Control, Automation and Artificial Intelligence MSc

Study level: Postgraduate
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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

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.
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Rated Gold Overall

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023

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5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities

QS Stars University Ratings

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Top 5 Student City in England (Coventry)

QS Best Student Cities Index 2025

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:

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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.


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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.


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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

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:

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

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.

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 fees3 and 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.


Facilities

Our aim is to offer you sector-leading facilities4:

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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.

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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.

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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