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Program objectives

The educational program in Materials Science and Engineering is designed to have the flexibility to meet the educational needs of each student and to provide the foundation for future career development.  The Program Objectives that have guided the development of our undergraduate degree program are:

• To provide students with a broad education required to recognize, understand, and further the evolving role that materials science and engineering plays in society.
• To prepare students for careers in materials science and engineering, or in fields that require an understanding of materials, by providing a broad, fundamental view of materials as well as a solid foundation in science and engineering.
• To understand and appreciate materials research and its application in advancing a wide range of established and emerging technologies.
• To maintain an academic program and community environment that prepares students for graduate studies in materials or in related engineering areas as well as for advanced study in professional fields such as medicine or law.
• To develop the communication skills of students and to improve their ability effectively to contribute as members of teams.
• To instill professional and ethical behavior in our students that will serve as the foundation for personal development, professional advancement and leadership.

These objectives have guided the development of our overall program so that it prepares students for life beyond the University in many ways.  In particular, students majoring in materials science and engineering:

• are well prepared for professional scientific and engineering practice, as well as for advanced study in materials science and engineering or in other scientific/engineering disciplines.  Students are also prepared for professional studies in areas such as law or medicine;
• acquire a solid grounding in the mathematics, chemistry, biology and the physics that are required for the solution of materials problems related to the structure, properties, processing and performance of materials;
• can utilize modern scientific, engineering and computer tools to analyze problems in materials science and engineering;
• can identify important scientific and engineering problems related to materials, and then design systems and processes as well as perform relevant experiments and interpret data to aid the solution of these problems;
• learn to work both independently and in teams;
• obtain extensive experience in oral and written communication including science and engineering specific forms of communication such as technical reports, scientific notebooks and technical presentations of research;
• are instilled with an appropriate appreciation of the broad need for life-long learning, the scope and meaning of professional responsibility and the relevance of engineering practice with regard to contemporary issues.

With successful completion of our undergraduate program, our students have gone on to pursue challenging and rewarding careers and have become instrumental in shaping the world of materials science and engineering for tomorrow!