Materials Science and Engineering

Materials Science and Engineering Bachelor's Degree

Fuse your creativity and interest in materials to mold a rewarding career.

A bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering will prepare you to create and innovate products that touch our everyday lives: prostheses, automobiles, mountain bikes, computers, cell phones, and more.

Materials scientists work at the forefront of technology, applying physics, chemistry, and biology to compose new products—many of which have the potential to greatly improve quality of life. These professionals have contributed to major scientific breakthroughs including

  • New materials that allow energy conversion for a cleaner environment
  • Artificial skin for burn victims
  • Nanotechnologies that make computers smaller, faster, and more economical
  • Tough new composites that enable mountain bikers to climb higher and faster
  • Microscopic silicon chips that rewire themselves to conform to users’ needs
  • Medical diagnostic equipment such as ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging

Our ABET accredited BS in Materials Science and Engineering prepares students to create the future.

  • 3rd
    most focused materials engineering college (College Factual)
  • 10th
    best value materials engineering college (College Factual)
  • 6th
    best undergraduate MSE program in the Great Lakes region

Tomorrow Needs Science and Engineering on Many Scales

At Michigan Tech, explore a wide variety of materials ranging in scale from the nano- to the macro, and take an active role in their development and production. Find out what controls the properties, behaviors, and performance of metals, plastics, ceramics, biomaterials, electronic materials, and more.

Be Career-ready

Students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering are prepared to transition directly to entry-level jobs in industry. The majority of our alumni find positions in process engineering, quality control, and materials design. A large number go into the electronics, auto, and foundry industries. An advanced degree is desirable for research positions.

Each year, more than 400 employers come to campus to recruit Huskies at our career fairs and our business grads go on to work at Fortune 500 companies, tech startups, small businesses, and everything in between.

Career Opportunities for Materials Science and Engineering

  • Reliability engineer
  • Composites engineer
  • Research engineer
  • Semiconductor processing engineer
  • Failure analysis engineer
  • Materials engineer
  • Quality assurance engineer

Engineering Enterprise Concentration

Pursue an Enterprise concentration as part of your degree by taking part in Michigan Tech's award-winning Enterprise Program. It's a great way to enhance your undergraduate degree with client-based teamwork. Enterprise is when students work in teams on real projects, with real clients, in an environment that's more like a business than a classroom. Choose any one of 20-plus Enterprise teams on campus to invent products, provide services, and pioneer solutions. Apply the skills learned in your major and gain some valuable new skills. Tackle real-world design projects for industry sponsors or take part in a national competition (or both). This concentration adds courses in business and entrepreneurship.

Ready to take the next step?

Learn more about studying materials science and engineering at Michigan's flagship technological university.

 

Watch 233: Material Characterization, Modeling, and Extrusion Optimization of Al-Ce-Mg Alloys video
Preview image for 233: Material Characterization, Modeling, and Extrusion Optimization of Al-Ce-Mg Alloys video
"Our project has led to a streamlined way to explore materials’ performance during extrusion using compression testing and Altair Inspire Extrude."Senior Design Team 233, Design Expo

Earn an ABET Accredited Engineering Degree

Our program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org. With ABET accreditation, you can be sure that your Michigan Tech degree meets the quality standards that prepares you to enter a global workforce.

And, because it requires comprehensive, periodic evaluations, ABET accreditation demonstrates our continuing commitment to the quality of your program—both now and in the future.

Sought Worldwide

ABET's voluntary peer-review process is highly respected. Its criteria are developed by technical professionals and focuses on what you, as a student, experience and learn. It adds critical value to academic programs in technical disciplines—where quality, precision, and safety are of the utmost importance.

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

The Materials Science and Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org.

Review the educational objectives and student outcomes for the BS in Materials Science and Engineering.

ABET logo

Accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org.

The MSE Department

  • Our facilities, including a suite of labs dedicated to undergraduate studies, allow students to experiment with characterizing and making new materials. Our casting facility affords undergraduate students unique training in the use of scanning electron microscopes for characterization.
  • Undergraduate research opportunities are plentiful in the department. As early as your sophomore year, you can gain valuable experience working with a faculty mentor in diverse research thrust areas:
    • Nanomaterials
    • Energy
    • Battery technology
    • Biomaterials
    • Environment
    • Failure analysis
  • Funding is available through the Charles and Carroll McArthur Undergraduate Research Endowment. Faculty often hire undergraduate students to work on funded research projects
  • Our department specializes in working with metals.
  • Get ready to contribute on the job from day one. Our students benefit from hands-on experiences ranging from Enterprise to Senior Design to internships/co-ops.
  • Faculty and staff focus on giving students the personal attention and support necessary not only for academic success, but also a positive overall undergraduate experience. Faculty encourage students to take advantage of their open-door policy. Class sizes are small (our student to faculty ratio is one of the lowest at Michigan Tech), and faculty are very teaching-oriented (teaching assistants do not lead instruction in the department). The department hosts social events throughout the academic year, such as barbecues and sporting events.
  • Opportunities for intercultural exchange abound at Michigan Tech. The Study Abroad Program sends students to countries around the world for stints ranging from two weeks to one year. D80 allows students to apply their engineering studies to problems facing economically disadvantaged communities.
  • Students are encouraged to join the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, Materials United, the Society of Women Engineers, or one of many other organizations and opportunities for self-improvement.

MTU engineering

Real Engineering. Meaningful Work.

We are committed to inspiring students, advancing knowledge, and innovating technological solutions to create a sustainable, just, and prosperous world. With an entering engineering class of about 1,000 students, 17 degrees to choose from, and 160 faculty in the College of Engineering alone, we provide a world-class education with the trusted reputation of Michigan Tech.

As a student at Michigan Tech you’ll work closely with faculty mentors, immerse yourself in experience-powered learning, and gain a thorough understanding of engineering practice. Collaborate and innovate in laboratories, coursework, Enterprise, and Senior Design—you'll work with industry partners on real engineering projects and develop strong skill sets for your future.

You could study abroad, with engineering opportunities ranging from a few weeks to one full year. Or focus on problems facing disadvantaged communities in countries around the world. Michigan Tech’s D80 program offers you a range of options.

More than 400 employers regularly recruit our students for internships, co-ops, and full-time employment. Engineering students average seven interviews, and 98 percent are employed within their field of study, enlist in the military, or enroll in a graduate school within six months of graduation. A degree in engineering from Michigan Tech can take you anywhere.

Tomorrow Needs You

Engineers do a lot of things, but there's one thing we do first and foremost: we help people. We use creative ideas and technologies to solve problems in health care, energy, transportation, hunger, space exploration, climate change, and more—much more. Become an engineer who is ready for what tomorrow needs.

Student Stories

“We have a good percentage of our engineering workforce that has come from Michigan Tech in the past. It’s a great school for material science and other engineering degrees that we use at our business.”Brett Sabourin '93, electrical engineering manager for Howmet Aerospace Inc.