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Undergraduate Curriculum

Non-biomaterials (enrolling before Fall 2006)
Biomaterials (enrolling before Fall 2006)
Non-biomaterials (enrolling in Fall 2006 or after)
Biomaterials (enrolling in Fall 2006 or after)

The B.S. degree program in Materials Science and Engineering requires a minimum of 131 hours for graduation and includes a minimum of one year of courses in college-level mathematics and basic sciences, one and one-half years of engineering science and design courses in the chosen area and a general education component that complements the technical content. The ceramics, electronic materials, metals, and polymers areas have a common curriculum through the junior year, including one course in the second semester, junior year in their chosen area. Students in the biomaterials area take a subset of the junior year courses and additional biology courses.

Curriculum Outline

Semester 1 – Freshmen

Semester 2 – Freshmen

Semester 3 – Sophomore

Semester 4 – Sophomore

Semester 5 – Junior

Biomaterials Semester 5 – Junior

Semester 6 – Junior

Biomaterials Semester 6 – Junior

Semester 7 – Senior

Biomaterials Semester 7 – Senior

Semester 8 – Senior

Biomaterials Semester 8 – Senior

Semester 1 — FreshmEn

Course	Description	Credit
CHEM 102	General Chemistry	3
CHEM 103	General Chemistry Lab	1
MATH 221	Calculus I	4footnote 1
ENG 100	Engineering Lectures	0
RHET 105	Principles of Composition or elective in social sciences/humanities	3-4
MSE 182	Intro to Materials Sci. and Eng.	3
		14-15

Semester 2 — Freshman

Course	Description	Credit
CHEM 104	General Chemistry II(bio. or phys. version)	3
CHEM 105	General Chemistry Lab II	1
MATH 231	Calculus II	3
MATH 225	Introductory Matrix Theory	2
PHYS 211	Univ. Physics, Mechanics	4
MSE 183	Freshman Materials Laboratory	(1) footnote 2
	Elective in social sciences or humanities or RHET 105 if not taken in Semester 1	3-4 footnote 3
		16-17

Semester 3 — Sophomore

Course	Description	Credit
MATH 241	Calculus III	4
PHYS 212	Univ. Physics, Elec & Mag.	4
MSE 201	Phases and Phase Relations	3
CS 101	Introduction to Computing, Eng. & Sci.	3
	Elective in social sciences or humanities	3 footnote 3
		17

Semester 4 — Sophomore

Course	Description	Credit
PHYS 214	Univ. Physics, Quantum Physics	2
TAM 206	Mechanics for MatSE	4
ECE 205	Intro Elec. & Electr. Circuits	3
MATH 285	Intro Differential Equations	3
	Elective in social sciences or humanities	3 footnote 3
		15

Areas of Concentration

(Ceramics, Electronic Materials, Metals, Polymers, Biomaterials)

Semester 5 — Junior

Course	Description	Credit
MSE 401	Thermodynamics of Materials	4
MSE 406	Thermal-Mech Behavior of Materials	3
MSE 307	Materials Laboratory, I	3 footnote 4
IE 300	Analysis of Data	3
	Elective in social sciences and humanities	3 footnote 3
		16

Biomaterials Semester 5 — Junior

Course	Description	Credit
MSE 401	Thermodynamics of Materials	4
MSE 307	Materials Laboratory, I	3
CHEM 232	Elementary Organic Chemistry I	3
IE 300	Analysis of Data	3
MSE 406	Thermal-Mechanical Behavior	3
		16

Semester 6 — Junior

Course	Description	Credit
MSE 402	Kinetic Processes in Materials	3
MSE 304	Electronic Properties of Materials	3
MSE 405	Microstructure Characterization	3
MSE 308	Materials Laboratory, II	3 footnote 4
MSE 4XX	Area specialty course	3 footnote 5
	Free Elective	3
		18

Biomaterials Semester 6 — Junior

Course	Description	Credit
MSE 402	Kinetic Processes in Materials	3
MSE 308	Materials Laboratory, I	3
MCB 150	Molecular & Cellular Basis of Life	4 footnote 1
MCB 450	Introductory Biochemistry	3
	Elective in social sciences or humanities	3
		16

Semester 7 — Senior

Course	Description	Credit
	Technical elective	3 footnote 7
MSE 4XX	Area specialty course (design included)	6 footnote 5
MSE 4XX	Area specialty course in a different area	3 footnote 5
MSE 403 or CHEM 232	Synthesis of Materials or Elementary Organic Chemistry I	3
	Elective in social sciences or humanities	3 footnote 3
		18

Biomaterials Semester 7 — Senior

Course	Description	Credit
	Area speciality courses	9 footnote 5
	Area speciality course in a different area	3
	Elective in social sciences or humanities	3
	Free Elective	3
		18

Semester 8 — Senior

Course	Description	Credit
MSE 395	Materials Design	1
	Area specialty course (senior lab)	6 footnote 5
	Technical elective	3 footnote 7
	Free elective	3
	Elective in social sciences or humanities	3 footnote 3
		16

Biomaterials Semester 8 — Senior

Course	Description	Credit
MSE 395	Materials Design	1
	Area speciality courses	5 footnote 5
MCB 252	Cells, Tissues and Development	3
	Area speciality course in a different area	3
	Elective in social sciences or humanities	3
	Free elective	3
		18

Footnotes

1. It is recommended that freshmen with appropriate background in analytical geometry take the MATH 235, 245 calculus sequence, delaying MATH 225 until the sophomore year, instead of MATH 220, 230, 242.
2. This course is highly recommended for freshmen, who may use it to help meet free elective requirements.
3. Each student must satisfy the social sciences and humanities requirements of the College of Engineering and the campus general education requirements for social sciences and humanities. General Education Requirements
4. Satisfies the General Education Composition II requirement.
5. To be selected from the list of area courses as established by the department to provide an acceptable level of study in the student's chosen area. Areas of Concentration (Ceramics, Electronic Materials, Metals, Polymers, Biomaterials)
6. It is recommended that students who intend to continue in graduate school undertake a research project in the senior year. The project may take the place of 4-6 hours of free, technical and/or area technical (specialty) electives.
7. Technical Electives

MATSE CURRICULUM: GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS

The goal of the Materials Science and Engineering undergraduate curriculum is to provide an understanding of the underlying principles of synthesis, characterization and processing of materials and of the interrelationships amoung structure, properties and processing.

The educational objectives of the MatSE Department and its faculty at the undergraduate level are:

1. To provide students with the necessary foundation for entry-level industrial positions in materials related industries or advanced study programs by a comprehensive education that includes in-depth instruction in both materials as a whole and in their chosen concentration, with an emphasis on analysis, problem solving, exposure to open-ended problems and design methods.
2. To provide students with an introduction to team work, communication techniques and individual professionalism, including ethics and environmental awareness, to prepare them for advanced study programs and/or successful, productive careers in industry.
3. To provide students with the opportunity to broaden their education in engineering and science or expand their knowledge in a particular technical area by offering a choice of technical and free electives. To provide students with the opportunity to participate in the Co-op and Study Abroad programs.
4. To provide students with opportunities to learn and grow as individuals, contribute to society and to appreciate the ability to achieve their goals through life-long learning and leadership.

It is expected that the graduates will have:

1. An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, the sciences and engineering principles to materials systems.
2. An integrated understanding of the materials science and engineering principles underlying the interrelationships between structure, properties, processing and performance of materials and material systems appropriate to their field.
3. An ability to apply the knowledge obtained in items 1 and 2 to identify, formulate and solve engineering and design problems involving application and selection of materials.
4. An ability to design, conduct, analyze and interpret results of laboratory experiments (including statistical and computational methods) involving the behavior of materials in applications.
5. Familiarity and/or experience with modern techniques, instrumentation and other tools required for experimental and engineering design, data collection and data analysis in the practice of materials science and engineering.
6. An ability to work in and provide leadership for teams in the solution of science and engineering problems.
7. An understanding of professional and ethical responsibilities and their implications.
8. An ability to communicate effectively through written reports and oral presentations.
9. The broad education necessary to understand the impact of materials engineering problems and solutions in a global/societal context.
10. A recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in life-long learning.
11. A knowledge of contemporary issues in the context of engineering problems in materials science and engineering.

The program prepares students for professional careers in a variety of industries as well as for advanced study in this field. Design of materials with properties tailored for specific applications and the processes used to produce them are first introduced in the freshman year. This theme is developed throughout the curriculum in required and elective courses and culminates in a capstone design experience in the senior year. In the second year the student completes the basic courses in chemistry, physics and math and engineering (including basic circuits and electronics and the mechanics of solids and fluids) and is introduced to the microstructure and phase relationships of materials. The third year is devoted to a core series of materials courses, including thermodynamics; kinetics of processes; microstructure characterization; materials synthesis; and electronic, mechanical and thermal properties, complemented by a course on statistical data analysis and laboratories during both semesters. Selecting an area of concentration by the second semester of the third year, the fourth year is devoted to in-depth study of the selected area, involving several elective courses plus processing, design and characterization (laboratory) courses, and culminating in a department-wide "capstone" senior design course in which the student integrates the knowledge obtained during his or her prior education. Students intending to continue with advanced study, in particular, are encouraged to undertake a senior thesis research project. The technical aspects of the curricula are complemented by composition, humanities and social sciences courses and by material on leadership, ethics, team-building and environmental responsibility that are distributed throughout the curriculum.