Materials Science and Engineering

https://mse.utk.edu/

Veerle Keppens, Head

Professors
Benson, R.S., PhD – Florida State
Duscher, G., PhD – Rer. Nat. University of Stuttgart
Egami, T., PhD – Pennsylvania
Gao, Y., PhD – Princeton
George, E., PhD – Pennsylvania
Hu, B., PhD – Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kalyanaraman, R., PhD – North Carolina State
Keffer, D.J., PhD – Minnesota
Keppens, V. (Associate Dean), PhD – Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium)
Liaw, P.K., PhD – Northwestern
Lundin, C.D., PhD – Rensselaer Polytechnic
Mandrus, D., PhD – Stony Brook University
McHargue, C.J., PhD – Kentucky
Melcher, C., PhD – Washington
Nieh, T.G., PhD – Stanford
Rack, P.D., PhD – Florida
Sickafus, K., PhD – Cornell
Simpson, M.L., PhD – Tennessee
Weber, W.J., PhD – Wisconsin
Wereszczak, A., PhD – Delaware

Associate Professors
Choo, H., PhD – Illinois Institute of Technology
Fowlkes, J., PhD – Tennessee
Kit, K.M., PhD – Delaware
Morris, J.R., PhD – Cornell
Rawn, C.J., PhD – Arizona
Wang, S., PhD – Akron
Zhang, Y. – Lund Institute of Technology

Assistant Professors
Xu, H., PhD – Florida
Zhuravleva, M., PhD – Tohoku

Senior Lecturer
Meek, T.T., PhD – Ohio State

Lecturer
Wetteland, C.J.

Materials science and engineering is concerned with the science and technology needed to develop and apply materials for the benefit of society. The undergraduate program is designed to prepare students to undertake materials science and engineering careers or to enter graduate programs in this or related disciplines. The following specific educational objectives were established in consultation with our students, faculty, potential employers, and alumni to assure that students are well prepared to undertake careers or graduate programs and that our students graduate with an undergraduate education that will sustain them for their lifetime.

The educational objectives of the program for the degree of B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering are listed below.

Our graduates will successfully perform the work of materials scientists and engineers in industry, academia and government.
Our graduates will successfully complete competitive postgraduate education programs.
Our graduates will contribute to their disciplines and society and will advance to leadership roles in their chosen career field.

The department offers a Bachelor of Science Degree in Materials Science and Engineering, accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.

The field of materials science and engineering is broad, encompassing metallic, ceramic and polymeric materials, as well as composites made from combinations of materials and specialty application areas such as electronic, magnetic, optical and biomaterials.

Consequently the curriculum contains a central core of courses that are applicable to all materials types with flexibility in the upper-division years to permit concentration and in-depth coverage of specific materials categories. By judicious choice of electives the student may get a broad perspective or may develop a specialty area.

A minimum of 18 semester-hours of general education courses are required by all engineering degree programs in order to meet the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, General Education goals. (see University General Education Requirement section). The major in materials science and engineering requires ECON 201 */ECON 207 * and any other approved course under the Social Sciences cluster; any two approved courses under the Arts and Humanities cluster; and any two approved courses under the Cultures and Civilizations cluster. The requirement for three courses in writing communication may be filled by ENGL 101 * and ENGL 102 * plus MSE 304 * or MSE 405 *. The requirement for one course in communicating orally may be filled with MSE 489 *.

Graduation in materials science and engineering requires a minimum grade point average of 2.0 for all departmental courses.

uTrack Requirements

Universal Tracking (uTrack) is an academic monitoring system designed to help students stay on track for timely graduation. In order to remain on track, students must complete the minimum requirements for each tracking semester, known as milestones. Milestones include successful completion of specified courses and/or attainment of a minimum GPA. uTrack requirements only affect full-time, degree-seeking students who first entered Fall 2013 or later. uTrack does not apply to transfer students who entered prior to Fall 2015.

PROGRESSION POLICIES AND REQUIREMENTS

Progression to Upper-Division Programs

Progression of students to departmental upper-division courses is competitive. Factors considered include overall grade point average, performance in selected lower-division courses and evidence of satisfactory and orderly progress through the prescribed curriculum.

Upper-Division Status

A lower-division student formally applies for upper-division status after completing 50 hours of lower-division engineering curriculum coursework with an overall GPA of at least 2.4. This must include MSE 201 - Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering .

Provisional Status

Students who have completed 50 hours of lower-division engineering curriculum coursework with an overall GPA between 2.0 and 2.4 may apply for provisional status. The granting of provisional upper-division status is based on the availability of space in the departmental programs after upper-division status students have been accommodated. Provisional students are required to demonstrate their ability to perform satisfactorily in upper-division courses by attaining a minimum GPA of 2.0 in at least 8 hours of 300-level required courses specified by the department. Further progression to upper-division courses is dependent upon this minimum level of performance.

Transfer Students

At the upper-division level students are admitted on a provisional status basis only. Any student presenting more than 28 hours of lower-division engineering curriculum coursework by transfer credit is considered to be a transfer student.

Five-Year BS/MS Program

The department offers a Five-Year BS-MS program with a BS (major in materials science and engineering) and an MS (major in materials science and engineering) for qualified students. The primary component of the program is that qualified students may take up to 9 hours of approved graduate courses for their senior undergraduate electives and have them count toward both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Tennessee. This program is designed for students attending the University of Tennessee for their Master of Science degree because other universities may not accept these courses for graduate credit since they were used to satisfy requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree. Significant components of the program are:

Students must have an overall GPA of 3.4 in required coursework. Conditional admission to the five-year program may be granted after completion of 65 hours of required coursework, while full admission may be granted after the completion of 96 hours of required coursework with a minimum overall GPA of 3.4.
Students must at least be conditionally admitted to the program prior to taking graduate courses for both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees. All courses taken for graduate credit must be approved by the graduate program director. Students admitted to the program must request permission from the Graduate School to take approved courses for graduate credit.
Students admitted to the program must also follow the normal procedure for admission to the Graduate School. Admission of students into this program must be approved by the department and the Graduate School. Students will not be eligible for assistantships until they are enrolled as graduate-level students in the Graduate School.

Undergraduates

Graduate Students