Major
Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering
Mission
The mission of the Materials Science and Engineering Program is to provide students with a strong foundation in materials science and engineering. The program’s curriculum places special emphasis on the fundamental scientific and engineering principles that underlie the knowledge and implementation of materials structure, processing, properties and performance of all classes of materials used in engineering systems. Courses in the program develop students’ knowledge of modern materials science and engineering and teach them to apply this knowledge analytically to create effective, novel solutions to practical problems while developing their communication skills and ability to work collaboratively. The program prepares students for careers in industry or further study in graduate school.
The undergraduate program provides training in solid-state fundamentals and materials engineering. Students desiring to specialize in this field during their undergraduate period may do so by following the curriculum outlined in the Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering section of the Stanford Bulletin as well as the School of Engineering Undergraduate Handbook. Electives are available so that students with broad interests can combine materials science and engineering with work in another science or engineering department. Students also have the option of completing an undergraduate Honors thesis under the supervision of a Faculty Research Advisor as detailed in the Honors Program page.
Students interested in the minor should see the Materials Science and Engineering Minor section of the Stanford Bulletin.
Learning Outcomes (Undergraduate)
The department expects undergraduate majors in the program to be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes. These learning outcomes are used in evaluating students and the department’s undergraduate program. Students will be able to:
- Utilize the relationships between structure, properties, and processing to engineer materials with desired performance.
- Understand the relationship between characterization, synthesis, and prediction in materials design and properties.
- Deliver focused and practical materials solutions to satisfy design requirements for critical challenges in sustainability, medicine, technology, or other disciplines.
- Methodically design numerical and physical experiments and apply their knowledge from our courses to analyze and interpret data to obtain insights to identified challenges.
- Leverage the strong communication skills (written, oral, visual) we teach to effectively engage with a broad range of audiences about their science.
- Act as creative independent thinkers who have sufficient confidence in their skills as materials scientists to apply themselves to their chosen field (broad or narrow) as they choose their professional paths.
- Have a baseline understanding of the fundamentals to be inspired to continue to acquire and apply new knowledge.
Materials Science and Engineering (MATSCI) program requirements
Completion of the undergraduate program in Materials Science and Engineering leads to the conferral of the Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering, which provides training for the materials engineer and also preparatory training for graduate work in materials science. Capable undergraduates are encouraged to take at least one year of graduate study to extend their course work through the coterminal degree program, which leads to an MS in Materials Science and Engineering. Coterminal degree programs are encouraged both for undergraduate majors in Materials Science and Engineering and for undergraduate majors in related disciplines.
Courses and requirements
A full list of available courses in MatSci can be found at Stanford’s ExploreCourses website.
For the most accurate/up-to-date course requirements, see the relevant section of the Stanford Bulletin.
For additional information and sample programs, see the Handbook for Undergraduate Engineering Programs.
If you can't find what you are looking for (especially if deviating) or would like to setup an initial advising meeting, send our advising team an email at mse-ug-advising@lists.stanford.edu.
| Courses | Units |
|---|---|
| Mathematics | |
| 23 units minimum | |
| MATH 19/20/21 or up to 10 units AP/IB credit AND placement into MATH 51/CME 100 via Math Diagnostic, taken prior to first-year start | 9-10 |
| MATH 51: Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus or CME 100/ENGR 154: Vector Calculus for Engineers | 5 |
| MATH 53: Differential Equations with Linear Algebra and Fourier Methods or CME 102/ENGR 155A: Ordinary Differential Equations for Engineers | 5 |
| One additional math/statistics course; see Basic Requirement 11 | 3-5 |
| Science | |
| 16 units minimum | |
| PHYSICS 41/E: Mechanics or PHYSICS 61: Mechanics and Special Relativity | |
| PHYSICS 43: Electricity and Magnetism or PHYSICS 81; Electricity and Magnetism Using Special Relativity and Vector Calculus | |
| CHEM 31A: Chemical Principles I or CHEM 31M/MATSCI 31: Chemical Principles: From Molecules to Solids | |
| One additional science course; see Basic Requirement 22 | |
| Technology in Society | |
| 3 units minimum | |
| One course; see Basic Requirement 33 | 3-5 |
| Engineering Fundamentals | |
| 7 units minimum | |
| One of the following courses: | |
| ENGR 50: Introduction to Materials Science, Nanotechnology Emphasis4 | 4 |
| ENGR 50E: Introduction to Materials Science, Energy Emphasis4 | 4 |
| ENGR 50M: Introduction to Materials Science, Biomaterials Emphasis4 | 4 |
| One additional course from the SoE ENGR Fundamentals list on the Approved Page of the UGHB website; may not be a second ENGR 50. | 3-5 |
| Materials Science and Engineering Fundamentals5 | |
| 20 units minimum | |
| All of the following courses: | |
| MATSCI 142: Quantum Mechanics of Nanoscale Materials | 4 |
| MATSCI 143: Materials Structure and Characterization | 4 |
| MATSCI 144: Thermodynamic Evaluation of Green Energy Technologies | 4 |
| MATSCI 145: Kinetics of Materials Synthesis | 4 |
| One of the following courses: | |
| Undergraduate Core Courses | |
| MATSCI 151: Microstructure and Mechanical Properties | 4 |
| MATSCI 152: Electronic Materials Engineering | 4 |
| MATSCI 156: Solar Cells, Fuel Cells, and Batteries: Materials for the Energy Solution | 4 |
| Advanced Level Courses (Graduate Core) | |
| MATSCI 181: Thermodynamics and Phase Equilibria | 4 |
| MATSCI 182: Rate Processes in Materials | 4 |
| MATSCI 183: Defects and Disorder in Materials | 4 |
| MATSCI 184: Structure and Symmetry | 4 |
| MATSCI 185: Quantum Mechanics for Materials Science | 4 |
| MATSCI 190: Organic and Biological Materials | 4 |
| MATSCI 195: Waves and Diffraction in Solids | |
| MATSCI 198: Mechanical Properties of Materials | 4 |
| MATSCI 199: Electronic and Optical Properties of Solids | 4 |
| Materials Science and Engineering Depth | |
| 16 units minimum | |
| Four of the following courses (One course must be a WIM)6 | |
| MATSCI 160: Nanomaterials Design (WIM) | 4 |
| MATSCI 161: Energy Materials Laboratory (WIM) | 4 |
| MATSCI 162: X-Ray Diffraction Laboratory | 4 |
| MATSCI 163: Mechanical Behavior Laboratory | 4 |
| MATSCI 164: Electronic and Photonic Materials and Devices Laboratory (WIM) | 4 |
| MATSCI 165: Nanoscale Materials Physics Computation Laboratory | 4 |
| MATSCI 166: Data Science and Machine Learning Approaches in Chemical and Materials Engineering | 4 |
| Focus Area Options7 | 13 |
| Capstone Experience Requirement8 | -- |
1Basic Requirement 1 (23 units minimum): see a list of approved Math Courses.
2Basic Requirement 2 (16 units minimum): see a list of approved Science Courses.
3Basic Requirement 3 (one course minimum): see a list of approved Technology in Society Courses. Deviations require the appropriate petition form from SoE.
4Students may choose to count a second ENGR 50/50E/50M course (one must be taken as an SoE fundamental requirement) as part of the MatSci fundamental requirements.
5Substitutions/petitions for MatSci Fundamentals required courses (140 series) and elective course (150, 180, or 190 series) will not be permitted.
6Students may choose to petition up to one 4-unit lab class from other departments to fulfill the MatSci 160 series depth requirement. Details are discussed on the deviation petitions page.
7Focus Area Options: 13 units from one of the following Focus Area Options below.
8All students would be required to complete a capstone experience in the department and would have the option to choose between two tracks: (1) Course-based track: complete either MatSci 161 (Energy Materials Laboratory) OR MatSci 163 (Mechanical Behavior Laboratory); (2) Research-based track: complete at least two consecutive quarters of independent research (MatSci 150) with the strong recommendation of completing the Honors Program.
Focus Area
The Focus Area will allow you to specialize in a specific subfield of MatSci that is aligned with your personal and professional goals. You should choose one of the areas below, or define your own, that combines a set of advanced coursework into a cohesive program. We provide several examples as suggested pathways, but ultimately we encourage you to choose/define the area that feels best to you.
The Focus Area requires 4 courses total with a minimum of 13 units*. At least one of these courses must be in MATSCI and none of them can be 1-unit seminars. Students in the Honors Program may count up to six units of MATSCI 150 toward the Focus Area, but cannot use those units to replace the MATSCI course minimum.
*If the Focus Area contains only 12 units, but the combined unit total in the Major (SoE Fundamentals, MSE Fundamentals, MSE Depth, and the Focus Area) is at 56 or more, it will be allowed, and no petition is necessary.
Focus Area Options
| Biological Properties of Materials | ||
| CHEM 31A and B or CHEM 31M recommended. | ||
| Students pursuing this focus area will learn more about biocompatible, biomimetic, or even naturally occurring biological materials, along with how they can be engineered or otherwise created. | ||
| MATSCI 190: Organic and Biological Materials | ||
| MATSCI 225: Biochips and Medical Imaging | ||
| MATSCI 380: Nano-Biotechnology | ||
| MATSCI 381: Biomaterials in Regenerative Medicine | ||
| MATSCI 384: Materials Advances in Neurotechnology | ||
| MATSCI 385: Biomaterials for Drug Delivery | ||
| BIOE 80: Introduction to Bioengineering | ||
| BIOE 220: Introduction to Imaging and Image-based Human Anatomy | ||
| BIOE 231: Protein Engineering | ||
| BIOE 260: Tissue Engineering | ||
| BIOE 279: Computational Biology: Structure and Organization of Biomolecules and Cells | ||
| BIOE 281: Biomechanics of Movement | ||
| BIOE 282: Introduction to Biomechanics and Mechanobiology | ||
| ENGR 55: Foundational Biology for Engineers | ||
| Chemical Properties of Materials | ||
| CHEM 31A and B or CHEM 31M recommended | ||
| Students pursuing this focus area will learn about the thermodynamic principles governing materials, the chemistry involved in the synthesis of materials, as well as the design of the systems and processes necessary to create them. | ||
| MATSCI 181: Thermodynamics and Phase Equilibria | ||
| MATSCI 182: Rate Processes in Materials | ||
| MATSCI 310: Statistical Mechanics for Materials & Materials Chemistry | ||
| CHEM 126: Synthesis Laboratory | ||
| CHEM 171: Foundations of Physical Chemistry | ||
| CHEM 173: Physical Chemistry II | ||
| CHEM 175: Physical Chemistry III | ||
| CHEMENG 110B: Multi-Component and Multi-Phase Thermodynamics | ||
| CHEMENG 120B: Energy and Mass Transport | ||
| CHEMENG 130A: Microkinetics – Molecular Principles of Chemical Kinetics | ||
| CHEMENG 140/X: Micro and Nanoscale Fabrication Engineering | ||
| CHEMENG 150: Biochemical Engineering | ||
| CHEMENG 174: Environmental Microbiology I | ||
| CHEMENG 175X: Electrochemical Water Treatment: Materials and Processes | ||
| Electronic and Photonic Properties of Materials | ||
| PHYSICS 41, 43, and 45 recommended | ||
| Students pursuing this focus area will learn more about the design and function of electronic and/or photonic devices, as well as the underlying principles of physics relevant to their operation. | ||
| MATSCI 152: Electronic Materials Engineering | ||
| MATSCI 199: Electronic and Optical Properties of Solids | ||
| MATSCI 317: Defects in Semiconductors | ||
| MATSCI 341: Quantum Theory of Electronic and Optical Excitations in Materials | ||
| MATSCI 343: Organic Semiconductors for Electronics and Photonics | ||
| MATSCI 346: Nanophotonics | ||
| APPPHYS 201: Electrons and Photons | ||
| APPPHYS 204: Quantum Materials | ||
| APPPHYS 207: Laboratory Electronics | ||
| EE 101A: Circuits I | ||
| EE 102A: Signals and Systems I | ||
| EE 116: Semiconductor Devices for Energy and Electronics | ||
| EE 124: Introduction to Neuroelectrical Engineering | ||
| EE 134: Introduction to Photonics | ||
| EE 153: Power Electronics | ||
| EE 157: Electric Motors for Renewable Energy, Robotics, and Electric Vehicles | ||
| EE 212: Integrated Circuit Fabrication Processes | ||
| EE 216: Principles and Models of Semiconductor Devices | ||
| EE 218: Power Semiconductor Devices and Technology | ||
| EE 222: Applied Quantum Mechanics I | ||
| EE 223: Applied Quantum Mechanics II | ||
| ENGR 240: Introduction to Micro and Nano Electromechanical Systems | ||
| ENGR 241: Advanced Micro and Nano Fabrication Laboratory | ||
| ME 210: Introduction to Mechatronics | ||
| ME 220: Introduction to Sensors | ||
| Materials for Energy Technology | ||
| Either Physics or Chemistry | ||
| Students pursuing this focus area will learn more about materials used in modern energy technologies, potentially including solar cells, wind turbines, batteries, and fuel cells, as well as other emerging energy production or storage devices. | ||
| MATSCI 156: Solar Cells, Fuel Cells, and Batteries: Materials for the Energy Solution | ||
| MATSCI 302: Solar Cells | ||
| MATSCI 303: Principles, Materials and Devices of Batteries | ||
| CEE 107A: Understand Energy | ||
| CHEM 174: Physical Chemistry Laboratory I | ||
| EE 116: Semiconductor Devices for Energy and Electronics | ||
| EE 153: Power Electronics | ||
| EE 237: Solar Energy Conversion | ||
| EE 293B: Fundamentals of Energy Processes | ||
| ENERGY 102: Fundamentals of Renewable Power | ||
| ENERGY 153: Carbon Capture and Sequestration | ||
| ENERGY 201C/ENERGY 293: Energy Storage and Conversion: Solar Cells, Fuel Cells, and Batteries | ||
| ENERGY 295: Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems: Modeling and Estimation | ||
| PHYSICS 199: The Physics of Energy and Climate Change | ||
| PHYSICS 240: Introduction to the Physics of Energy | ||
| Materials Characterization | ||
| Either Physics or Chemistry | ||
| Students pursuing this focus area will learn more about the tools and techniques used in advanced materials characterization, particularly at the micro- and nanoscale. | ||
| MATSCI 236: An Introduction to Quantitative X-ray Microanalysis | ||
| MATSCI 320: Nanocharacterization of Materials | ||
| MATSCI 321: Transmission Electron Microscopy | ||
| MATSCI 322: Transmission Electron Microscopy Laboratory | ||
| MATSCI 323: Thin Film and Interface Microanalysis | ||
| MATSCI 324: Optics of Microscope Design for Materials | ||
| MATSCI 326: X-Ray Science and Techniques | ||
| APPPHYS 201: Electrons and Photons | ||
| BIOE 220: Introduction to Imaging and Image-based Human Anatomy | ||
| BIO 232: Advanced Imaging Lab in Biophysics | ||
| CHEM 131: Instrumental Analysis Principles and Practice | ||
| CHEM 174: Physical Chemistry Laboratory I | ||
| CHEM 176: Spectroscopy Laboratory | ||
| CHEMENG 345: Fundamentals and Applications of Spectroscopy | ||
| Mechanical Behavior and Materials Processing | ||
| PHYSICS 41, 43, and 45 recommended | ||
| Students pursuing this focus area will learn more about the mechanical behavior of materials, including how to characterize them, and how these mechanical properties influence the design of technologies. | ||
| MATSCI 151: Microstructure and Mechanical Properties | ||
| MATSCI 183: Defects and Disorder in Materials | ||
| MATSCI 198: Mechanical Properties of Materials | ||
| MATSCI 312: New Methods in Thin Film Synthesis | ||
| MATSCI 358: Fracture and Fatigue of Materials and Thin Film Structures | ||
| AA 240: Analysis of Structures | ||
| AA 256: Mechanics of Composites | ||
| AA 280: Smart Structures | ||
| CHEMENG 140: Micro and Nanoscale Fabrication Engineering | ||
| CHEMENG 170X: Mechanics of Soft Matter: Rheology | ||
| ENGR 240: Introduction to Micro and Nano Electromechanical Systems | ||
| ENGR 241: Advanced Micro and Nano Fabrication Laboratory | ||
| ME 127: Design for Additive Manufacturing | ||
| ME 152: Material Behaviors and Failure Prediction | ||
| ME 283: Introduction to Biomechanics and Mechanobiology | ||
| ME 303: Soft Composites and Soft Robotics | ||
| ME 335A: Finite Element Analysis | ||
| ME 340: Mechanics – Elasticity and Inelasticity | ||
| ME 345: Fatigue Design and Analysis | ||
| ME 348: Experimental Stress Analysis | ||
| Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology | ||
| Either Physics or Chemistry | ||
| Students pursuing this focus area will learn more about how materials properties change at the nanoscale, including the new and interesting ways in which these changes can be exploited for novel technologies. | ||
| MATSCI 316: Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology | ||
| MATSCI 320: Nanocharacterization of Materials | ||
| MATSCI 346: Nanophotonics | ||
| MATSCI 380: Nano-Biotechnology | ||
| EE 334: Micro and Nano Optical Device Design | ||
| ENGR 240: Introduction to Micro and Nano Electromechanical Systems | ||
| ENGR 241: Advanced Micro and Nano Fabrication Laboratory | ||
| Materials Physics | ||
| PHYSICS 41, 43, and 45 recommended | ||
| Students pursuing this focus area will gain a deep foundational knowledge of materials physics, with topics focusing on quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and waves and diffraction, and other advanced topics. | ||
| MATSCI 184: Structure and Symmetry | ||
| MATSCI 185: Quantum Mechanics for Materials Science | ||
| MATSCI 195: Waves and Diffraction in Solids | ||
| APPPHYS 201: Electrons and Photons | ||
| APPPHYS 204: Quantum Materials | ||
| EE 222: Applied Quantum Mechanics I | ||
| EE 223: Applied Quantum Mechanics II | ||
| PHYSICS 70: Foundations of Modern Physics | ||
| PHYSICS 110: Advanced Mechanics | ||
| PHYSICS 120: Intermediate Electricity and Magnetism I | ||
| PHYSICS 121: Intermediate Electricity and Magnetism II | ||
| PHYSICS 130: Quantum Mechanics | ||
| PHYSICS 131: Quantum Mechanics II | ||
| PHYSICS 134: Advanced Topics in Quantum Mechanics | ||
| PHYSICS 170: Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory, and Statistical Mechanics I | ||
| PHYSICS 171: Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory, and Statistical Mechanics II | ||
| PHYSICS 172: Solid State Physics | ||
| Computational Materials Science | ||
| PHYSICS 41, 43, and 45 recommended | ||
| Students pursuing this focus area will learn more about computational methods used to study materials structure-property relationships and how to make materials predictions. | ||
| MATSCI 165: Nanoscale Materials Physics Computation Laboratory | ||
| MATSCI 166: Data Science and Machine Learning Approaches in Chemical and Materials Engineering | ||
| MATSCI 331: Computational Materials Science at the Atomic Scale | ||
| CHEM 161: Computational Chemistry | ||
| CHEM 263: Machine Learning for Chemical and Dynamical Data | ||
| CME 107: Introduction to Machine Learning | ||
| CME 108: Introduction to Scientific Computing | ||
| CME 216: Machine Learning for Computational Engineering | ||
| CME 322: Spectral Methods in Computational Physics | ||
| ENERGY 160: Uncertainty Quantification in Data-Centric Simulations | ||
| ME 123: Computational Engineering | ||
| ME 335A: Finite Element Analysis | ||
| ME 346B: Introduction to Molecular Simulations | ||
| PHYSICS 113: Computational Physics | ||
| Self-Defined Focus | ||
| Students may also define their own Focus Area containing a minimum of 13 units (4 courses) that comprise a cohesive program of study. Many students use this option to create an interdisciplinary Focus Area that combines parts of the listed Focus Area options above. Students should also choose this option if including courses not listed in one of the Focus Area tracks and must submit a departmental deviation petition form, as described here. The approved petition form should be included with their final program sheet when conferring their degree. |
MSE Major Unit Requirement
Combined Units from the following group of courses must total a minimum of 56 units. Units cannot be counted under more than one category.
- SoE Fundamentals: 7 units
- MSE Fundamentals: 20 units
- MSE Depth: 16 units
- Focus Area Options: 13 units
By adding these 56 units to the 39 required math and science units and the minimum of 3 units for the Technology in Society course, your Materials Science undergraduate major program will require a minimum of 98 units of the 180 you need to graduate. Your advanced placement math and science units from high school may count toward the 39 units of basic math and science, thereby allowing you more electives during your Stanford career.