The Materials Science program offers a M.Eng., M.S. thesis, M.S. project and a Ph.D. degree for students with broad backgrounds and interests.
M.Eng. is a course work only degree that requires 45 credits of course work. Student will prepare a portfolio that serves as their final assessment instead of an oral exam.
M.S. Thesis combines 45 credits of course work and research (503 thesis credits). Student will write a thesis document that will be published by the University.
M.S. Project combines 45 credits of coursework and research (506 project credits). Student will write a project document that will not be published by the University. This option is used in cases where project sponsors restrict publication of data or when a student is working towards a Ph.D. and would like to obtain an M.S. in addition.
Ph.D. combines 108 credits of coursework and research (603 thesis credits). Students are required to produce original research that expands the boundaries of knowledge in their field and will write a dissertation that will be published by the University.
Degree Requirements (Courses)
Official program requirements for each degree are available in the Academic Catalog. If there is a conflict between what is stated here and what is presented in the catalog, the catalog requirements take precedent.
Required Fundamental Courses (8)
- MATS 570. Structure-Property Relations in Materials (4)*
- MATS 581. Thermodynamics of Solids (4)
Core Curriculum (7-8)
Select 2 of the following:
- MATS 571. Electronic Properties of Materials (4)
- MATS 582. Rate Processes in Materials (3)
- MATS 584. Advanced Fracture of Materials (4)
- MATS 588. Computational Methods in Materials Science (4)
Characterization Requirement (minimum 3-4)
Students must select at least one of the following:
- CH 616. Crystallography and X-Ray Diffraction (4)
- CHE 625. Materials and Surface Characterization (3)
- MATS 555. Experimental Techniques in Materials Science (4)
- MATS 659. Principles of Transmission Electron Microscopy (4)
- NSE 546. Microstructure Characterization of Structural and Energy Materials (4)
- OC 528. Microprobe Analysis (3)
Processing Requirement (minimum 3-4)
Students must select at least one of the following:
- CHE 545. Polymer Engineering and Science (4)
- CHE 546. Polymer Synthesis and Processing (3)
- CHE 611/ECE 611. Electronic Materials Processing (3)
- ECE 518. Semiconductor Processing (4)
- MATS 545. Welding Metallurgy (4)
- MATS 578. Thin Film Materials Characterization and Properties (4)
Electives (18-22)
Selected by student, as approved by their major professor and program director.
Seminar (1)
- ME 507. Must be the section titled "Materials Science Seminar"
Portfolio Credits (2)
- ENGR 520. M.Eng. Introduction to Portfolio (1) (must be taken during an M.Eng. student's first term)
- ENGR 521. M.Eng. Portfolio Completion (1) (must be taken during an M.Eng. student's final term)
Total 45 credits
* Students entering the MatSci graduate program with a B.S. degree in Materials Science or Metallurgical Engineering are not required to take MATS 570 but will need to replace the credits with an elective course.
Official program requirements for each degree are available in the Academic Catalog. If there is a conflict between what is stated here and what is presented in the catalog, the catalog requirements take precedent.
Required Fundamental Courses (8)
- MATS 570. Structure-Property Relations in Materials (4)*
- MATS 581. Thermodynamics of Solids (4)
Core Curriculum (7-8)
Select 2 of the following:
- MATS 571. Electronic Properties of Materials (4)
- MATS 582. Rate Processes in Materials (3)
- MATS 584. Advanced Fracture of Materials (4)
- MATS 588. Computational Methods in Materials Science (4)
Characterization Requirement (minimum 3-4)
Students must select at least one of the following:
- CH 616. Crystallography and X-Ray Diffraction (4)
- CHE 625. Materials and Surface Characterization (3)
- MATS 555. Experimental Techniques in Materials Science (4)
- MATS 659. Principles of Transmission Electron Microscopy (4)
- NSE 546. Microstructure Characterization of Structural and Energy Materials (4)
- OC 528. Microprobe Analysis (3)
Processing Requirement (minimum 3-4)
Students must select at least one of the following:
- CHE 545. Polymer Engineering and Science (4)
- CHE 546. Polymer Synthesis and Processing (3)
- CHE 611/ECE 611. Electronic Materials Processing (3)
- ECE 518. Semiconductor Processing (4)
- MATS 545. Welding Metallurgy (4)
- MATS 578. Thin Film Materials Characterization and Properties (4)
Electives (6-20)
Selected by student, as approved by their major professor.
Total credits required for coursework is 30 credits
Seminar (1-3, 3 maximum)
- ME 507. At least one credit of ME 507 must be the section titled "Materials Science Seminar"
Thesis (6-12)
- XXX 503. Thesis (6-12) Where XXX represents the course designator from a materials science student’s major professor’s tenure track home (e.g. ME, CH, ROB, ECE)
OR
- XXX 506. Non-Thesis Project (3-6) Where XXX represents the course designator from a materials science student’s major professor’s tenure track home (e.g. ME, CH, ROB, ECE)
Total 45 credits
* Students entering the MatSci graduate program with a B.S. degree in Materials Science or Metallurgical Engineering are not required to take MATS 570 but will need to replace the credits with an elective course.
Official program requirements for each degree are available in the Academic Catalog. If there is a conflict between what is stated here and what is presented in the catalog, the catalog requirements take precedent.
Required Fundamental Courses (8)
- MATS 570. Structure-Property Relations in Materials (4)*
- MATS 581. Thermodynamics of Solids (4)
Core Curriculum (7-8)
Select 2 of the following:
- MATS 571. Electronic Properties of Materials (4)
- MATS 582. Rate Processes in Materials (3)
- MATS 584. Advanced Fracture of Materials (4)
- MATS 588. Computational Methods in Materials Science (4)
Characterization Requirement (minimum 3-4)
Students must select at least one of the following:
- CH 616. Crystallography and X-Ray Diffraction (4)
- CHE 625. Materials and Surface Characterization (3)
- MATS 555. Experimental Techniques in Materials Science (4)
- MATS 659. Principles of Transmission Electron Microscopy (4)
- NSE 546. Microstructure Characterization of Structural and Energy Materials (4)
- OC 528. Microprobe Analysis (3)
Processing Requirement (minimum 3-4)
Students must select at least one of the following:
- CHE 545. Polymer Engineering and Science (4)
- CHE 546. Polymer Synthesis and Processing (3)
- CHE 611/ECE 611. Electronic Materials Processing (3)
- ECE 518. Semiconductor Processing (4)
- MATS 545. Welding Metallurgy (4)
- MATS 578. Thin Film Materials Characterization and Properties (4)
Electives (21-24)
Selected by student, as approved by their major professor.
Total credits required for coursework is 45 credits
Seminar (1-3, 3 maximum)
- ME 507. At least one credit of ME 507 must be the section titled "Materials Science Seminar"
Thesis (36+)
- XXX 603. Where XXX represents the course designator from a materials science student’s major professor’s tenure track home (e.g. ME, WSE, CHE, ECE, etc…)
Total 108 credits
* Students entering the MatSci graduate program with a B.S. degree in Materials Science or Metallurgical Engineering are not required to take MATS 570 but will need to replace the credits with an elective course.
Free Electives
Elective Courses (approved by the student's committee and the Program Director) will be selected by the student under guidance from the advisor. These courses can be used by the student to receive further training in fundamentals and to explore new areas in support of their research. An approved list of elective courses can be found on this page: https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/materials-science/materials-science-free-elective-course-list
Graduate Committees
For the M.Eng. degree, the graduate committee consists of at least three members – your major professor in Materials Science, the M.Eng. degree coordinator for College of Engineering (Anita Hughes) and the MatSci Graduate Program General Grad Advisor (Amy K. Thomson). Since the M.Eng. degree is a coursework-only degree, students do not need to have a major professor to mentor them in the same way that a research student does. Therefore, M.Eng. students should contact Amy K. Thomson to have a major professor assigned to them from among the Graduate Program Committee from the student's major.
For the M.S. degree, the thesis committee consists of at least four members of the graduate faculty—two from Materials Science, one in the minor field if a minor is included, and a Graduate Council representative. When a minor is not included, the fourth member may be from the graduate faculty at large.
For the Ph.D. degree, the thesis committee consists of a minimum of five members of the graduate faculty, including two from Materials Science and a representative of the Graduate Council. If a minor is declared, the committee must include a member from the minor department. At least one member of the committee must be on the graduate faculty of Materials Science from a different department/school than the major professor. The remaining two committee members may be from Materials Science or may be any graduate faculty at large; however, if a minor is included, the committee must include a minor professor from that minor. At least one member of the committee must be on the graduate faculty of Materials Science from a different department/school than the major professor.
Ph.D. Qualifying Exam and Preliminary (Candidacy) Exam
Prior to taking the Preliminary Exam, Ph. D. students must receive a grade of B or higher in all required Materials Science core courses. This grade requirement fulfills the Materials Science Qualifying Exam.
The format of the Preliminary Examination must include a written and an oral portion, however the exact nature of the exam will be determined by the major professor and thesis committee at the student's program meeting. Typically the written portion would be a "research proposal" in a format and on a topic approved by the thesis committee. The written component must be submitted to the thesis committee at least one week prior to the oral examination. The oral exam must be scheduled through the graduate school at least 2 weeks in advance using forms found at this link.
Options
Options are transcript visible focus areas you may add to your graduate degree. You can tailor your elective courses to meet the requirements of the option and gain an extra credential when you graduate. Currently, the Materials Science Program offers one option in Advanced Manufacturing. Note that, courses cannot be double counted towards the option and the Materials Science degree requirements.
The Advanced Manufacturing graduate option recognizes the highly interdisciplinary nature of manufacturing, which spans the fields of systems engineering, machine design and control, engineering mechanics, fluid dynamics, heat and mass transfer, thermodynamics, and materials science and involves both experimental and computational efforts. Graduate students pursuing degrees in Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Materials Science may declare an Advanced Manufacturing option.
Required
- MFGE 507. Seminar (Advanced Manufacturing) (1)
Materials Science (3-4 credits)
Select at least one course from the following (must be in addition to courses taken to fufill Materials Science degree requirements):
- MATS 555. Experimental Techniques in Materials Science (4)
- MATS 570. Structure-Property Relations in Materials (4)
- MATS 588. Computational Methods in Materials Science (4)
- ME 580. Materials Selection (3)
Manufacturing Systems (3-4 credits)
Select at least one course from the following:
- IE 552. Design of Industrial Experiments
- ME 597. Precision Motion Generation
- MFGE 535. Industrial Sustainability Analysis
- MFGE 536. Lean Manufacturing Systems Engineering
- MFGE 599. Special Topics (Sensor Design for Manufacturing)
Manufacturing Processes (3-4 credits)
Select at least one course from the following:
- MFGE 525. Computational Methods for Advanced Manufacturing
- MFGE 531. Micromanufacturing
- MFGE 538. Composites Manufacturing
- MFGE 551. Additive Manufacturing
Total Credits 12
Graduate Minor
A graduate minor degree in Materials Science is available to students that complete ME 570 plus additional core coursework totaling 15 credits (M.S. minor) or 18 credits (Ph.D. minor). A member of the Materials Science Graduate Faculty (not from the student's home department) must serve as the Minor Professor on the committee.
A graduate minor is an academic area that clearly supports the major. On a master's or doctoral program, a minor may be:
1. an academic area available only as a minor,
2. a different major,
3. the same major with a different area of concentration,
4. an approved major at another institution in the Oregon University System, or
5. an integrated minor.
An integrated minor consists of a series of cognate courses from two or more areas. These courses must be outside the major area of concentration, with most of the courses being outside the major department. The graduate faculty member representing the integrated minor must be from outside the major department. Graduate minors are listed on the student's transcript.
An individual course cannot be double-counted as satisfying both a major requirement and a minor requirement.
Dual Majors
For the MA, MS, EdM, MF, or PhD degree, a student may select two graduate major areas to pursue instead of the traditional single major. Only one degree is awarded, and the student basically must satisfy all degree requirements for majors in both areas. For more details, contact the Graduate School.
Handbook
The Material Science graduate student handbook has additional details about all aspects of the graduate program. The handbook published during the year of your matriculation contains the expectations you will be held to and is you guide to graduation.