Engineering: Materials Science and Engineering
(ENMA)
Abstract
Materials Science and Engineering is an interdisciplinary program. Students from engineering and science disciplines receive a solid foundation in the physics and chemistry of materials, thermodynamics and structure of materials, as well as the latest technological aspects of materials in today's manufacturing environment. Faculty research areas are mainly concentrated in the development of novel materials for today's electronics, energy, biomedical and high tech industries. These materials may be bulk or thin film format and range from ceramics, semiconductors, metals, polymer and biomaterials . Departmental faculty members are major participants in the University of Maryland Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, the Maryland NanoCenter and the University of Maryland Energy Research Center. For an overview of the Materials Science and Engineering Department, please visit Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Maryland.
Admissions Information
The Department offers graduate study leading to the Master of Science (thesis or non-thesis options) and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. In addition, students enrolled in the Professional Master of Engineering program may choose Materials Science and Engineering as a program option. Graduate study is open to qualified students holding a bachelor's degree from accredited programs in any of the engineering and science areas. For detailed admissions and program information, please visit Materials Science and Engineering Graduate Programs.
Application Deadlines
Type of Applicant Fall Spring Domestic Applicants; US Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials; International Applicants seeking admissions under A, E, G, H, I and L visas and immigrants
Deadline: December 1
Preferred: December 1Deadline: June 1
Preferred: June 1International Applicants seeking admission under F (student) or J (exchange visitor) visas
Deadline: December 1
Preferred: December 1Deadline: June 1
Preferred: June 1
Application Requirements
- GRE General
- 3 Letters of Recommendation
- Supplemental Application (APRA)
Degree Requirements
Master of Science (M.S.)
The M.S. degree program offers thesis and non-thesis options. The thesis option requires 24 credit hours of course work plus a thesis. The non-thesis option requires 30 credit hours of course work and a scholarly research paper. All students must complete the Program Core requirements as well as all Graduate School requirements. The University of Maryland's Office of Advanced Engineering Education also offers a Professional Master of Engineering (M.E.) degree with a materials science and engineering option which requires 30 credits of graduate coursework and does not require a thesis.
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Students wishing to pursue a Ph.D. must complete 45 credits of core and specialized coursework and a dissertation based on original research. After the completion of the second semester of coursework, the student will take the Ph.D. qualifying examination. Advancement to candidacy occurs after the completion of the core courses with a 3.5 GPA and successful completion of the Ph.D. qualifying examination.
Facilities and Special Resources
Special equipment includes scanning and transmission electron microscopes; X-ray diffraction devices; image analysis and mechanical testing facilities; crystal growing, thin film deposition and analysis equipment; HPLC, GC, IR and other sample preparation and analytical apparatus.
The Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing (LAMP) in JM Patterson 2225 includes a class 1000 clean room for various kinds of thin film processing, particularly things difficult to acccomplish in the NanoCenter's new FabLab clean room in the Kim Building. LAMP also features custom-designed ultraclean chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment as the basis for research in nano applications and manufacturing process prototyping, particularly with real-time chemical sensing for metrology and process control. A custom wafer-scanning electrical characterization facility enables resistance and capacitance mapping.
The Nano-Bio Systems Laboratory (NBSL) in JM Patterson 2229 adjoins LAMP and provides capability for biotech research, specifically in biomaterials processing and biomicrosystems development. It includes a Zeiss 310 laser confocal/fluorescence microscope, microfluidic chip testing for biomolecular reaction and cellular response experiments, biomaterials deposition, a Zyvex L200 nanomanipulator system for life science studies, and mass spectrometry and ICP optical emission equipment.
The W. M. Keck Laboratory for Combinatorial Nanosynthesis and Multiscale Characterization in 1141 Kim Building houses several thin film deposition chambers for rapid exploration of novel functional materials. The combinatorial approach allows simultaneous invstigation of large numbers of different samples. The combinatorial laser molecular beam epitaxy is used to perfrom atomic layer controlled combinatorial synthesis of functional materials. Atomically controlled growth of unitcells are monitored in-situ using electron diffraction.
The Nanoscale Imaging, Spectroscopy and Properties (NISP) lab, located in the Jeong H. Kim Building, houses the most electron powerful microscopes within any university in the Washington, DC metro area. The facility has a Field-emission Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) with 1.4 angstrom resolution and can generate chemical-composition maps of materials using Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) or Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy (EELS). Also housed in the lab are a thermionic TEM with 2.0 angstrom resolution (capable of in-situ electrical measurements and in-situ observations between -183 C and 1000C) and an electron microprobe with five Wavelength-Dispersion X-Ray Spectrometers (WDS).
Equipment available at other facilities include a Lakeshore vibrating scanning magnetometer and a scanning Auger spectrometer.
For additional information about the department's research facilities, please visit the following webpage: Materials Science and Engineering Research.
Financial Assistance
Financial assistance in the form of teaching and research assistantships and sponsored fellowships are available to qualified students. Requests for financial assistance will be considered for Fall admission only.
Contact Information
Information is available from:
Dr. Kathleen C. Hart,
Associate Director, Student Services
1113 Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Bldg.
MD
20742
Telephone: (301) 405-5989
enmagrad@deans.umd.edu
http://www.mse.umd.edu/grad/index.html
Courses:
Related Programs and Campus Units
Engineering: Systems Engineering
Engineering: Professional Master of Engineering
Engineering: Bioengineering
Biophysics
Graduate Certificate: Engineering
