developing and teaching air transport management programmes.
  • Gain networking opportunities, with the chance to participate in industry talks involving practitioners working in the aviation sector.
  • Students enrolling on the programme will be provided with a complimentary copy of the key textbook used on this course, ‘Air Transport Management: An International Perspective’.
  • This programme has been specifically developed to meet the needs of air transport industry employers.
  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

Programme code(s): N85371

Duration: 12 months

Start dates: September 2023

Fees and funding: 

2023/24 tuition fees for UK students: £9,950

Location of study: Faculty of Business and Law

Find out more about course fees and available funding.

Find out more about additional costs and optional extras associated with this course.

Institution code: D26

Programme code(s): N85371

Duration: 12 months

Start dates: September 2023

Fees and funding: 

2023/24 tuition fees for EU and international students: £17,200

Location of study: Faculty of Business and Law

Find out more about course fees and available funding.

Find out more about additional costs and optional extras associated with this course.

Entry criteria

Entry criteria

Applicants will normally hold a minimum of a second class honours degree from a UK University (or international equivalent) in air transport, geography, engineering, economics, tourism, international business, management or a related subject.

Relevant industrial experience will also be considered on an individual basis.

English Language requirements

English language requirements: IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component is normally required. English language tuition is available at DMU both before and during the programme, if required.

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessment

Teaching Hours

 

Core modules

The Business of Air Transport

This module introduces students to the commercial environment in which air transport operates. This includes consideration of the regulatory regime and institutions that structure the development and operation of global air services as well as an insight into aviation activities in different world regions.

Air Transport Economics

This module develops a critical awareness of the economic principles and economic theories that underpin air transport management. It will develop a comprehensive awareness of the concepts of demand and supply, elasticity, and regulation and deregulation and apply them to airlines and airports.

Airline Marketing and Operations

This module will provide a detailed insight into airline operations and marketing. The marketing section of the module will focus on the key challenges of marketing air services and explore how they are addressed. The second part of the module will focus on operations, including consideration of airline licensing, fleet planning, aircraft acquisition, network optimisation, scheduling and irregular operations.

Airport Planning and Operations

This module addresses key planning considerations for airports, including runway and taxiway design, airfield and airspace design and capacity, as well as operational aspects concerning risk management, adverse weather, ground handling operations, airfield technology and airport community relations. 

Airport Management

This module will introduce key concepts in airport management, including ownership and operational structure, performance management and key challenges facing the airports' sector worldwide.

Airline Business Strategy

The objective of this module is to introduce students to the need for business models in the airline industry as well as the business characteristics of the key airline business models of full service, low cost, charter and hybrid airlines worldwide.  

Research Methods

Dissertation

Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching is delivered through a mix of formal lectures and informal group discussion. Modules will be assessed through a combination of written coursework, group work and presentations. Students will complete an individual research Dissertation on an agreed air transport topic under the supervision of an academic staff member.

Teaching contact hours

This is a full-time programme and you should be prepared to devote 38 hours a week to your studies. You will typically have around 12 hours a week of contact time during semester one and two.

Facilities and features

Hugh Aston Building

You will have access to our purpose-built Hugh Aston Building, equipped with lecture theatres and classrooms, break-out spaces for group work, quiet study zones for individual work and IT labs. Wherever possible, students will be given home access to specialist software.

You’ll also have access to the building’s new £5.5 million extension called The Yard, which provides more than 22,000 square metres of extra space. This is designed to facilitate your learning experience with large and airy breakout spaces, a new Student Advice Centre, and a balcony on the top floor. The Yard also features more comfortable classrooms and self-study spaces, allowing you to carry out independent study as well as group work.

Library services

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available. 

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose. 

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including Learning Zone, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub. 

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

Learning zones

Our Learning Zones and The Greenhouse also provide space for group or individual work and study.

There are 1,600 study places across all library locations, more than 700 computer stations, laptops to borrow, free wi-fi and desktop power outlets.

You can also book rooms with plasma screens, laptops and DVD facilities for group work and presentations, secure an individual study room with adjustable lighting or make use of our assistive technology.

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Careers Team
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#DMUglobal

This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world.

Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

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Graduate careers

You will develop an advanced understanding of air transport issues both nationally and internationally, and enhance your career prospects in a range of potential careers such as: Airlines, air cargo logistics companies, national aviation regulators, consultants, air traffic control, travel and tourism industry, marketing and further educational studies. 

Take your next steps

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