The Department offers Doctoral (Ph.D.), Masters of Science (M.S.), and Masters of Engineering (M. Eng) Degrees. All graduate students must complete an 18 credit core curriculum comprised of five advanced courses in structure, mechanical properties, thermodynamics, kinetics, and electronic properties of materials. Both M.S. and M.Eng degrees require a minimum of 30 credit hours. M.S. students must complete 6 additional credit hours of courses (2 courses) and 6 credits of research.

A minimum of 27 credits of coursework is required for the Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering. In addition to the core course requirements, three additional graduate level science or engineering courses are required. The student must also pass an oral and written preliminary exam and an oral candidacy exam before defending his/her Ph.D. thesis.

ID	Title	Credits	Offered
MTLE-6030	Advanced Thermodynamics	4	Fall
	Review of classical thermodynamics. Development of basic concepts of statistical thermodynamics. Application of both classical and statistical techniques to the determination of phase and chemical equilibrium in real systems. Prerequisite: MTLE-4100 or equivalent.
MTLE-6060	Advanced Kinetics of Materials Reactions	3	Spring
	Diffusion and phase transformations: solutions to the diffusion equation, moving boundaries, concentration dependent diffusion coefficient, interdiffusion, nucleation, crystal growth from the vapor and solution, solidification. Precipitation: general, cellular, and G-P zones. Allotropic and martensitic transformations. Grain growth. Sintering. Prerequisite: MTLE-4100 or MTLE-6030 or equivalent.
MTLE-6080	Electron Microscopy of Materials	3	Fall
	Introduction to electron optics, electron diffraction contrast mechanisms, specimen preparation, and microanalysis. Theory and operating fundamentals of the SEM, TEM,STEM, and the electron microprobe. Analysis of images from crystalline materials using kinematical and dynamical theories of electron diffraction. Prerequisite: MTLE-2100 or MTLE-6040.
MTLE-6120	Advanced Electronic Properties of Materials	3	Spring
	Review of essential quantum mechanics, including exact models and approximate methods. Application to behavior of electrons in solids. Electronic energy bands in metals, semiconductors, and insulators. Charge carrier statistics and transport. Maxwell's equations. Dielectric, optical, and magnetic properties. Applications to semiconductor, optoelectronic, and magnetic devices.
MTLE-6250	Advanced Mechanical Properties	4	Fall
	The phenomenological, mechanistic and micro-structural aspects of the mechanical properties of materials are developed, with particular emphasis on the similarities and differences among various material systems including metals, ceramics and polymers. Phenomenological aspects of the three-dimensional characteristics of stress and strain, various yield criteria, elastic behavior, viscoelastic behavior, plastic behavior, statistical aspects of brittle fracture and fracture mechanics are presented. Mechanistic and micro-structural topics include edge and screw dislocation behavior, slip systems, critical resolved shear stress, dislocation multiplication and interactions, barriers to motion, polymer chain conformation and entropy.
MTLE-6300	Integrated Circuit Fabrication Laboratory	3	Spring
	Theory and practice of IC fabrication in a research laboratory environment. Test chips are fabricated and the resulting devices and circuits evaluated. Processes and fabrication equipment studied and used include oxidation/diffusion, CVD reactors, photolithography, plasma etching, vacuum evaporator, ion implantation, etc. Instruments used in process monitoring and final testing include thin film profilometer, ellipsometer, resistivity probe, scanning electron microscope, capacitance-voltage system, etc. The fundamentals of hazardous material handling and clean room procedures are studied. (Cross listed as ECSE-6300. Students cannot obtain credit
MTLE-6420	Surface Phenomena	3	Spring
	The thermodynamics and reactivity of surfaces. Classical thermodynamics of surfaces. Atomistic models of the crystal surfaces. Electron diffraction from surface layers. Surface diffusion. Physical and chemisorption of gases, chemical reactions at surfaces. Nucleation of surface and bulk phases.
MTLE-6430	Materials Characterization	3	Fall Odd Years
	Principles and applications of current techniques for the chemical, structural, and morphological characterization of engineering materials, with an emphasis on materials used in the microelectronics industry. Techniques studied include various electron and ion spectroscopies, electron microscopies, and diffraction techniques.
MTLE-6460	Advanced Structure and Bonding in Materials	4	Spring
	Phenomenological and quantitative descriptions of crystal symmetry and structure. Theories of primary and secondary bonding in crystals. Theory and application of diffraction techniques for structure determination. Models of cohesive forces in solids. Emphasis is placed on the intimate connection between crystal structure, bonding, electronic structure, and properties of solids.
MTLE-6900	Graduate Seminar		Fall and Spring
MTLE-6930	Literature Study	1 to 3	NA
	A special course assignment open to graduate students working toward a masters degree. Applicable where a student cannot reasonably arrange to submit a thesis. A written report on the study must be submitted and defended before a committee of the faculty.
MTLE-6940	Materials Engineering Project	3	NA
MTLE-6960	Advanced Mechanical Properties	3	Fall
MTLE-6970	Professional Project		NA
	Active participation in a semester-long project, under the supervision of a faculty adviser. A Professional Project often serves as a culminating experience for a Professional Master's program but, with departmental or school approval, can be used to fulfill other program requirements. With approval, students may register for more than one Professional Project. Professional Projects must result in documentation established by each department or school, but are not submitted to the Graduate School and are not archived in the library. Grades of A,B,C, or F are assigned by the faculty adviser at the end of the semester. If not completed on time, a formal Incomplete grade may be assigned by the faculty adviser, listing the work remaining to be completed and the time limit for completing this work.
MTLE-6980	Master's Project	1 to 9	NA
	Active participation in a masters-level project under the supervision of a faculty adviser, leading to a masters project report. Grades of IP are assigned until the masters project has been approved by the faculty adviser. If recommended by the adviser, the masters project may be accepted by the Office of Graduate Education to be archived in the Library. Grades will then be listed as S.
MTLE-6990	Master's Thesis	1 to 9	NA
	Active participation in research, under the supervision of a faculty adviser, leading to a masters thesis. Grades of IP are assigned until the thesis has been approved by the faculty adviser and accepted by the Office of Graduate Education to be archived in a standard format in the library. Grades will then be listed as S.
MTLE-9990	Dissertation	Variable	NA
	Active participation in research, under the supervision of a faculty adviser, leading to a doctoral dissertation. Grades of IP are assigned until the dissertation has been publicly defended, approved by the doctoral committee, and accepted by the Office of Graduate Education to be archived in a standard format in the library. Grades will then be listed as S.

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