Materials Engineering

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• M.S.Mt.E.
• Ph.D.

Master of Science in Materials Engineering

Admission Requirements

In addition to the general Graduate School admission requirements, requirements for admission to the Master of Science in Materials Engineering (MSMtE) include the following:

1. A baccalaureate degree in materials or metallurgical engineering or in a similarly named engineering program. A student with an undergraduate degree in another field of engineering or in the physical sciences may also be accepted into the MSMtE program.
2. An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale on all degree major courses attempted
3. International applicants must submit English proficiency scores in accordance with UAB Graduate School requirement. Click here for details

Early Acceptance

Early Acceptance programs are designed for academically superior high school students. Early Acceptance programs allow high achieving students to be admitted to the Materials Engineering program at the same time they are admitted to an undergraduate program.

Eligible students are required to maintain a 3.5 UAB undergraduate GPA and complete the following per-requisite courses: EGR 265 or MA 227, MSE 280, MSE 281, MSE 380, MSE 381, MSE 382.

For more information about Early Acceptance opportunities, click here.

Preparation Requirements

All students will be required to demonstrate competence at the undergraduate level in engineering materials, physical behavior of materials, thermodynamics, and mechanical behavior of materials as well as in fields of study that emphasize the interrelationship among structure, processing, performance, and properties of materials. Students may be exempted from individual courses or examination if they demonstrate that they possess the knowledge from that course, usually with a grade of a B or better. However, the burden of proof is on the student. He/she may accomplish this by passing a prerequisite examination on the portion of the following course content depending on the student's academic background or by one of the two options be.

This can be accomplished by one of the methods described below.

1. Successful completion (minimum grade of B) of MSE 280 Engineering Materials, MSE 281 Physical Materials I, MSE 380 Thermodynamics of Materials, MSE 381 Physical Materials II, and MSE 382 Mechanical Behavior of Materials;
2. Successful completion (minimum grade of B) of a prerequisite examination on the content of the courses listed above; or
3. Successful completion (minimum grade of B) of MSE 602 Intro to Thermodynamics and Mechanics of Materials and MSE 605 Introduction to Physical Materials

Additional Requirements

Requirement	Fulfilled By:
Deadline for Entry Term(s)	Fall: August 1; Spring: December 1; Summer: May 1
Deadline for All Application Materials to be in the Graduate School Office	Seven business days before term begins

Additional Academic Policies

Special Topics (590/690/790) courses and Independent Study (591/691/791) courses are reviewed for degree applicability for each program in the School of Engineering. No more than 6 combined hours of Special Topics and/or Independent Study courses will be applied to the MSMtE without appeal to and approval from the Program Director.

The School of Engineering offers similar courses at the 400/500 and 600/700 levels. While the higher numbered course has more advanced content, there is a significant overlap in topics. Therefore, students are not allowed to take a 500-level or 700-level course for credit if they have previously taken the related 400-level or 600-level course, respectively.

Plan I (Thesis Option)

The Plan I MSMtE degree requires completion of at least 33 credit hours of graduate work as well as research integrity training according to the following guidelines:

• Up to 9 credit hours of Materials Science and Engineering courses (MSE) at the 500+ level
• Up to 6 credit hours of approved mathematics, physical sciences, another engineering discipline or management courses (a maximum of 3 credit hours in a management course is allowed)
• A full time graduate student is required to be registered for MSE 601 Materials Science and Engineering Seminar each fall and spring semester
• The remaining hours of coursework must be Materials Science and Engineering courses (MSE) at the 602+ level in consultation with the student’s thesis committee
• Online modules covering the 9 topic areas of Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) research integrity, which can be accessed online at https://www.citiprogram.org
• 9 credit hours of MSE 699 Thesis Research after admission to candidacy

A Graduate Thesis Committee consisting of at least three faculty members should be formed. A student is eligible for admission to candidacy after (1) a written thesis proposal following the NSF Proposal Preparation and Submission Guidelines and examination on topics related to the student’s research has been orally presented to the committee and approved and (2) completion of Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training. Admission to candidacy must take place at least one semester before the student may graduate. A written thesis embodying the results of the student’s original research must then be publicly defended, approved by the committee, sent to a department-approved proofreader, and submitted to the Graduate School with edits incorporated.

Plan II (Non-Thesis Option): Research/Design Emphasis

The student must successfully complete at least 33 credit hours of (primarily) materials engineering graduate work including 30 credit hours of courses and 3 credit hours of MSE 698 Non-Thesis Research

• 3 to 6 credit hours of approved courses in mathematics, physical sciences, another engineering discipline, or management (a maximum of 3 hours are allowed in management)
• Up to 9 credit hours may be at the MSE 500 level
• A full time graduate student is required to be registered for MSE 601 Materials Science and Engineering Seminar each fall and spring semester
• The student must complete 3 credit hours of MSE 698 Non-Thesis Research, involving an on-site research project (usually taken after completion of all coursework)
• The remaining hours must be Materials Science and Engineering courses (MSE) at the 602+ level in consultation with the Program Director

Plan II (Non-Thesis Option): Fast Track

This plan is open to undergraduate students in materials engineering within 48 credit hours of graduation with at least 15 credit hours of coursework completed at UAB. The student must successfully complete at least 35 credit hours of (primarily) materials engineering graduate work. Students are expected to complete 6 credit hours of graduate level coursework prior to completing their bachelor degree.

• 15 to 21 credit hours are required within the MSE department at the graduate level
• 9 to 12 credit hours of business related courses – students may focus these courses in several areas; business administration, management, entrepreneurship, or engineering liability/law
• Up to 6 credit hours may be completed by participation in an internship opportunity. This is an option and not a requirement. If internships are conducted for credit, each discipline will have requirements associated with the internship.
• A full time graduate student is required to be registered for MSE 601 Materials Science and Engineering Seminar each fall and spring semester
• The remaining hours must be Materials Science and Engineering courses (MSE) at the 602+ level in consultation with the Program Director