Advising
Students choosing materials science and engineering (MSE) as their primary field should follow the listed curriculum for materials engineers. They will develop a complete program of courses with their advisor for approval during advising sessions. Core courses are only offered in the semester they are listed with the exception of ENMA 300 and ENMA 460. Students are expected to take the core courses in the order given because later courses build on earlier courses. Any exceptions require explicit approval by the academic advisor.
Students who are interested in transferring into the Department of Materials Science and Engineering should contact the Department at mseundergrad@umd.edu.
MSE students participating in or desiring to participate in the Interdisciplinary Minor Program in Nanoscale Science and Technology (NS&T) must formally declare their participation using the Nano Minor Declaration/Advising Form (PDF). Submission of the form must follow a meeting with the department's NS&T program advisor, Ray Phaneuf (Professor), who will help the students develop a program of courses suitable for the minor and a schedule for taking them.
The Materials Science and Engineering Undergraduate Mentoring Program
Materials majors participate in a mentoring program to meet with MSE faculty members or instructors to discuss research activities, specialization areas and career/graduate school options. Mentoring sessions occur prior to registration for the following semester classes. Starting Spring 2022, you should begin mentoring your sophmore year or in the semester you enroll in ENMA 300 (e.g. when you are taking ENMA 300). Once you begin you should continue for two more semesters in a row. Students must choose a different faculty member for each mentoring session. Download a mentoring form here. (PDF)
Approval Process for MSE Technical Electives
Students must come prepared to their regular advising session with proposed technical electives on semesters they will register for them. Retroactive approvals will only be considered for students transferring to MSE from another program. The student must articulate in a reasonable way how the proposed course will help to meet specific intellectual or career goals. If the course control code is 300 or 400 level in MATH, CHEM, PHYS, CMSC, or any engineering major* (e.g., BIOE, CHBE, ENEE, etc), then the advisor may promptly approve the course at their discretion. The advisor may also approve other courses, if the course content otherwise meets the degree requirements for technical electives. Such approval may require documentation, e.g. syllabus or example course materials, and/or additional review time.
Upon completion of advising, any proposed Tech Elective that is not pre-approved by the advisor may be proposed by the student for approval of the Undergraduate Program Committee, by submission to the committee chair using the below form.
Click here to fill out the form
*Note: ENES is not a major and so ENES classes require special approval. It is rare that ENES classes are accepted due to departmental requirements for significant quantitative analysis and critical thinking relevant to engineering in Technical Electives.
Approved Technical Electives Course List
Please read the following restrictions before selecting your courses:
(*) Provide a syllabus for the term you are seeking or documentation of technical content.
(**) 300 level or above ENMA Specialization courses can count as a Technical Elective however, the single course cannot count as meeting the requirement of both a Specialization and a Technical Elective.
(*** ENMA466) If this course was approved as alternate Capstone by your advisor, it cannot count as Specialization or Technical Elective.
