Materials Science and Engineering (MATSC)
JOAN M. REDWING, Chair, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Materials Science and Engineering; Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
101 Steidle Building
814-865-8665
Degrees Conferred:
Ph.D., M.S.
The Graduate Faculty
- Mohammed R. Abidian (College of Engineering)
- James H. Adair (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Dinesh K. Agrawal (Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs)
- David Allara (Eberly College of Science)
- Harry R. Allcock (Eberly College of Science)
- Douglas D. Archibald (College of Agricultural Sciences)
- S. Ashok (College of Engineering)
- John V. Badding (Eberly College of Science)
- Andrzej R. Badzian (Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs)
- Charles E. Bakis (College of Engineering)
- Jayanth R. Banavar (Eberly College of Science)
- Andre L. Boehman (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Paul W. Brown (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Jeffrey Brownson (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Wenwu Cao (Eberly College of Science)
- A. Welford Castleman, Jr. (Eberly College of Science)
- Gary Lee Catchen (College of Engineering)
- Moses Hung-Wai Chan (Eberly College of Science)
- Long-Qing Chen (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Tze-Chiang Chung (Mike) (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Ralph H. Colby (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Michael M. Coleman (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Coray Colina (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Paolo Colombo (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Vincent H. Crespi (Eberly College of Science)
- Leslie Eric Cross (College of Engineering)
- Tarasankar DebRoy (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Melik Demirel (College of Engineering)
- Elizabeth C. Dickey (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Renee D. Diehl (Eberly College of Science)
- Qiang Du (Eberly College of Science)
- Renata S. Engel (College of Engineering)
- Roman Engel-Herbert (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Kristen Ann Fichthorn (College of Engineering)
- Joseph R. Flemish (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- R. M. German (College of Engineering)
- Enrique Gomez (College of Engineering)
- Venkatraman Gopalan (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- David J. Green (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Craig A. Grimes (College of Engineering)
- M. Amanul Haque (College of Engineering)
- Donald F. Heaney (College of Engineering)
- John R. Hellmann (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Michael A. Hickner (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Paul R. Howell (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Thomas N. Jackson (College of Engineering)
- John J. Janowiak (College of Agricultural Sciences)
- Robert Allen Kimel (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Sridhar Komarneni (College of Agricultural Sciences)
- Donald A. Koss (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Akhlesh Lakhtakia (College of Engineering)
- Michael T. Lanagan (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Patrick Lenahan (College of Engineering)
- Qi Li (Eberly College of Science)
- Zi-Kui Liu (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Digby D. Macdonald (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Thomas Edward Mallouk (Eberly College of Science)
- Evangelos Manias (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Janna Maranas (College of Engineering)
- William D. Mark (College of Engineering)
- Theresa Stellway Mayer (College of Engineering)
- Russell F. Messier (College of Engineering)
- Gary Lynn Messing (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Richard J. Meyer (College of Engineering)
- Suzanne Mohney (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Arthur Moses T. Motta (College of Engineering)
- Karl T. Mueller (Eberly College of Science)
- Christopher L. Muhlstein (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Kwadwo Osseo-Asare (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Paul C. Painter (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Carlo G. Pantano (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Howard W. Pickering (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Virendra M. Puri (College of Agricultural Sciences)
- Ljubisa R. Radovic (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Clive A. Randall (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Joan M. Redwing (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Guy E. Rindone (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Joshua Robinson (Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs)
- Della M. Roy (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- James P. Runt (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Jerzy Ruzyllo (College of Engineering)
- Nitin Samarth (Eberly College of Science)
- Barry Earl Scheetz (College of Engineering)
- Harold H. Schobert (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Albert E. Segall (College of Engineering)
- Barbara A. Shaw (College of Engineering)
- David L. Shelleman (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Thomas R. Shrout (Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs)
- Elzbieta Sikora (College of Engineering)
- Jogender Singh (College of Engineering)
- Ivica Smid (College of Engineering)
- Jorge O. Sofo (Eberly College of Science)
- Chunshan Song (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Karl E. Spear II (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Mauricio Terrones (Eberly College of Science)
- Peter A. Thrower (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Bernhard R. Tittmann (College of Engineering)
- Judith A. Todd (College of Engineering)
- Susan Trolier-McKinstry (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Kenji Uchino (College of Engineering)
- Kenan Unlu (College of Engineering
- Mirna Urquidi-Macdonald (College of Engineering)
- Adri van Duin (College of Engineering)
- Erwin Vogler (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Robert C. Voigt (College of Engineering)
- Chao-Yang Wang (College of Engineering)
- Qing Wang (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Paul S. Weiss (Eberly College of Science)
- William B. White (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences)
- Roy F. Willis (Eberly College of Science)
- Douglas E. Wolfe (Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs)
- Chris R. Wronski (College of Engineering)
- Qiming Zhang (College of Engineering)
- Shujun Zhang (Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs)
- Gregory R. Ziegler (College of Agricultural Sciences)
- Carin T. Zimmerman (Eberly College of Science)
The Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Materials Science and Engineering offers comprehensive graduate education in the fundamentals of materials science (synthesis-structure-property-performance relationships). Faculty have interests in many research areas including biomaterials, ceramics, composites and hybrids, computational materials science, electronic and photonic materials, materials chemistry and physics, metals, nanostructured and nanoscale materials, piezoelectrics and ferroelectrics, polymers and soft materials. Students may choose to study across the major themes of materials today including materials in energy applications, nanotechnology, materials in medicine, materials in communications, materials for sensor applications, structural materials, etc., by using a combination of MATSE courses and a myriad of materials-related courses offered in the science and engineering departments at Penn State.
Admission Requirements
Scores for the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) are required for admission, though this requirement may be waived at the discretion of the departmental graduate admission committee. The best-qualified applicants will be accepted up to the number of spaces available for new students. The degree requirements listed here are in addition to the general Graduate School requirements stated in the GENERAL INFORMATION section of the Graduate Bulletin.
Master's Degree Requirements
The graduate program for the M.S. degree must include a total of at least 30 credits. Subject to the approval of the graduate program coordinator, a maximum of 10 credits of high-quality graduate work done at a regionally accredited U.S. institution may be applied toward the requirements for the master's degree. A minimum of 6 research credits (MATSE 600) is required. The minimum number of formal course credits (excluding seminar MATSE 590) required is 18 for all students at the 500-level or higher. The instructional program includes three required graduate core courses in materials including Thermodynamics of Materials (MATSE 501), Kinetics of Materials Processes (MATSE 503) and Principles of Crystal Chemistry (MATSE 512).
The Office of the Vice President for Research/Office of Research Protections requires that all candidates for advanced degrees complete training in Scholarship and Research Integrity (SARI). The SARI requirements include completion of an online Responsible Conduct of Research training program and a 1 credit Professional Development course (MATSE 582).
All candidates for advanced degrees are also expected to attend MATSE 590 colloquium. A thesis describing independent research performed by the student shall be written and defended at an oral examination. Bound copies will be made available for the University Libraries and the thesis adviser. A thesis committee shall administer the final oral examination of the thesis. The committee shall consist of at least three graduate faculty members.
M. S. Requirements (Summary)-minimum total credits: 30; minimum research credits: 6; minimum formal graduate-level course credits (500-level or higher): 18; minimum 500-level credits: 12; required graduate core course credits: 9; professional development course credits: 1; minimum credits in the major: 12; seminar: 2 credits per year; minimum GPA: 3.00.
Doctoral Degree Requirements
The general requirements are based upon a period of residence, the writing of a satisfactory thesis and its acceptance by the doctoral committee and the Graduate School, and the passing of the comprehensive examination. A doctoral program consists of a combination of courses, seminars, and research that fulfills the minimum requirements of the Graduate School and is approved by the doctoral committee for each individual student. A master's degree is not a prerequisite for the doctorate. However, the first year of graduate study leading to the Ph.D. may be the same as that provided for the M. S. degree.
Acceptance into the Ph.D. program is based on the student's performance on the Ph.D. candidacy exam, which is administered by a graduate candidacy exam committee of the department. Although there is no specified requirement by the graduate school for the number of course credits for a Ph.D. degree, the department requires a minimum of 18 credits of 500-level courses courses for completing a doctoral degree. The instructional program includes three required graduate core courses in materials including Thermodynamics of Materials (MATSE 501), Kinetics of Materials Processes (MATSE 503) and Principles of Crystal Chemistry (MATSE 512). Additional specific courses are determined by the student and the adviser in consultation with the student's doctoral committee. A student with a M. S. degree from Penn State can use the 500-level credits earned during his or her M. S. study to fulfill the course requirements. Upon approval by the doctoral committee and the graduate program coordinator, a student with an M. S. degree from another U.S. institution or officially recognized degree-granting institution.
- Scholarship and Research Integrity: The Office of the Vice President for Research/Office of Research Protections requires that all candidates for advanced degrees complete training in Scholarship and Research Integrity (SARI). The SARI requirements include completion of an online Responsible Conduct of Research training program and a 1 credit Professional Development course (MATSE 582).
- Candidacy exam: (Offered twice a year: at the beginning of spring and fall semesters) Students will write a research proposal and give a presentation on the proposal to three members of the candidacy committee, whose members will ask questions about the proposal and the student's prior course work. The student will choose a topic for the proposal from three provided by the faculty committee, chosen to reflect the interest area(s) of the individual candidate. Students will be given three weeks to write the proposal and turn it into the MATSE graduate office. The oral presentation will take place seven to ten days after the written paper is submitted.
- Minimum formal course requirement (This is not required by the University, but required by the department): 18 credits of 500-level courses after B. S. (The instructional program includes three required graduate core courses in materials including Thermodynamics of Materials (MATSE 501), Kinetics of Materials Processes (MATSE 503) and Principles of Crystal Chemistry (MATSE 512). Additional 500-level courses to be taken are determined by the adviser and a thesis committee, having a minimum of four members with at least one outside of the department.)
- Comprehensive exam: Progress report and thesis proposal (no more than 20 pages in length) provided to the student's doctoral committee. An oral presentation is given to the research committee, followed by questions on the written and oral presentations.
- Seminar: 2 credits of MATSE 590 per year. After the comprehensive exam is passed, students should register to audit MATSE 590.
- Minimum GPA: 3.0
- Thesis: A written thesis and an oral defense administrated by the doctoral committee
Student Aid
Top graduate applicants will be automatically nominated for a number of graduate fellowships and top-up awards in the department, including the University Graduate Fellowship as well as several industry-sponsored assistantships. Graduate assistantships available to students in this program and other forms of student aid are described in the STUDENT AID section of the Graduate Bulletin.
Courses
Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 599 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (MATSE) course list
Last Revised by the Department: Spring Semester 2012
Blue Sheet Item #: 40-07-024
Review Date: 06/12/2012
Date last updated by Publications: 5/9/11
