Materials science and engineering

The undergraduate program serves the needs of students who intend to pursue employment in materials-related industries immediately upon graduation, as well as those who will do graduate work in the engineering or science of materials. The program is designed to be started at the beginning of the sophomore year, although it can be started in the spring term of the sophomore year or in the junior year with some loss of scheduling flexibility. The first four academic terms of the program contain required core subjects that address the fundamental relations between processing, microstructure, properties, and applications of modern materials. The core subjects are followed by a sequence of restricted electives that provide more specialized coverage of the major classes of modern materials: biomaterials, ceramics, electronic materials, metals, and polymers, as well as cross-cutting topics relevant to all types of materials. Course 3 students write either a senior thesis or reports based on industrial internships. This provides an opportunity for original research work beyond that which occurs elsewhere in the program. The required subjects can be completed in the sophomore and junior years within a schedule that allows students to take a HASS subject each term and a range of elective junior and senior subjects. Departmental advisors assist students in selecting elective subjects. While the program should satisfy the academic needs of most students, petitions for variations or substitutions may be approved by the departmental Undergraduate Committee; students should contact their advisor for guidance in such cases. Participation in laboratory work by undergraduates is an integral part of the curriculum. The departmental core subjects include extensive laboratory exercises, which investigate materials properties, structure, and processing and are complementary to the lecture subjects. The junior-year core includes a capstone laboratory subject, 3 .042...