StudyQA — Master: Materials Science Engineering

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Description Contents Requirements Funding

The purpose of the master’s program is to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for a professional career or doctoral studies. This is done through course and laboratory work in solid state fundamentals and materials engineering, and further course work in a technical depth area which may include a master’s Research Report. Typical depth areas include nanocharacterization, electronic and photonic materials, energy materials, nano and biomaterials.

Degree requirements are as follows:

A minimum of 30 units of Materials Science and Engineering (MATSCI) course work, including core and lab courses specified below, all taken for a letter grade. Research units, one-unit seminars, MATSCI 299 Practical Training and courses in other departments (i.e., where students cannot enroll in a class with a MATSCI subject code) cannot be counted for this requirement.

Of these 30 units Materials Science requirements, students must include a or b.

three classes from MATSCI 201-210 core courses and three MATSCI 171, 172, 173, 174, 175 laboratory courses. One laboratory requirement may be fulfilled by taking a lab course from another engineering department.

Course List
		Units
Select three of the following core courses:
MATSCI 202	Materials Chemistry	3
MATSCI 203	Atomic Arrangements in Solids	3
MATSCI 204	Thermodynamics and Phase Equilibria	3
MATSCI 205	Waves and Diffraction in Solids	3
MATSCI 206	Defects in Crystalline Solids	3
MATSCI 207	Rate Processes in Materials	3
MATSCI 208	Mechanical Properties of Materials	3
MATSCI 209	Electronic and Optical Properties of Solids	3
MATSCI 210	Organic and Biological Materials	3
Total core course units		9
Select three of the following lab courses:
MATSCI 171	Energy Materials Laboratory	3
MATSCI 172	X-Ray Diffraction Laboratory	3
MATSCI 173	Mechanical Behavior Laboratory	3
MATSCI 174	Electronic and Photonic Materials and Devices Laboratory	3
MATSCI 175	Nanoscale Materials Physics Computation Laboratory	3
One laboratory requirment may be fulfilled by taking lab courses from another engineering dept.
Total lab course units		9
TOTAL		18

four classes from MATSCI 201-210 core courses and two MATSCI 171, 172, 173, 174, 175 laboratory courses. One laboratory requirement may be fulfilled by taking a lab course from another engineering department.

Course List
		Units
Select four of the following core courses:
MATSCI 202	Materials Chemistry	3
MATSCI 203	Atomic Arrangements in Solids	3
MATSCI 204	Thermodynamics and Phase Equilibria	3
MATSCI 205	Waves and Diffraction in Solids	3
MATSCI 206	Defects in Crystalline Solids	3
MATSCI 207	Rate Processes in Materials	3
MATSCI 208	Mechanical Properties of Materials	3
MATSCI 209	Electronic and Optical Properties of Solids	3
MATSCI 210	Organic and Biological Materials	3
Total core course units		12
Select two of the following lab courses:
MATSCI 171	Energy Materials Laboratory	3
MATSCI 172	X-Ray Diffraction Laboratory	3
MATSCI 173	Mechanical Behavior Laboratory	3
MATSCI 174	Electronic and Photonic Materials and Devices Laboratory	3
MATSCI 175	Nanoscale Materials Physics Computation Laboratory	3
One laboratory requirment may be fulfilled by taking lab courses from another engineering dept.
Total lab course units		6
TOTAL		18

15 units of approved course electives to result in a technically cohesive program. Of the 15 units of elective courses:
1. 12 units must be taken for a letter grade (except for those submitting a M.S. thesis report).
2. a maximum of three units may be seminars.
3. if writing a master’s thesis report, a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 15 units of MATSCI 200 Master's Research may be counted. Master's research units may be counted only if writing a M.S. thesis report. The final version of the thesis report must be signed off by two faculty and submitted to student services manager by last day of classes of the graduation quarter. See student services manager for details and approval.
4. a maximum of three units may be undergraduate units, but not courses below the 100 level offering.
5. a maximum of five units may be used for a foreign language course (not including any remedial English or courses in the student’s native language if other than English). Students must plan to enroll in an upper level designation of a foreign language course offering.
6. the combination of seminar, undergraduate, and language units may not exceed six units total.
7. the combination of research, seminar, undergraduate, and language units may not exceed 15 units total.
8. activity units may not be counted toward M.S. degree.
A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.75 for degree course work.

All proposed degree programs are subject to approval by student's academic adviser, and department’s student services manager, who has responsibility for assuring that each proposal is a technically cohesive program. The M.S. degree is expected to be completed within two years during the University’s candidacy period for completion of a master’s degree.

Master's Thesis Report

Students wishing to take this option must consult with a MATSCI faculty member initially. Out of the 45 units M.S. degree requirements, 6-15 units may be taken in Materials Science Master's research by enrolling in MATSCI 200. Students using 15 units of research toward the degree must participate in a more complex and demanding research project than those using lesser units.

The M.S. thesis report must be approved and signed off by two faculty members. In general, one is student’s research adviser, if adviser is a non MATSCI faculty member, a second MATSCI faculty is required to sign off on the thesis report. Consult with student services manager about faculty criteria, and requirements. Three copies of M.S. thesis report in final format should be submitted to two faculty advisers, and the department. The report is not an official University thesis but is intended to demonstrate to the department and faculty student's ability to conduct and report a directed research.

As a general guide line, a 6-9 units of master's research is a normal load for most students. The report should reflect the number of units taken. For instance, 3-4 laboratory reports are required for a 3-unit laboratory course. Accordingly, the level expected for 9 units of research would be at least equivalent to three such courses.

Students are advised to submit their thesis draft to faculty adviser readers by the end of fifth week of the quarter in which the units are to be assigned to allow time for faculty comments and revisions. A collated final version of the thesis report should be submitted to faculty and student services manager by last day of classes of student's graduation quarter. The appropriate grade for satisfactory progress in the research project prior to submission of the final report is 'N' (continuing); the 'S' (Satisfactory) final grade is given only when the report is fully approved and signed off by both faculty members.

In cases where students decide to pursue research after the initial program submission deadline, they should submit a revised M.S. Program Proposal at least two quarters before the degree is granted. The total combined units of Materials Science research units, seminars, language courses, and undergraduate courses cannot exceed 15. If a master’s thesis report is not submitted, units in MATSCI 200 Master's Research cannot be applied to the department’s requirement of 45 units for the conferral of the master’s degree.

Requirements

Apply through the Graduate Admissions Office. The fee for online graduate applications is $125.

The university application is on the Graduate Admissions website. Please read all the information provided prior to applying (any general graduate admission information given on the Materials Science and Engineering website is subject to revision by the Graduate Admissions Office). GRE and TOEFL tests must be taken early enough for us to receive the test scores by the application deadline. No late test scores, recommendation letters, transcripts or other applicable supporting materials will be accepted.

The application consists of the following required materials, all of which must be received by the appropriate deadline for the application to be considered complete:

Online application, statement of purpose and unofficial transcript(s).
A minimum of three (3), maximum of six (6) recommendation letters submitted online directly by the recommenders.*
Official test scores reported by ETS. Stanford's institution code is 4704; no department code is needed.
Mail one (1) official transcript from all post-secondary instituions you have attended for at least one year in a degree program to the Student Services Office. You'll be asked to provide a second official transcript if you are admitted to the program.