Materials Science and Engineering

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http://www.engr.utk.edu/mse/

Kurt Sickafus, Head

Graduate programs are offered leading to the degrees of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy with a major in materials science and engineering or polymer engineering. Both the materials science and engineering and polymer engineering programs are flexible and interdisciplinary in nature. Students may be admitted from a wide range of disciplines. These include physics, chemistry, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, materials engineering, and engineering science programs.

The materials science and engineering concentrations offer specializations to include, but not limited to, ceramics, composites, electronic materials, physical metallurgy, materials processing, welding metallurgy and materials joining, corrosion science and engineering, biomedical materials, nonwovens science and technology, mechanical and physical behaviors of materials, and nanoscience and technology.

The polymer engineering concentrations offer specialty areas in rheology; polymer morphology; mechanical, physical, and chemical behaviors of polymers; composite materials; and nonwovens science and technology.

Admission
Applicants for admission to the MS and PhD programs in materials science and engineering and polymer engineering are expected to have completed a bachelor’s degree in an area of engineering or science with a grade-point-average of at least 3.0 out of 4.00 both overall and in the senior year. In addition, all applicants must submit scores from the general Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Applicants whose native language is not English must have a minimum TOEFL score of 550 on the written exam or 80 on the Internet-based Test to be considered for admission to the programs.

Five-Year BS-MS Program
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING MAJOR
The department offers a 5-year BS-MS program with a BS (major in materials science and engineering) and an MS (major in materials science and engineering or polymer engineering) for qualified students. The primary component of the program is a qualified student may take up to 9 hours of approved graduate courses for their senior undergraduate electives and have them count toward both the 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 course work. Conditional admission to the 5-year program may be granted after completion of 65 hours of required course work, while full admission may be granted after the completion of 96 hours of required course work with a minimum GPA of 3.4.
   
• Admission must be approved by the department and the Graduate School.
   
• Students must at least be conditionally admitted to the program prior to taking courses that receive credit for both the BS and MS degrees.
   
• All courses taken for graduate credit must be approved by the director of graduate studies. 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.
   
• Students will not be eligible for graduate assistantships until they are enrolled as graduate-level students in the Graduate School.
   

Interdisciplinary Graduate Minor in Computational Science (IGMCS)
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering participates in the interdisciplinary graduate minor in computational science (IGMCS) program. Any student pursuing a master’s or PhD with a major in materials science and engineering can receive a minor in computational science by completing the appropriate IGMCS requirements. For additional information, see the description of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Minor in Computational Science  listed under Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science or visit the IGMCS website at http://igmcs.utk.edu/. The Department of Materials Science and Engineering also contributes courses to the IGMCS program curriculum.
 

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