[owen]

Y'all are thinking this is off topic...

I am interested in going to go to grad school England to get a MSc in Gun Systems Design. It looks like it will cost about $50k, but as near as I can tell, the University in question is the only school in the English Speaking World that offers such a degree to civvies.

I'm looking for information pertaining to educational grants for developing unusual skill sets. :D Most likely, any grant will be DOD related, but I am not finding much there either.

There wouldn't be any grant writing experts on The High Road, would there?

owen

[Holly76201]

Would Mechanical engineering be a close second? Lots of those programs around on this side of the pond. Just a thought. Or maybe enlist in one of the Services if you can get a guaranteed MOS as an armourer.

[4v50 Gary]

Please chime in. I'd love a grant to further my own gun research. I'm tired of subsidizing myself. :)

[Chris Rhines]

I'd like to hear more on this subject as well...

- Chris

[owen]

I already have a BS (teehee) in mechanical engineering. I have been working in the industry for about 6 years, but it is now time to advance my education.

An armoror is a gun mechanic. I am a gun designer. Besides I have a flavor of MD, and the military isn't interested in me. I could try to score a job at Aberdeen or Crane, but I would be taking a major pay cut to work for the military. I am still working on my company to see if they will spring for at least some of it, but no luck yet.

owen

[rapaz]

Funding works differently in different countries, so adjust accordingly. Here in the US, there is far more $$$ available for phd studies than for masters. One way to leverage that is to get into a phd program (with the nice full funding) and then leave after getting the masters. Just don't tell anyone first!

Look at industry as well as the gov't for funding--see if you can find out if any professors are doing research in this area; wherever they are getting $$$, you should have a chance.

As suggested above, look into overlapping courses of study with better funding--you can get the same job, often, with several different degrees, but funding can vary hugely between programs.

The most important thing you should be doing is talking to professors and students in the programs you are considering--they know about funding, jobs, etc.

If your field of study is really quite specific (I'm not an engineer, so don't know how different mechanical engineering is from materials, or armaments, or whatever), you may need to look overseas. You should have reciprocity across the EU, and of course the US tends to be pretty welcoming to students from Europe. Don't know about the commonwealth, but I'd guess that you might have options there.

Edit: Ooops!!! I thought you were IN england. Never mind; clearly I misread.

[Bill Hook]

There's no place like the library and the internet to start finding info. Asking a engineering prof. about obtaining funding for study might be another way. Your alma mater might have some info in their career dept. or library research dept.

[MrAcheson]

You do realize that England uses a different higher education system than we do? Our Ph.D. does not equal their Ph.D. and likewise with a masters.

[MrAcheson]

Oh one other idea. Try to find out which schools the military is funding firearms development grants through. Do graduate work with one of those schools in a discipline where you can work under that funding. Chances are a Masters in ME would be possible there.

[owen]

Mr. Archeson,

I knew the degrees aren't equivalent, but I have had difficulty trying to track down an equivalency chart, or some means of comparing the two systems.

As far as seeking an alternate overlapping degree, I haven't ruled it out, but having a MSc in Gun Systems Design will help me tremendously in the path I am trying to follow (Consulting/Professional Witness). It would be a very unusual degree to have, at least in the States, and would in many ways, make my expertise indisputable. It is almost more about the piece of paper than the actual course of study.

I already know who is getting firearms development grants, and it is for the most part private industry, not the University System.

BTW, what are the US Military grad schools?

owen

[MrAcheson]

Yeah I know the Ph.D. is very different between the two systems. A US Ph.D. usually has to take certain number of classes and pass a qualifying exam and then complete their thesis. A british Ph.D. requires no course work and is basically a lot of thinking and a thesis (as I understand it). Beats me what their master's equivalent is.

As for the Military Graduate or Post-Graduate schools, I'm not sure what is going on with them currently. The ones I know of are the Naval Post-graduate School in Monterey, Ca (NPS) and the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright-Pat in Dayton. I don't know of an Army equivalent to these off the top of my head. The army seems to go for smaller military specific schools (war college, logistics and management college, etc) and work with academic institutions, rather than have their own graduate school. At one point some classes were being passed off between the NPS and AFIT schools.

[Leatherneck]

Have you tried corresponding with National Labs (Livermore, Los Alamos), weapons manufacturers (G.E, Bofors), and shipyards (Newport News, Bath)?

TC
TFL Survivor

[owen]

i already work for a weapons manufacturer.

FN Manufacturing, Inc. (http://www.fnmfg.com)

[4v50 Gary]

Owen: Would it be a breach of state security for a factory tour? BTW, I know it's foolish to ask for "samples" and "souvenirs" but how demos?;)

[owen]

Veering OT,

We have tours from time to time, but not generally for individuals.

If you can get a group together, I will see what I can do.

owen

[sw442642]

What is the school? Did I miss that? What is the track record of their graduates? Have you met any in the business? Have you checked our companies to see if they have hired any?

[owen]

It is Cranfield University, the Royal College of Military Science.

If you start reading papers on ballistics, armor penetration, armored vehicle design, etc, the name pops up quite a bit.

owen