B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering

students in lab

The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only.  The Undergraduate Record and Graduate Record represent the official repository for academic program requirements. These publications may be found here.

MSE Curriculum Guide

Learn more about the MSE undergraduate curriculum.

View the MSE Curriculum Guide Download the MSE Curriculum Worksheet

All students must complete the unified set of general requirements for all engineering majors. These courses are often completed during the first two years in SEAS, with the exception of STS 4500 and 4600, which are taken during the fall and spring of the fourth year, respectively.

B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering Curriculum

The BS in Materials Science and Engineering requires 127 credits. The curriculum for the degree program meets both the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) baccalaureate requirements and has recieved ABET accreditation.

Materials elective courses build upon the core content, allowing students to develop concentration areas of interest. The program culminates with a rigorous 4th year experience, which incorporates both a capstone experience and the development of a senior thesis. The focus of the core curriculum (core) is to provide students with a solid foundation in materials science and engineering, representing the fundamental pillars of the discipline, reinforced throughout the curriculum including materials elective courses. The core courses introduce students to the major classes of materials (metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites) along with associated properties (mechanical, thermal, electronic, magnetic, and optical). The core courses also provide rich experiential learning experiences with emphasis on characterization, processing, properties, documentation, and the analysis and presentation of key results. 

Opportunities for training in best practices, problem solving, communication, and teamwork are designed into the program through materials elective courses, which include corrosion, fuel cells, and batteries (a world-leading research strength in the Materials Science and Engineering department at UVA), nanosciences, processing, computational materials science, and additive manufacturing.  The program culminates with a rigorous 4th year experience, which incorporates both a capstone experience and the development of a senior thesis.  The experience allows students to draw upon the knowledge and skills learned from many MSE and non-MSE courses leading up to the final senior semester. The 4th year design course sequence (MSE 4592 - Materials Reserach & Design Capstone 1 and 2) covers a wide range of materials and processes which require application of the fundamental principles of materials science (MSE 2090, MSE 3050, MSE 3060, MSE 3070), structure-property relationships (MSE 2101, MSE 3101, MSE 3080, MSE 3670), experimental and computer methods of analysis (MSE 4270), and processing and fabrication (MSE 2200, MSE 3200, MSE 4210, MSE 4320).  The MSE major is designed to be forward-looking, preparing students for the rapidly evolving needs of our technological society. For example, it is known that there will be an increasing need for engineers who are knowledgeable in topics related to materials which serve in extreme environments (especially related to defense and energy production), quantum materials (which could open up completely new opportunities in computational science), and soft-materials (for biomedical applications).