MSE: Four Year Plan

IMPORTANT: The information on this page is for students who entered UMD or the MSE program in the Fall 2017 semester, or later. If you are a current student with questions please review your graduation plan with your advisor.

The design of advanced materials and hardware products begins with understanding the fundamentals of materials science. Our undergraduate curriculum has been developed to meet the challenges that future materials scientists and engineers will face.

The Undergraduate MSE Degree Program will enable the student to:

• Understand the fundamental properties and structure of materials and how they may be tailored for a specific product
• Engineer a wide variety of materials including metals, polymers, ceramics and electronic materials for the next generation of products
• Design processing and manufacturing routes for advanced technology products
• Work as a materials specialist on industrial product design teams, and select the materials based on quality and reliability.

Requirements for the Major

1. General Education Requirements of the University of Maryland, College Park.
   See the University's General Education site for course listings (Fundamental, Distributive, and I-series) and requirements.
2. Mathematics, physics, chemistry, and engineering courses required of all engineering students.
3. Fifteen (15) credits of courses selected within a specialization area.
   At least 4 of the 5 courses should be in materials science and engineering.The specialization area is designed to add more breadth and depth in the chosen area and should be discussed with the student’s advisor. The areas of specialization available to students are Materials Science, Soft Materials and Biomaterials, Materials for Application, and Materials for Energy. Note: The lists provided in the links for each specialization area are not exclusive; with their advisor’s approval students may take alternative classes.
4. The MSE curriculum includes thirty-four (34) credits of required materials engineering courses as well as twelve to fifteen (12-15) credits of materials engineering courses as specialization electives. 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.
5. Two (2) technical electives are also required  to provide enhancement of the student's abilities into broader areas, including mathematical methods, scientific/engineering analysis, or computational methods.  These must be at the junior or senior level in engineering, mathematics, chemistry, physics or computer science (or biology for students specializing in biomaterials).  The choice of technical electives must be approved by the advisor in advance based on the student's intellectual and career goals.
6. Upper level science requirement of one (1) science course 300 level and above, in Chemistry or Physics.  Students specializing in Soft Materials and Biomaterials may take CHEM 241 (Organic Chemistry 2) with the approval of their advisor or a 300 level biology course by filing an exception with the Undergraduate Program Committee.

The Interdisciplinary Minor in Nanoscale Science and Technology

The Department also administers the undergraduate Interdisciplinary Minor in Nanoscale Science and Technology.

Sample Program

Courses appearing in bold are offered by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. 

TOTAL 4 YEAR CREDITS: 122/123^{^}

*All students must complete two Distributive Studies Courses that are approved for I-series Courses. The Understanding Plural Societies (UP) and Cultural Competence (CC) Courses may also fulfill Distributive Studies categories.

**Only if you took ENEE140. If you completed ENMA165, Math206 isn't needed.

¹CHEM 231 and 232 is required for students focusing on Soft Materials and Biomaterials.

^{^}Students must earn a minimum course grade of C- in each course used to meet major degree requirements and a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 in all courses used to meet major degree requirements.

The design of advanced materials and hardware products begins with understanding the fundamentals of materials science. Our undergraduate curriculum has been developed to meet the challenges that future materials scientists and engineers will face.

The Undergraduate MSE Degree Program will enable the student to:

• Understand the fundamental properties and structure of materials and how they may be tailored for a specific product
• Engineer a wide variety of materials including metals, polymers, ceramics and electronic materials for the next generation of products
• Design processing and manufacturing routes for advanced technology products
• Work as a materials specialist on industrial product design teams, and select the materials based on quality and reliability.

Requirements for the Major

1. The GenED courses required by campus. (For more information, visit www.gened.umd.edu)
2. Mathematics, physics, chemistry, and engineering courses required of all engineering students.
3. Fifteen credits of courses selected within a specialization area. At least 4 of the 5 courses should be in materials science and engineering. The specialization area is designed to add more breadth and depth in the chosen area and should be discussed with the student’s advisor. The areas of specialization available to students are: Materials Science, Soft Materials and Biomaterials, Electrical, Optical and Functional Materials, Nanotechnology, and Materials for Energy.
4. Thirty-seven (37) credits of materials engineering courses.
5. Technical elective requirement of two (2) courses 300 level and above in engineering, mathematics, chemistry or physics which are approved by his/her advisor to enrich, specialize or expand certain areas of knowledge within the field. These courses must be approved in advance by the advisor. Students specializing in Soft Materials and Biomaterials may take a Biology course by filing an exception with the Undergraduate Program Committee.
6. Upper level science requirement of one (1) science course 300 level and above, in Chemistry or Physics. Students specializing in Soft Materials and Biomaterials may take CHEM 241 (Organic Chemistry 2) with the approval of their advisor or a 300 level biology course by filing an exception with the Undergraduate Program Committee.

The Interdisciplinary Minor in Nanoscale Science and Technology

The Department also administers the undergraduate Interdisciplinary Minor in Nanoscale Science and Technology. Learn more about the program and how to participate »

Sample Program

TOTAL 4 YEAR CREDITS: 123/4

^*Visit www.gened.umd.edu for information about the UMD GenED Program.