Master of Science in Materials Science & Engineering

Master of Science in Materials Science & Engineering

The Masters of Science (MS) degree program in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering is designed for a broad range of students and professionals seeking to expand on their undergraduate training, enhance professional skills, and gain the experience necessary to become a professional scientist/engineer or to obtain a solid foundation for further education in science and engineering.

By default, applications to the MS degree program in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering will be considered for the non-thesis option. Admission to the MS degree program with a thesis option is only considered upon request of a faculty member on behalf of the applicant.

Non-Thesis Masters Option

The MS degree program with a non-thesis option requires completion of 36 hours of credit total. The curriculum is highly flexible with the following requirements and conditions:

• A minimum of 10 hours of MSE 400 or 500-level coursework at the graduate level.
• A minimum of 14 hours of 500-level course work overall applied toward the degree (excluding MSE 599).
• Materials Colloquium MSE 595 must be taken every semester in the first two years of residence. A maximum of 2 hours may be applied toward the degree.
• MSE 529 Hard Materials Student Seminar or MSE 559 Soft Materials Student Seminar must be taken every semester. A maximum of 4 hours may be applied toward the degree.
• Students enrolled in the MS program with a non-thesis option are not eligible for a research assistantship from the MatSE Department.
• Applicants who do not receive offers of admission to the Ph.D. program may request to be considered for the M.S. program without filing a separate application. Instructions for this request may be found in the decision letter for the Ph.D. program application.

Masters Thesis Option

The MS degree program with a thesis option requires completion of 32 hours of credit total and successful completion of a thesis. The curriculum is highly flexible with the following requirements and conditions:

• A total of 8 hours of MSE 599 Thesis Research
• A minimum of 10 hours of MSE 400 or 500-level course work at the graduate level.
• A minimum of 14 hours of 500-level course work overall applied toward the degree (excluding MSE 599).
• Materials Colloquium MSE 595 must be taken every semester in the first two years of residence. A maximum of 2 hours may be applied toward the degree.
• MSE 529 Hard Materials Student Seminar or MSE 559 Soft Materials Student Seminar must be taken every semester. A maximum of 4 hours may be applied toward the degree.
• The completed master's thesis must be approved by the advisor and the department head.

There is also a colloquium/seminar course registration requirement (see Course Requirements page for number of credit hours these courses can count toward degree requirement):

• Materials Colloquium: Registration during the first 4 semesters is required.
• Hard Materials Seminar/Soft Materials Seminar: Registration every semester of residence.

Concentrations

Biomaterials

• Polymer Chemistry 4credit
• Design and Use of Biomaterials 3credit
• Biomolecular Materials Science 3credit
• Biomaterials and Nanomedicine 3credit
• Surfaces and Colloids 4credit
• BIOE 506 Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering 4credit
• CHBE 472 Techniques in Biomolecular Engineering 4credit
• CHEM 530 Structure and Spectroscopy 4credit
• CHEM 590C Introduction to Chemical Biology 4credit
• MCB 450 Introduction to Biochemistry 3credit

Polymers/Soft Materials

• MSE 454 Mechanics of Polymers 3 credit
• MSE 455 Polymer Physics 3 credit
• MSE 456 Mechanics of Composites 3 credit
• MSE 457 Polymer Chemistry 4 credit
• MSE 458 Polymer Physical Chemistry 3 credit
• MSE 480 Surfaces and Colloids 4 credit
• MSE 487 Materials for Nanotechnology 3 credit
• MSE 583 Dynamics of Complex Fluids 4 credit
• CHEM 584 Introduction to Materials Chemistry 4 credit
• PHYS 552 Optical Spectroscopy 4 credit

Ceramics

• MSE 420 Ceramic Materials and Properties 3 credit
• MSE 421 Ceramic Proc. & Microstructure Development 3 credit
• MSE 422 Electrical Ceramics 3 credit
• MSE 480 Surfaces and Colloids 4 credit
• MSE 481 Electron Microscopy & Diffraction 4 credit
• MSE 580 Diffraction Physics of Materials 4 credit
• MSE 581 Advanced Electron Microscopy 4 credit
• MSE 583 Dynamics of Complex Fluids 4 credit
• MSE 584 Points and Line Defects 4 credit
• CHEM 516 Physical Inorganic Chemistry 4 credit

Computational Materials

• MSE 485 Atomic Scale Simulations 4 credit
• MSE 580 Diffraction Physics of Materials 4 credit
• MSE 584 Point and Line Defects 4 credit
• ME 471 Finite Element Analysis 4 credit
• CS 450 Intro to Numerical Analysis 4 credit
• CSE 527 Scientific Visualization 4 credit
• CSE 566 Numerical Fluid Dynamics 4 credit
• PHYS 486 Quantum Physics 4 credit
• PHYS 560 Condensed Matter Physics I 4 credit

Electronic Materials

• MSE 487 Materials for Nanotechnology 4 credit
• MSE 488 Optical Materials 4 credit
• MSE 582 Surface Physics 4 credit
• MSE 584 Point and Line Defects 4 credit
• ECE 441 Physics & Modeling Semicond. Dev. 3 credit
• ECE 444 IC Device Theory & Fabrication 4 credit
• ECE 488 Compound Semiconductors & Devices 3 credit
• PHYS 460 Condensed Matter Physics 4 credit
• PHYS 560 Condensed Matter Physics I 4 credit

Metal

• MSE 440 Mechanical Behavior of Metals 3 credit
• MSE 441 Metals Processing 3 credit
• MSE 443 Design of Engineering Alloys 3 credit
• MSE 445 Corrosion of Metals 4 credit
• MSE 481 Electron Microscopy & Diffraction 4 credit
• MSE 487 Materials for Nanotechnology 4 credit
• MSE 580 Diffraction Physics of Materials 4 credit
• MSE 581 Advanced Electron Microscopy 4 credit
• MSE 584 Point and Line Defects 4 credit
• TAM 551 Solid Mechanics I 4 credit

Several scholarship options are available. Please check the institute website for more information.

Sample employer destinations:

• Intel
• Alcon
• Amazon Web Services
• Arcanum Alloys
• ASM
• BASF Corporation
• Bell Textron
• Boston Children's Hospital
• Brilliant Light Power
• Consolidated Precision Products
• Corning
• Creative Thermal Solutions
• CTLGroup
• Grand Prairie Independent School District
• Hyland Software
• IBM
• IM Flash Technologies
• Johnson Health Tech
• KBRwyle
• KeaneTech
• Kettering University
• KLA Corporation
• Lockheed Martin
• Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Micron Japan
• Micron Technology
• Navistar
• Parker Hannifin
• Pennsylvania State University
• Schneider Electric
• TMEIC
• WH International Casting
• Wilana Chemical
• Wolverine Advanced Materials
• Xerion
• Yahoo

Sample grad school destinations:

• Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing
• IMDEA Materials Institute
• Johns Hopkins University
• Pennsylvania State University
• Rice University
• University of California
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• University of Maryland, College Park
• University of Michigan
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Wisconsin-Madiso