ENGINEERING

MATERIALS SCIENCE AND

Department of Materials Science and Engineering
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAM
In every age, those who have dominated materials have also dominated technology.
Indeed, the performance of the tiniest microcircuits, the most advanced aircraft, and
even the bones in your body, is defined and limited by the material properties. The
mastery of materials is more critical today than ever as new materials form the core
of technological advances in energy, sustainability, electronics, nanotechnology, and
biomaterials. Materials science and engineering (MSE) at Cornell prepares students to
couple fundamental physics, chemistry, and biology with engineering to improve and
invent novel materials that enable these advances.

MSE at Cornell is a broad, multidisciplinary field

BREAK devoted to understanding and manipulating the

RULES
mechanical, chemical, electrical, magnetic, optical,
THE to and biological properties of materials. The science
SEE THINGS side of MSE investigates the basic mechanisms that
give materials their properties. The applications
DIFFERENTLY side explores ways to modify all types of materials,
including metals, semiconductors, and plastics—and
even ways to create new materials like nanoparticles—
for improving performance metrics, such as speed, strength, compactness, and
biocompatibility in engineered products.

With materials required for virtually all engineered products, professionals with training
in MSE are employed across all industrial sectors. They are working in every size company,
from large corporations in aerospace, chemicals, medicine, and microelectronics to a
multitude of tiny startups. Job responsibilities include materials selection and qualification,
materials processing, failure analysis, research and design of new materials, and product
development. Many MSE students continue for advanced degrees and work in national,
industrial, and academic research labs developing the technologies of tomorrow, such as
sunlight-harvesting nanopillars or porous scaffolds for tissue regeneration.

MSE also attracts students interested in

MSE REQUIRED COURSES
business, law, and medicine, as it provides
a strong technical background covering ENGRD 2610 Mechanical Properties of
a broad sweep of both science and Materials: From Nanodevices to
Superstructures
engineering.
ENGRD 2620 Electronic Materials for the
Although the MSE program is broad and Information Age
diverse, it has a clearly defined set of core MSE 2060 Atomic and Molecular Structure
(required) courses that develop a thorough of Matter
understanding of basic materials principles. MSE 3010 Materials Chemistry
These courses cover, for example, the MSE 3030 Thermodynamics of Condensed
structure of materials, materials chemistry, Systems
thermodynamics and kinetics, mechanical MSE 3040 Kinetics, Diffusion, and Phase
and electronic properties, and concepts Transformations
of materials design. To complement this MSE 3050 Electronic, Magnetic, and
core curriculum, you will choose (with Dielectric Properties of Materials
your advisor) electives tailored to your MSE 3070 & 4070 Materials Design Concepts I & II
career and/or academic interests. These
MSE 3110 & 3120 Junior Laboratory I & II
electives explore the breadth of materials
and their applications, ranging from MSE 3111 Technical & Professional Skills
biomineralization to processing of thin films MSE 4020 Mechanical Properties of
for microelectronics. Electives, typically at Materials, Processing, and
the 5000 level, offer undergraduates and Design
graduate students the opportunity to interact MSE 4030 Senior Materials Laboratory
with faculty at the forefront of research. or
MSE 4050–4060 Senior Thesis I & II
SOME AREAS OF Students are encouraged to take courses
FACULTY RESEARCH outside MSE, both to broaden their general MSE SAMPLE ELECTIVE COURSES
engineering experience and to understand
batteries ENGRI 1110 Nanotechnology
how materials impact specific applications.
The major meshes well with courses in ENGRI 1140 Materials: The Future of Energy
biofouling ENGRI 1190 Biomaterials for the Skeletal System
many areas, particularly electrical and
biomineralization computer engineering, mechanical and MSE 4100 Physical Metallurgy & Applications
aerospace engineering, and chemical and MSE 4330/ Materials for Energy Production,
block copolymers biomolecular engineering. Courses in these 5330 Storage & Conversion
bone mechanics majors often count as electives within MSE 4610 Biomedical Materials & Their
the MSE curriculum, or may be taken to Applications
carbon sequestration satisfy a formal minor or even a double MSE 4890/ Colloids and Colloid Assemblies
major. Common minors for MSE students 5890
colloidal particles include biomedical engineering, mechanical MSE 5120 Mechanical Properties of Thin Films
computational materials engineering, electrical and computer
MSE 5210 Properties of Solid Polymers
engineering, and business for engineering
core-shell nanoparticles students.
MSE 5230 Physics of Soft Matter
MSE 5310 Introduction to Ceramics
electronics/photonics
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH MSE 5420 Flexible Electronics
fuel cells Cornell is a leader in materials research and MSE 5430 Thin-Film Materials Science
hosts several premier research centers. Many MSE 5450 Magnetic & Ferroelectric Materials
laser processing of our students choose to become directly
MSE 5620 Biomineralization: Formation &
involved in research at some point either as
layered materials Properties
a volunteer, for pay, or for academic credit.
MSE 5630 Nanobiotechnology
materials genomics Working alongside faculty and graduate
students, they contribute extensively to the MSE 5710 Analytical Techniques for Material
metal & oxide thin films research program and often author scientific Science
publications based on their work. MSE 5720 Computational Materials Science
multiferroic oxides
MSE 5740 Electrochemistry in Materials
nitride semiconductors MASTER OF ENGINEERING Science
DEGREE PROGRAM MSE 5880 Nanoparticles: Synthesis,
nanoscale dynamics Characterization, & Applications
The Master of Engineering ([Link].) in
photocatalysis MSE is a one-year, professionally-oriented
program designed to prepare students for
photolithography engineering or engineering management
careers in business, government, and industry, or for entrepreneurial pursuits.
supercapacitors
The MSE [Link]. curriculum is flexible and interdisciplinary, allowing students to
thermoelectric materials tailor coursework to their personal interests and backgrounds. An option for Cornell
undergraduates is the early admission to [Link].; this enables students to complete both the
thin film transistors
B.S. and the [Link]. degrees in nine semesters.
x-ray science Our [Link]. graduates typically join the professional ranks with higher starting salaries and
water purification advanced levels of responsibility, compared to those with bachelor’s degrees. Some [Link].
students alternatively use this program to strengthen their research background before
applying to Ph.D. programs.

MSE By the Numbers

MSE undergraduate students 68
MSE graduate students 130
Starting salaries of B.S. Materials Science and Engineering graduates (for 2018)
Low $64,000
Median $69,750
High $105,000

Cornell University is an equal-opportunity

[Link]
affirmative-action educator and employer.
Produced by the Office of Engineering
Admissions.