Materials Science and Engineering, PhD
Materials science and engineering is a fascinating interdisciplinary field that combines design, mechanics, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and electronics for the development of new materials and improvement of existing materials. A PhD in materials science and engineering provides high-level research opportunities, interdisciplinary collaboration, advanced characterization techniques, and other skillsets for students to stay on the cutting-edge of the materials science world.
Program overview
Our PhD program prepares students to join the international ranks of professional scientists and engineers in fundamental areas of materials science and engineering and cross-disciplinary sciences for the development of new knowledge and technologies. Core research areas are as follows:
- Functional Materials
- Quantum Materials
- Structural Materials
- Computational Materials Science and Machine Learning
Concentrations
Students pursuing their PhD in materials science and engineering have several concentrations to choose from including:
- Automative Materials
- Energy Science and Engineering
- Nanomaterials
Why Study Materials Science and Engineering at UT?
As a student in the Materials Science and Engineering Graduate Program, you’ll have access to cutting-edge research facilities and resources like the Tennessee Ion Beam Materials Laboratory, the Center for Materials Processing, the Scintillation Materials Research Center, and more. Partnerships with national organizations like ORNL provide access to collaborative spaces for research at a premier research institution working with the latest advancements in technology.
What can you do with a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering after graduation?
Having an advanced degree in an interdisciplinary field like materials science and engineering opens the doors to a variety of careers, from energy materials scientist to metallurgist. Materials science engineers can work in a number of industries as researchers, scientists, process engineers, technical consultants, and more. With a PhD in materials science and engineering, students can pursue careers in advanced, specialized positions, or continue in academia as research and teaching professors or principal investigators for research projects.
Featured Courses
Below are some of the courses that students in our program can choose to take. For a list of courses, visit the Graduate Catalog.
MSE 511 Crystallography, Crystal Chemistry and Diffraction
Structure of materials: chemical bonding in materials, crystal structure, defects in crystals, diffraction. This course is one of the four core courses in the graduate MSE curriculum.
MSE 512 Mechanics of Materials
Mechanics of materials: Stress and strain at a point, elastic constitutive equations, phenomenological bulk behavior, deformation mechanisms. This course is one of the four core courses in the graduate MSE curriculum.
MSE 610 Fatigue and Fracture of Advanced Materials
Fatigue and fracture of materials: stress and strain-controlled fatigue, fatigue and fracture mechanisms, theoretical cohesive strength, mechanics of fracture, fatigue and fracture behavior of conventional as well as advanced materials.
MSE 674 Quantum and Energy Materials
Focuses on the behavior of electrons in advanced materials for quantum and energy applications, starting with basics of quantum mechanics. Solar cells, light emitting diode, atomic dynamics in liquid electrolyte for energy storage, superconductivity and quantum computing, topological materials, and materials for spintronics are discussed.
Related Programs
Check out a list of related programs to look into based on your interest in materials science and engineering:
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