MSE in Materials Science and Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering is an interdisciplinary field that enables advances in the development and application of materials in engineering practice. Technological innovations are directly linked to the understanding of materials and are required to meet next generational challenges. Advances in nanomaterials, energy storage materials, functional and sensory materials, and lightweight structural materials will enable further development of practically all technology fields.
The College of Engineering and Computer Science offers a 30-credit-hour interdisciplinary graduate degree program leading to a master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering. Many courses in this program are designed to address the new and emerging materials technology in industry. Students in this program will not only learn about advanced technologies, but also how to apply them in practice for creative design and problem solving. The curriculum is designed to combine the necessary breadth in coverage of the main areas of Materials Science and Engineering with in-depth study of topics of particular interest for potential industrial employers.
This program may be completed entirely on campus, entirely online, or through a combination of on-campus and online courses. See the "Online Options" section below for more details.
Program Details
The program will prepare graduate students to be valuable leaders in their field, capable of applying novel and rigorous engineering concepts to enable advances in the development and design of engineering materials. To achieve this, graduates will have a broad understanding of Materials Science and Engineering concepts, applications, and impact on technological innovations. Graduates from this program will have an understanding of the process-microstructure-properties-performance relationship in engineering materials. They will be able to design processes required to develop a specific microstructure in order to achieve a set of properties necessary to meet performance requirements for current and future engineering applications.
Almost all classes are held Monday-Thursday, 6-9 PM. Classes are available in Fall (Sept-Dec), Winter (Jan-Apr), Summer I (May-June) and Summer II (July-Aug) terms. The Fall and Winter courses are held once a week and the Summer I and Summer II courses are held twice a week.
MSE-MTSE Program Goals
To provide students with a strong background in science and engineering of materials, and a thorough understanding of advanced applications in that field.
MSE-MTSE Learning Outcomes
1. Students will be able to formulate, analyze, and solve advanced multidisciplinary materials science and engineering problems.
2. Students will have a comprehensive knowledge and ability to apply the latest technologies and engineering tools.
3. Students will be able to design processes leading to specific microstructures necessary to achieve sets of properties satisfying performance requirements for current and future engineering applications.
An applicant to the program should hold a Bachelor of Science (BS) or equivalent degree in engineering from an accredited program with a minimum cumulative grade point of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). An applicant with a lower GPA, or an applicant with a non-engineering bachelor's degree in a science or mathematics program, may be considered for admission consistent with the guidelines.
Please note: At least two (2) letters of recommendation are required as part of the application. These should come from people who know you as an engineer, either academically (professor or research advisor) or professionally (supervisor or manager). Letters of reference from peer employees or personal sources are invalid and will not be considered.
The Materials Science and Engineering program is also offered online through CECS Online. The online courses utilize video streaming of the lectures given on campus. The online students have the opportunity to interact with the instructors and with fellow students (both on campus as well as online) through CANVAS. The class lectures, notes, and discussions are posted on CANVAS for online students' access.
The candidate must complete at least 30 semester hours of graduate work approved by the program advisor/graduate advisory committee with a grade of at least a B covering all courses elected. These 30 hours must include three required core courses, five to six courses from the MTSE elective courses, and one to two cognate courses. The one required cognate course must be a graduate-level course from CECS (excluding courses in the MTSE core and elective course lists), CASL, CEHHS, or COB. The optional cognate should be a graduate-level course from CECS (excluding courses in the MTSE core and elective course lists) or a natural sciences course (BIOL, CHEM, ESCI, ENST, MICR, PHYS).
Students cannot have more than one B- in the program and must maintain a B average to remain in good academic standing. A grade of B- in more than one course will not count for graduate credit. Any grade below B- is not acceptable.
Curriculum
Required Core Courses
It is recommended that these courses be taken within the first three terms after program enrollment.
1. MTSE 501/ME 566 - Materials Thermodynamics and Kinetics (3 credit hours)
2. MTSE 502/ME 569 - Introduction to Materials Characterization (3 credit hours)
3. ME 518 - Advanced Engineering Analysis (3 credit hours)
Materials Sciences and Engineering Courses
Five-six materials science and engineering courses from the MTSE graduate course list, 15 to 18 credit hours.
Cognate Courses
One to two cognate courses per guidelines below (3-6 credit hours)
- Required: One graduate-level course from CECS (not from the list of MTSE compulsory core or MTSE elective courses), CASL, CEHHS, or COB
- Optional: One graduate-level course from CECS (not from the list of MTSE compulsory core or MTSE elective courses) or natural sciences (BIOL, CHEM, ESCI, ENST, MICR, PHYS)
Students choosing the thesis option may do so for 6 credit hours. It will count for six (6) credit hours of coursework, replacing two courses in the Materials Science and Engineering Electives area. The thesis will involve in-depth study and research work in an area related to Materials Science and Engineering. Please see the thesis guidelines for details regarding this option.
Most Materials Science and Engineering courses are worth 3 credits and are offered in the evening from 6-8:45 p.m. Each course meets one night per week during the Fall and Winter terms and twice per week during the Summer I and Summer II half terms. When demand for certain courses is exceptionally high, additional daytime sections, offered from 2-5:45 p.m., may be added. Non-working students are required to take daytime sections (rather than evening sections) where these are available. All classes are held Monday-Thursday. Classes are available in the Fall (September-December), Winter (January-April), Summer I (May-June) and Summer II (July-August) terms.
All courses are 3 credit hours except those marked with "*", which are available for 1~3 credit hour(s).
Materials Science and Engineering Courses
- ME 556 Stress Strength Cons Design (3 credit hours)
- ME 558 Fracture Fatigue Cons Design (3 credit hours)
- ME 567 Reliability Cons Design (3 credit hours)
- ME 568 Computational Materials Design (3 credit hours)
- ME 580 Advanced Engineering Materials (3 credit hours)
- ME 583 Mechanical Behavior of Materials (3 credit hours)
- ME 584 Mechanical Behavior of Polymers (3 credit hours)
- ME 585 Cast Metals in Engineering Design (3 credit hours)
- ME 586 Materials Consideration in Manufacturing (3 credit hours)
- ME 589 Composite Materials (3 credit hours)
- ME 591 Degradation of Materials (3 credit hours)
- ME 593 Powder Materials and Processing (3 credit hours)
- ME 595 Digital Manufacturing (3 credit hours)
- ME 611 Modelling of Engineering Materials (3 credit hours)
- BENG 521 Biomaterials and Biochemical Interfaces (3 credit hours)
- BENG 560 Nanobiosystems Engineering (3 credit hours)
- BENG 575 Regenerative Engineering (3 credit hours)
- AENG 581 Materials Selection in Automotive Design (3 credit hours)
- AENG 584 Lightweight Automotive Alloys (3 credit hours)
- AENG 588 Materials for Environment (3 credit hours)
- AENG 650 Analysis & Design for Vehicle Crashworthiness (3 credit hours)
- ECE 502 Electromagnetic Theory and Simulations (3 credit hours)
- ECE 539 Production of Electronic Products (3 credit hours)
- IMSE 504 Metal Forming Processes (3 credit hours)
The ME department is planning the development of the following courses to be included in the MTSE program:
- Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (3 credit hours)
- Materials for Energy Applications (3 credit hours)
- Failure Analysis of Materials (3 credit hours)
- Physical Behavior of Materials (3 credit hours)
- Engineering Ceramics (3 credit hours)
- Molecular Dynamics of Materials (3 credit hours)
- Machine Learning Applied to Materials Design (3 credit hours)
- High Strain Rate Deformation of Materials (3 credit hours)
- Electronic Materials and Devices (3 credit hours)
Independent Study and Thesis
- MTSE 600 Study or Research in MSE (1-3 credit hours)*
- MTSE 699 Master’s Thesis (6 credit hours)*
*Requires special permission
Program Contacts
Sherry Boyd
