Advanced Materials Science and Engineering

This MSc is a stand-alone qualification designed to prepare students to solve problems in Materials Science and Engineering under the exacting conditions we encounter today. The programme is broad, covering many aspects of both the science of materials and engineering applications. It will include course work, projects, exams and original research.

Formal teaching extends from October through to the end of March with examinations taking place during the summer term. During the autumn term, students will select a research project and will conduct a review of relevant literature during the spring. The research will be carried out after the exams.

Specifically, the programme aims are:
 To provide students with a solid technical basis in all key areas of the modern discipline
specific engineering profession through delivery of a coherent, coordinated and balanced
degree course, integrating core engineering science and practical application.
 To enable students to acquire a mature appreciation of the context in which engineering
projects are developed.
 To develop in our students excellence in oral, written and graphical communication.
 To invest graduates with a fitness to enter professional practice and the capacity to have a
beneficial impact upon it, whether in the industrial or service sectors generally or in the
specific engineering discipline in particular.
 To develop an understanding of the physical world and the use of mathematics to represent
it.
 To develop the ability to make rational decisions.
 To develop clarity and style in professional communication.
 To develop skills of management, planning, organisation and teamwork.
 To appreciate the conceptual and creative aspects of design; to develop the ability to
incorporate concepts into the design of new products or processes.
 To develop an awareness of the place of an individual in business, society and the
environment.
 To develop a commitment to the public interest.
 To inculcate an understanding of professional behaviour.
 To develop the intellectual capacity and breadth of vision to remain a learner for life.

Year One:
The core content of the course will be based on the current MEng in Materials Science and
Engineering. To this is added a research essay, a research project, one short course unique to this
programme (The art of research), and three lecture courses from the Doctoral Training Centre in the
Theory and Simulation of Materials. There are two compulsory taught modules, plus three compulsory
research related modules, one of which is the research project. The students must take an additional
five optional modules. It is possible that some students will already have taken one or both of the
compulsory MEng modules, in which case these will be replaced by optional modules. The number of
European Transfer Credits (ECTS) are given in parentheses.
The compulsory MEng modules are:
(C1) MSE302: Material Characterisation (6)
(C2) MSE317M: Materials Modelling (6)
The compulsory research related modules are:
(R1) The art of research (3)
(R2) Research essay (8)
(R3) Research project (37)
In addition to the core modules 5 optional courses must be taken from the following list:
(O01) MSE308M: Ceramic and Glasses (6)
(O02) MSE411: Electroceramics (6)
(O03) MSE310M: Electronic Structure and Optoelectronic Behaviour (6)
(O04) MSE305M: Metals Processing (6)
(O05) MSE307M: Engineering Alloys (6)
(O06) MSE309: Polymers and Composites (6)
(O07) MSE413: Advanced Structural Ceramics (6)
(O09) MSE312M: Nanomaterials I (6)
(O10) MSE412: Nanomaterials II (6)
(O11) MSE414: Nuclear Materials 1 (Reactor Systems) (6)
(O12) MSE315: Biomaterials (6)
(O13) MSE417: Advanced Biomaterials (6)
(O14) MSE418: Advanced Tissue Engineering (6)
(O15) MSE410: Advanced Thin Film Manufacturing Technologies (6)
(O16) MSE409: High Performance Alloys (6)
(O17) MSE419: Nuclear Materials 2 (Decommissioning, Waste Management and Disposal
(O18) DTC: Equilibrium in materials (6)
(O19) DTC: Transformations of matter (6)
(O20) DTC: Electronic structure of materials (6)
As part of The art of research course the students will meet regularly with each other, with PhD
students, and the course lecturer (who is also the student mentor). They will also meet regularly with
their project supervisors late in the autumn term to discuss their projects, then during the spring term
to write the research essays. A full time independent research project will run from the end of the
exam period beginning the second week of the summer term to the end of the second week of
September. Projects will be assessed by a final written report and oral presentation.

Term one:
 Art of research (starts in week 1 with a lecture that introduces students to the whole
programme; students participate in a First Problem project once a week where they work in
small groups to solve an engineering problem).
 Material characterisation (MSE302)
 3 options
 Choose a project supervisor
Term Two:
 Art of research (students attend a scientific seminar once a week – alternating between the
Thomas Young Centre and the London Centre for Nanotechnology series).
 Materials modelling (MSE317)
 2 options
 Research essay (literature review plus a summary of what the project is about)
Term Three:
 Exams early in the term
 Research project for the remainder of the term and carry on until mid-September. By midSeptember
the students will have written a dissertation, and at the end of September will give
a final oral presentation.

Normally a first or good 2:1 honours BEng or MEng degree or equivalent overseas qualification in
Materials Science and Engineering or other engineering degree if they demonstrate a sufficient
background in materials science and engineering. Alternatively a BSc or MSci degree or equivalent
overseas qualification in Physics or Chemistry if they demonstrate a sufficient background in materials
science and engineering.
 An English qualification is also required except for applicants with a first degree awarded from universities in: Australia, Canada, Guyana, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America, and West Indies.

Initially students will be vetted by registry and a recommendation given. The overall decision process
will then be taken by a small committee of academics. Students residing in the UK will normally be
invited for interview.