Control, Automation and Artificial Intelligence MSc

Postgraduate

Study Control, Automation and AI at Coventry University, and develop skills through 3 specialist pathways with both theoretical and practical content. Ideal for engineering/science/applied mathematics graduates.

Year of entry

2025-26

Location

Coventry University (Coventry)

Study mode

Full-time
Part-time
Sandwich

Duration

1 year full-time
2-3 years part-time
2 years sandwich

Course code

EECT053

Start date

September 2025

How to apply

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At Coventry University, we continuously review the courses we offer to ensure we reflect industry-relevant emerging best practice and technology. As a result, this course is undergoing continuous improvement assessment and will be launched with a renewed curriculum starting in September 2025. Module content and titles will be updated. Course title, learning outcomes and assessments may also change. We expect our new curriculum to be fully updated by January 2025. Please return to this page to see the final course details.

Course overview

Is your undergraduate degree in engineering, mathematics or science? An accredited MSc in Control, Automation and Artificial Intelligence can help you to develop skills that would be beneficial in almost every engineering field from automotive, aircraft industry, power and energy, automation, process industry including oil and gas, food and drink, pharmaceutical industry and many others.

Control engineering is a means of managing and measuring performance of dynamic systems in areas from power plants and nuclear reactors to construction and manufacturing. The principles of control also extend in activities as diverse as managing risk in the financial sector to studying climate change within science.
This course is designed to provide a unique route for postgraduates to top up their background with more specialised knowledge and skills in the rich field of control systems, automation and AI relevant to various practical engineering industries as well as research in academia.
This course aims to provide a combination of theoretical and practical modules with sufficient depth, giving graduates sufficiently strong skills and background to take up professional posts in control, automation and AI within industry and/or research, and to develop themselves further depending on the requirements of the profession.
If you wish to embark on a career as a technical specialist in analytical aspects of control, automation or AI engineering or if you are a practicing engineer looking to stay abreast of important advances and developments, you may want to consider this course.
Current academics delivering teaching on this course are actively involved in research and consultancy, ensuring your taught materials are based on techniques and technologies currently relevant to industry. Parts of the teaching materials are also offered as CPD training for engineers from industry. (Please note staff may be subject to change).
You will have the option to apply for a ‘professional work placement’ opportunity², designed to further develop your skills and knowledge with the aim of maximising your employability prospects. See modules for more information.

5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities

QS Stars University Ratings

Ranked 11th Modern University in UK by the Times

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025

Ranked 8th for Overall Satisfaction in PTES

Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) 2024

Why you should study this course

This professionally accredited course covers areas ranging from classical control system design to optimal, adaptive and intelligent control systems, such as proportional + Integral + Derivative (PID) control, Smith Predictor, Model Predictive Control (MPC), state variable feedback pole placement.
We aim to develop your skills required to design, analyse and simulate automatic control systems. Teaching is practical in nature with laboratory sessions in specialist software, including MATLAB/Simulink and LabVIEW. Following these simulation studies, you should be able to deploy control systems on specialist hardware.
We aim for dissertation project work across this course to be based on real-life situations to gain familiarity of methods and techniques from our industrial collaborators, or to support on-going research projects in automotive control systems, cooperative and autonomous vehicles, and preventive maintenance applied to medical devices.
Where appropriate, research seminars, including staff, research students, and external guest speakers from industry are invited to provide a lecture/presentation to supplement and reinforce the practical relevance of the material. In addition, students are also encouraged to attend externally organised seminars, workshops, training, or internships to gain wider knowledge and experience, as well as build their professional network.

Accreditation and professional recognition

This course is accredited¹ and recognised by the following bodies:

Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)

This course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) up to and including the September 2024 intake, on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Candidates must hold a CEng accredited BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree to comply with full CEng registration requirements.

Institute of Measurement and Control (InstMC)

This course is accredited by The Institute of Measurement and Control (InstMC) up to and including the September 2024 intake. The InstMC is the UK-based professional engineering institution and learned society dedicated to the science and application of measurement and control technology for the public benefit. It is incorporated by Royal Charter and a registered charity, number 269815.

Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

As part of this course, you will undertake a professional development module which is currently accredited by the Chartered Management Institute for the 2024-25 intake. Upon successful completion of this module, you will gain the CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice at no additional cost. Coventry University’s accreditation with CMI is currently ongoing for the relevant modules and is regularly reviewed and monitored by the CMI through their quality systems.

What you'll study

The course covers the three closely relevant fields via option pathways. Those pathways are Control Engineering Pathway, Automation Pathway and Intelligent Systems Pathway. All three pathways commence with common modules in Semester 1, to offer a greater degree of flexibility for you to explore your main interest as you progress within the course. Then, each pathway will deliver specialised modules in Semester 2, allowing you to focus on specialised subjects based on your interest. This specialisation then continues to be developed within your dissertation project, which is carried out in Semester 3.

Pathway 1: Control Engineering
This pathway focuses on analytical aspects of control engineering. It is designed for students interested in developing their careers or upgrading their knowledge in areas that require accurate and robust control design for possibly unstable systems, with emphasis on implementation. This pathway aims to provide excellent preparation for those wishing to pursue their careers as a control engineer or technical specialist in industrial fields such as automotive, aerospace, energy, and other electrical and mechanical engineering based industries, as well as those who are interested in pursuing postgraduate research.

Pathway 2: Automation
This pathway focuses on automation technology and practice in industry. It is designed for students interested in developing their careers or upgrading their knowledge in areas including control in manufacturing process, systems design, systems integration, system operation, with emphasis on implementation. This pathway aims to provide excellent preparation for those wishing to pursue their careers as a control engineer in industrial automation fields such as in oil and gas, power distribution, chemical and food industry and other process control based industries, as well as those who are interested in pursuing postgraduate research.

Pathway 3: Intelligent Systems
This pathway focuses on decision-making-based control approaches. It is designed for students interested in developing their careers or upgrading their knowledge in areas such as system designer or system developer with emphasise on implementation of control algorithms that involves optimisation and learning. This pathway aims to provide excellent preparation for those wishing to pursue their careers as a control engineer in various autonomous systems applications, such as autonomous vehicle or driverless cars, intelligent robotics, as well as those who are interested in pursuing postgraduate research. This pathway is suitable for students with software engineering or computing background, or other engineering background with particular interest in coding or programming.

Modules

Linear Control Systems Analysis and Design - 15 credits

Programming and Simulation for Control - 15 credits

This module prepares you to solve real-world engineering problems using MATLAB, Simulink, Stateflow and LabVIEW. The module will be delivered using activities and problems inspired by research projects that have been and are currently being carried out at Coventry University.

Compulsory

System Modelling and Identification - 15 credits

The purpose of this module is to introduce you to the techniques and approaches required to construct mathematical models of dynamical systems, particularly data-based modelling. Modelling of a system takes about 70% of the effort in the whole process of control system design. The quality of a model significantly determines the quality of the controller designed based on the model.

Compulsory

Automation and Robotics - 15 credits

The aim of this module is to provide an understanding of the application of automation techniques and mechatronics in manufacturing. Topics covered in the lectures include the types of robots, robot programming, programmable logic controllers, sensors, vision systems, motion control, safety systems, and design for manufacture.

Compulsory

Optimisation and Adaptive Control - 15 credits

Data Acquisition and Embedded Control - 15 credits

The module will concentrate on providing you with experience of the industry standard software and hardware tools used in real time control, namely dSPACE together with Mathworks products, LabVIEW from National Instruments and DSP type micro-controllers together with Mathworks products.

Compulsory

Postgraduate Dissertation Project - 50 credits

This module aims to provide you with an opportunity to develop your ability to plan and control your own work at master’s degree level. The activities appropriate for the development of these skills may be described in broad terms, encompassing investigation, synthesis, analysis, communication, project planning and management. You will exploit the theoretical, computing, technical and management skills learned during the course to design, develop, implement and document a control solution to a research or industrial problem.

Compulsory

Leading Strategic Change through Creativity and Innovation - 10 credits

This module aims to provide you with a framework of knowledge and understanding of how to manage change using creativity and innovation in different types of organisational scenarios. You will be given the opportunity to develop an innovative framework to deliver a change management strategy in a changing organisational context.

Compulsory

Control Engineering Pathway

Non-Linear Control Engineering - 15 credits
The module Nonlinear Control Engineering aims to introduce the concepts of nonlinear control systems, with attention being focused on typical nonlinearities found in various applications in practice. In particular, desirable and undesirable properties of nonlinear elements in a control system will be investigated.

Advanced Control Systems Analysis and Design - 15 credits
The purpose of this module is to introduce you to advanced control principles and application specific to the automation and control industry with emphasis being placed on the use of microcomputer/microcontroller to implement the control techniques. It is designed to both build on and consolidate your knowledge and skills on the linear control systems analysis and design and equip you with the skills to perform the controller design using software such as MATLAB/ Simulink.

Compulsory

Automation Pathway

Digital Signal and Image Processing - 15 credits
This module will first revise/introduce the fundamentals of the analysis of digital signals and systems. This will then lead to the development of higher-level signal processing techniques and filters design before applying them to some problems to demonstrate their applications. Additionally, the concepts of digital image processing and image enhancement techniques will be introduced.

Compulsory

Intelligent Systems Pathway

Artificial Neural Network - 15 credits
This module aims to introduce you to the concepts used in neural networks and their application in solving real-world problems. The main topics covered include biological motivations of neural networks, different approaches including the main supervised and unsupervised neural network architectures, static and temporal learning approaches, data collection and preparation methods for neural network learning, applications of neural networks, current trends and future developments.

Compulsory

With work placement option

The ‘With work placement’ opportunity² enables you to apply in semester 1 for an optional work placement of up to 12 months, extending the duration of your master’s to 24 months. The placement provides an opportunity for you to develop expertise and experience in your chosen field with the aim of enhancing your employability upon graduation. The work placement would take place in semesters 3, 4 and 5.

Please note that the optional placement modules will incur an additional tuition fee of £4,000. Placement opportunities may also be subject to additional costs, visa requirements being met, subject to availability and/or competitive application. Work placements are not guaranteed but you will benefit from the support of the Talent Team in trying to find and secure an opportunity. Find out more about the work placement option.

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.

How you'll learn

Teaching methods may include:

Lectures
Seminars
Tutorials
Presentations
Group projects
Workshops
Practical laboratory sessions

This course can be studied on a full-time or part-time basis. Whilst we would like to give you all the information about our part-time offering here, it is tailored for each course each year depending on the number of part-time applicants. Therefore, the part-time teaching arrangements vary. Please request information about studying this course part-time.

Teaching contact hours

The number of contact hours may vary from semester to semester, however, on average, it is estimated 13 contact hours per week in the taught semesters with self-study approximately 25 hours each week, depending on the demands of individual modules.

The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.

As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.

Since COVID-19, we have delivered our courses in a variety of forms, in line with public authority guidance, decisions, or orders and we will continue to adapt our delivery as appropriate. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.

Assessment

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which could vary depending upon the module. Assessment methods may include reports, tests, exams, practical coursework and presentations as part of individual assignments or group work elements.

The Coventry University assessment strategy aims to ensure that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.

International experience opportunities

The university is committed to providing a global educational experience, which is reflected throughout the teaching experience. The course has previously recruited diverse international graduates and promotes multicultural experiences.

Academic and research staff who deliver the teaching in this programme currently have strong collaborations with industry, as well as other researchers in other universities in Europe and overseas territories like Asia, North and South America and the Middle East. This could give potential opportunities for you to visit², develop networks or get involved in the existing collaborations.(Please note staff may be subject to change.)

Please note that all international experience opportunities may be subject to additional costs, competitive application, availability and meeting applicable visa and travel requirements are therefore not guaranteed².

Entry requirements

Typical offer for 2024/25 entry.

Applicants should have a minimum 2:2 honours degree in an appropriate engineering discipline such as Mechanical, Electronics, Mechatronics, Automotive or Aerospace Engineering. However, entry qualifications are flexible, and applications are welcomed from other technical disciplines, mature candidates and those with industrial experience.

We recognise a breadth of qualifications, speak to one of our advisers today to find out how we can help you.

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Select your region to find detailed information about entry requirements:

Russia and Central Asia

You can view our full list of country specific entry requirements on our Entry requirements page.

If you do not have the typical entry requirements, you may want to consider studying this course with an international pre-master's. Upon successful completion our International Pre-Master's - Engineering will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to progress onto this postgraduate degree.

Visit our International Hub for further advice and guidance on finding in-country agents and representatives, joining our in-country events and how to apply.

Typical entry requirements

English language requirements

IELTS: 6.5 overall (with at least 5.5 in each component area)
If you don't meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.
For more information on our approved English language tests visit our English language requirements page.

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Fees and funding

Student	Full-time	Part-time
UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man	2025/26 fees TBC 2024/25 fees - £11,200 \| £4,000 (work placement option additional fee) per year	Request fee information
EU	2025/26 fees TBC 2024/25 fees - £11,200 \| £4,000 (work placement option additional fee) per year with EU Support Bursary 2025/26 fees TBC 2024/25 fees - £20,050 \| £4,000 (work placement option additional fee) per year without EU Support Bursary	Not available
International	2025/26 fees TBC 2024/25 fees - £20,050 \| £4,000 (work placement option additional fee) per year	Not available

For advice and guidance on tuition fees³and student loans visit our Postgraduate Finance page and see the university's Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.

We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them.

The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:

Any optional overseas ﬁeld trips or visits: £400+ per trip.
Any costs associated with securing, attending or completing a placement (whether in the UK or abroad).

*Irish student fees

The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.

**EU Support Bursary

Following the UK's exit from the European Union, we are offering financial support to all eligible EU students who wish to study an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree with us full-time. This bursary will be used to offset the cost of your tuition fees to bring them in line with that of UK students. Students studying a degree with a foundation year with us are not eligible for the bursary.

How do you know if you need to pay UK or international tuition fees?

We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Your fee status determines your tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available to you. The rules about who pays UK (home) or international (overseas) fees for higher education courses in England are set by the Department for Education. The regulations identify all the different categories of student who can insist on paying the home rate. The regulations can be difficult to understand, so the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has provided fee status guidance to help you identify whether you are eligible to pay the home or overseas rate.

If you meet all the criteria required by any one category, including any residence requirements, your institution must charge you the home rate. You only need to find one category that you fit into.

Facilities

Our aim is to offer you sector-leading facilities⁴:

People walking in front of a building which has a big library sign

The Library

You will benefit from our support designed to help you succeed and our industry-relevant teaching and resources. These include our modern library and computing facilities, dedicated careers advice and Your Students’ Union.

Beautiful building surrounded by trees on a sunny day

Jaguar Centre

The Jaguar Centre has been specifically designed to provide facilities and services to support our postgraduate students including social spaces, computer suites and separate areas for small group study.

Glass modern building with a spire in the background

The Hub

The Hub is the centre of student campus life. It's also home to the Health and Wellbeing Centre, the Spirituality and Faith Centre, the Tank Studio, Student Success Coaches and the Enterprise Hub.

Careers and opportunities

Upon successful completion, you will be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of control engineering and the constituent components of a control system and analyse the behaviour using appropriate mathematical tools.
Assess the performance of a system via simulation and interpret the results quantitatively, e.g. numerically and/or statistically.
Evaluate and implement control algorithms and know their practical limitations.
Demonstrate specialist knowledge in control engineering within the broad themes of the course depending on the chosen pathway.
Understand and conceptualise a given complex problem and produce an appropriate model to generalise at a higher level of abstraction.
Critically analyse, evaluate and apply advanced analytical skills.
Apply knowledge of design via simulation to select appropriate algorithms for achieving a specific task.
Critically evaluate and demonstrate awareness of a range of hardware and software platforms for control system design and implementation.
Research information relevant to programme topics from a variety of sources and to critically analysis ideas, arguments and points of view.
Successful completion of this course should provide you with skills applicable for industries including automotive, aerospace, process/chemical industries, manufacturing, robotics and automation, finance and banking.

There are also opportunities in research and development across a wide variety of these industrial and commercial sectors.

Where our graduates work

Some of our graduates are now employed as project engineers, systems and control engineers, systems developers, and systems integrators. Some of them stayed in academia to either continue their education to PhD level or work as researchers.

How to apply

UK students

To apply to study for a postgraduate course at Coventry University, you can apply online.

Full-time applications

Part-time applications

For further support or more information about your course get in touch with us today.

+44 (0)24 7765 2222

ukadmissions@coventry.ac.uk

Complete our contact form.

International students

Full-time international students should apply directly to the university. Read our application pages to find out your next steps to apply.

How to apply

For further support for international applicants applying for postgraduate degree view our International hub.

You can also download our International guide which contains lots of useful information about our courses, accommodation and tips for travel.

Get in touch with us today for further advice and guidance.

+44 (0)24 7765 2152

applications.io@coventry.ac.uk

Complete our contact form.

Disclaimers

Coventry University together with Coventry University London, Coventry University Wrocław, CU Coventry, CU London, CU Scarborough, and Coventry University Online come together to form part of the Coventry University Group (the University) with all degrees awarded by Coventry University.

¹Accreditations

The majority of our courses have been formally recognised by professional bodies, which means the courses have been reviewed and tested to ensure they reach a set standard. In some instances, studying on an accredited course can give you additional benefits such as exemptions from professional exams (subject to availability, fees may apply). Accreditations, partnerships, exemptions and memberships shall be renewed in accordance with the relevant bodies’ standard review process and subject to the university maintaining the same high standards of course delivery.

²UK and international opportunities

Please note that we are unable to guarantee any UK or international opportunities (whether required or optional) such as internships, work experience, field trips, conferences, placements or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be unpaid and/or subject to additional costs (which could include, but is not limited to, equipment, materials, bench fees, studio or facilities hire, travel, accommodation and visas), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable travel, public authority guidance, decisions or orders and visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand any visa requirements, please contact the International Office.

³Tuition fees

The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first Academic Year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year. For UK (home) students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, the University may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation.

For international students, we may increase fees each year, but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) the University reserves the right to charge you fees at a higher rate and/or in accordance with any legislative changes during the additional period of study.

⁴Facilities

Facilities are subject to availability. Access to some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) may vary from those advertised and/or may have reduced availability or restrictions where the university is following public authority guidance, decisions or orders.

Student Contract

By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the current 2024/2025 contract is available on the website for information purposes however the 2025/2026 contract will apply for the 2025/2026 intake. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.