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Materials Science and Engineering         Description Degrees Offered Admission Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering Contact Info

Description

The University of Central Florida offers master’s and doctoral programs in Materials Science and Engineering. Fields of emphasis and research for materials science and engineering include crystal growth, glass processing, phase transformation, high temperature materials, environmental degradation, materials characterization, electron microscopy, and microelectronic materials.

The Master of Science degree in Materials Science and Engineering (M.S.M.S.E.) is intended primarily for a student with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical, materials, or aerospace engineering or a closely related discipline obtained from a recognized accredited institution.

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is intended for a student with a master’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, or closely related disciplines such as chemistry, optics, physics, and biology. The program provides an applied research-based education suitable for seeking employment in industry or academia. Industries with strong materials emphases include construction and design firms, microchip development companies, space-related technology firms, medical products manufacturers, and automotive and sports-related companies.

Degrees Offered

Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering

Admission

For information on general UCF graduate admissions requirements that apply to all prospective students, please visit the Admissions and Registration section of the Graduate Catalog. Applicants must apply online. Please be sure to submit all requested material by the established deadline(s).

Additional Admissions Information

The Master of Science degree in Materials Science and Engineering (M.S.M.S.E.) is intended primarily for a student with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical, materials, or aerospace engineering or a closely related discipline obtained from a recognized institution. Minimum requirements for admission to regular status are a 3.0 grade point average (4.0=A) in the last 60 attempted hours of undergraduate study at an accredited institution, a combined score of 1000 on the quantitative and verbal portions of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and for international students (except those who are from countries where English is the only official language or those who have earned a degree from an accredited American college or university), a score of 220 (computer-based test; or equivalent score on the paper-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

In certain circumstances a provisional admission may be extended to students who have a grade point average below 3.0 but otherwise meet university requirements. Additional courses may be required to correct deficiencies. Students should contact the MMAE graduate program coordinator for more information.

All students are expected to identify an adviser and file an official degree program of study prior to the completion of 9 credit hours of study. Students should consult with the M.M.A.E. graduate program coordinator for assistance in filling out a program of study. A program of study, satisfying track requirements, must be developed prior to the completion of 9 credit hours and meet with departmental approval. The M.S.M.E. degree is offered as a thesis or a non-thesis option.

The thesis option requires 30 credit hours, at least half of which must be at the 6000 level and will include 6 credit hours of thesis credit. A student pursuing the thesis option may not register for thesis credit hours until an advisory committee has been appointed and the committee has reviewed the program of study and the proposed thesis topic.

The non-thesis option is primarily designed to meet the needs of part-time students and requires 36 credit hours of course work, at least 15 of which must be at the 6000 level. In addition, students pursuing the non-thesis option are required to pass a final comprehensive exam and to take EML 6085 Research Methods in MMAE as part of their 36-credit-hour course requirement.

A student with an undergraduate degree outside of the selected departmental discipline may be required to satisfy an articulation program. Substitutions to the program of study must meet with the approval of the adviser and the department. Further information is available in the Master’s Degree General Procedures manual available from the M.M.A.E. Department.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science requires that you fill out a pre-application form (www.graduate.cecs.ucf.edu) before you complete the application for graduate admission. The deadlines for the pre-application form can be found on the Prospective Student Page on the College of Engineering and Computer Science website.

Application Due Dates

All students applying for fellowships or assistantships must apply by the Fall Priority deadline date.

U.S. Applicants

Program(s)		Fall Priority	Fall	Spring	Summer
Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering		Feb 1	Jul 15	Dec 1	Apr 15
Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering		Feb 1	Jul 15	Dec 1	Apr 15

International Applicants

Program(s)		Fall Priority	Fall	Spring	Summer
Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering		Jan 15	Jan 15	Jul 1
Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering		Jan 15	Jan 15	Jul 1

International Transfer Applicants

Program(s)		Fall Priority	Fall	Spring	Summer
Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering		Feb 1	Mar 1	Sep 1
Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering		Feb 1	Mar 1	Sep 1

Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering

Prerequisites (or equivalent)

• Mathematics through Differential Equations (MAP 2302)
• Modeling Methods in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (EML 3034)
• Structure and Properties of Materials (EGN 3365)
• Mechanics of Materials (EGN 3331) or Thermodynamics (EGN 3343)
• Experimental Techniques in Mechanics and Materials (EMA 3012C)

Minimum Hours Required for M.S.M.S.E.—30 (thesis option) or 36 (non-thesis option) Credit Hours

General College Requirements

Required Courses—15 Credit Hours

All students must take the following five required courses.

• EMA 5104 Intermediate Structure and Properties of Materials (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5106 Metallurgical Thermodynamics (3 credit hours)
• EMA 6126 Physical Metallurgy (3 credit hours)
• EMA 6626 Mechanical Behavior of Materials (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5XXX Rate Processes in Materials (3 credit hours)

Students must take at least four courses from the option list below. Additional courses to satisfy total semester hour requirements (30 credit hours thesis option, 36 credit hours non-thesis option) may be taken from the list of representative electives below or from the remaining MMAE course offering. Students should consult with their faculty adviser (or graduate coordinator if they do not have a faculty adviser) prior to registering for classes. Note that thesis option students must take 6 credit hours of thesis and non-thesis option students must take Research Methods in MMAE. Thesis students must continue to enroll in one hour of thesis course work (XXX 6971) until the thesis requirement is satisfied, beyond the minimum of 6 credit hours of thesis.

Representative Electives—12-18 Credit Hours

• EMA 5108 Surface Science (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5140 Introduction to Ceramic Materials (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5326 Corrosion Science and Engineering (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5504 Modern Characterization of Materials (3 credit hours)
• EMA 6130 Phase Transformation in Metals and Alloys (3 credit hours)
• EMA 6136 Diffusion in Solids (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5585 Materials Science of Thin Film (3 credit hours)
• EMA 6516 X-ray Diffraction and Crystallography (3 credit hours)
• EMA 6XXX Electrical, Optical and Magnetic Properties (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5586 Photovoltaic Solar Energy Materials (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5584 Biomaterials (3 credit hours)
• EMA 6149 Imperfections in Crystals (3 credit hours)
• EMA 6628 Materials Failure Analysis (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5505 Scanning Electron Microscopy (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5060 Polymer Science and Engineering (3 credit hours)
• EMA 6518 Transmission Electron Microscopy (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5705 High Temperature Materials (3 credit hours)
• EML 5291 MEMS Materials (3 credit hours)
• EMA 6605 Materials Processing Techniques (3 credit hours)
• EMA 6129 Solidification and Microstructure Evolution (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5610 Laser Materials Processing (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5587C Characterization and Reliability of PV Cells (3 credit hours)
• EMA 5937C Physics of Failure and Reliability of Microelectronics Packages (3 credit hours)
• EML 6085 Research Methods in MMAE (3 credit hours)

Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is intended for a student with a master’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, or closely related disciplines such as chemistry, optics, physics and biology. The program provides an applied research-based education suitable for seeking employment in industry or academia. Industries with strong materials emphases include construction and design firms, microchip development companies, space-related technology firms, medical products manufacturers, and automotive and sports-related companies.

The program is based upon a solid core emphasizing the foundation of materials science and engineering with advanced knowledge in state-of-the-art applications. Doctoral students will be expected to apply their knowledge and research skills to removing barriers to critical technology advancement. The current interdisciplinary research collaboration between this program and Optics, Chemistry, Physics, and Electrical Engineering will provide many opportunities for gaining an interdisciplinary knowledge base needed to be competitive in industry. Students in this program will be encouraged to spend a summer internship with a relevant central Florida high technology industry.

Admission Requirements

A master’s degree is normally expected, but not required from applicants. A bachelor’s degree with a grade point average of 3.0 (A = 4.0) on the last 60 attempted hours of undergraduate course work from an accredited institution and a combined score of at least 1000 on the verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE are required for admission. International students whose native language is not English will have to present a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 220 to be considered. Students must submit an application for graduate admission, including a resume, goals statement, and three letters of recommendation.

Application Deadlines

Degree Requirements

General College Requirements

Graduate Student Entering the Ph.D. Program with a B.S.

For a graduate student with a B.S. degree, the following are the minimum Materials Science and Engineering Ph.D. program requirements: 72 credit hours of graduate course work, of which 57 credit hours are the minimum hours of course work (may include up to 12 credit hours of directed research with approved Program of Study) and 15 credit hours are the minimum hours of dissertation. The rest of the hours in the Ph.D. program can be chosen by the student in consultation with the adviser and the dissertation committee and with the approval of the graduate program coordinator. These may include doctoral directed research hours or doctoral dissertation hours.

Minimum Course Work (may include up to 12 credit hours of directed research)—57 Credit Hours

Doctoral Dissertation—15 Credit Hours

Minimum Hours Required for Ph.D.—72 Credit Hours

Graduate Student Entering the Ph.D. Program with an M.S.

For a graduate student with an M.S. degree the following are the minimum Materials Science and Engineering Ph.D. program requirements: 36 credit hours of graduate course work beyond the masters degree, of which 21 credit hours are the minimum number of hours of course work and 15 credit hours are the minimum hours of doctoral dissertation hours. The rest of the hours in the Ph.D. program can be chosen by the student in consultation with the adviser and the dissertation committee and with the approval of the graduate program coordinator. These credit hours may include doctoral directed research hours or doctoral dissertation hours. Non-thesis M.S. degree students may take up to 9 credit hours of directed research, while M.S. thesis option students may take up to 12 credit hours of directed research toward fulfillment of additional minimum course work beyond the M.S.

Minimum Course Work (may include up to 12 credit hours of directed research)—21 (27) Credit Hours*

Doctoral Dissertation—15 Credit Hours

Minimum Hours Required for Ph.D.—36 (42) Credit Hours*

* For students who have completed a thesis option at the master’s level with no additional course work, the minimum requirement for course work will be 27 hours.

NOTES:

• UCF requires that a full-time Ph.D. student be registered for 9 hours Fall and Spring semesters and 6 credit hours Summer semester.
• The University of Central Florida requires that a Ph.D. student be registered for 3 hours of doctoral dissertation hours upon completion of the candidacy exam and every semester thereafter until graduation.
• The MMAE department requires that a Ph.D. student submits his/her candidacy exam the academic semester immediately following his/her successfully passing the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam.
• No more than 12 credit hours of directed doctoral research may be taken toward fulfilling degree program of study course work requirements.
• Unless a completed (signed) program of study (POS) itemizing the study plan is approved prior to the end of the first semester of studies, the graduate program coordinator of the MMAE department may choose not to accept any part of the course work (including independent studies and/or directed research) taken by the student on a program of study subsequently submitted by the student.

Examinations

Both a Qualifying Exam and Candidacy Exam are required. Further information on these examinations are contained in the Ph.D. Degree General Procedures manual available from the MMAE Department (http://www-mmae.engr.ucf.edu).

Dissertation Committee

• The Dean, through the Chairs, is responsible for committee formation, additions, and deletions. The doctoral committee must consist of a minimum of five members: three must be faculty members from within the student’s department, and one must be at large from outside the Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering Department. The committee Chair must be a member of the department graduate faculty approved to direct dissertations. Joint faculty members serve as department-faculty committee members as well as chairs of dissertation committees. Adjunct faculty and off-campus experts may serve as the outside-the-college person in the committee. Program areas may further specify additional committee membership. The Office of Graduate Studies reserves the right to review appointments to advisory committees, place a representative on any advisory committee, or appoint a co-adviser.
• In unusual cases, with approval from the program Chair, two professors may chair the committee jointly. Joint faculty members may serve as committee chairs, but off-campus experts and adjunct faculty may not serve as committee chairs.
• All members vote on acceptance or rejection of the dissertation proposal and the final dissertation. The dissertation proposal and final dissertation must be approved by a majority of the advisory committee.

Financial Support

Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see Financing Grad School, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.

Key points about financial support:

• If you're interested in financial assistance, you're strongly encouraged to apply for admission early. A complete application for admission, including all supporting documents, must be received by the priority date listed for your program under "Admissions."
• You must be admitted to a graduate program before the university can consider awarding financial assistance to you.
• If you want to be considered for loans and other need-based financial assistance, review the UCF Student Financial Assistance website at http://finaid.ucf.edu and complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form, which is available online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. Apply early and allow up to six weeks for the FAFSA form to be processed.
• UCF Graduate Studies awards university graduate fellowships, with most decisions based on nominations from the colleges and programs. All admitted graduate students are automatically considered in this nomination process. To be eligible for a fellowship, students must be accepted as a graduate student in a degree program and be enrolled full-time. University graduate fellowships are not affected by FAFSA determination of need.
• Please note that select fellowships do require students to fill out a fellowship application (either a university fellowship application, an external fellowship application, or a college or school fellowship application). For university fellowship applications, see Financing Grad School.
• For information on assistantships (including teaching, research, and general graduate assistantships) or tuition support, contact the graduate program director of your major.

Contact Info

Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering

C. Suryanarayana, Ph.D. , Professor
Phone Number: 407-823-2416
gradmmae@mail.ucf.edu

Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering

C. Suryanarayana, Ph.D. , Professor
Phone Number: 407-823-2416
gradmmae@mail.ucf.edu