Master of Materials Engineering (Leuven)

The Master of Science in Materials Engineering aims at educating engineers who will be able to design new materials and/or processes to manufacture them, and who can make sustainable choices in materials selection problems, both in industrial and academic environment. These capabilities will be based on a thorough understanding and sovereign use of the relationships between the internal structure (crystal structure, microstructure, architecture) of materials, their properties (mechanical, electrical, chemical) and their processing (the materials triangle).

As an academic programme, the Master of Materials Engineering focuses on teaching the knowledgeable application of generic principles to a broad gamut of materials challenges rather than on transferring encyclopaedic knowledge on specific material families. The programme builds on the basics of engineering science: physics, mathematics, chemistry and mechanics. It is also assumed that the student has already covered the fundamental courses in the materials engineering curriculum (structures, microstructures, mechanical behaviour of materials, transport phenomena, thermodynamics and kinetics) prior to starting the Master's programme.

The economic and societal context is considered both in engineering and in general interest courses. In particular, scarcity, sustainable materials management in closed materials loops, life cycle analysis and recycling processes are broadly covered in both research and teaching. Finally, the programme aims at conveying the social, communication and leadership skills required on an engineering work floor.

The ideal prospective student should be strongly motivated to pursue a career in materials science and engineering or in industrial sectors dealing with materials. He/she should hold a basic three- or four-year Bachelor's degree in a field of engineering or one of physical or chemical sciences.