MEng Materials Science and Engineering / Course details

Materials Science is a synthesis of physics, chemistry, and engineering. It is the building block on which modern industry has and will continue to advance.

This course provides a thorough grounding in the scientific principles governing the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of all solid materials, and the opportunity to specialise in the study of a particular class of material (metal, ceramic, or polymer) through a choice of options. The extensive (half year) final year project enables you to tackle a topic at the forefront of Materials Science in depth. It will develop further practical and analytical skills. Formal teaching in communication and transferable skills, including basic management and organisational behaviour, computing and presentation techniques, is given to complement the academic training.

Lectures and tutorials are led staff who are all experts in their field with a deep knowledge of the subjects they teach and our staff are passionate about their subject. Our courses are constantly revised with inputs from both students and industry to cover the latest developments and deliver learning in the most effective way.

• Provide a broad and balanced curriculum in Materials Science, meeting the requirements for accreditation with the professional body, in order to equip students with the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to pursue successful careers in both industrial and research environments.
• Provide a teaching environment in which undergraduate students can interact with academic staff at the forefront of research in Materials Science and Engineering, through advanced course units and project work.
• Foster subject-specific and transferable skills, including experience of materials processing and characterisation methods, oral and written communication, group work and IT skills.
• Provide students with effective academic and pastoral support, to cater for students from a wide range of educational backgrounds and enable all students to acheive their full potential.
• Monitor, review and enhance educational provision to ensure that it remains relevant to the needs of student progression and to current developments in research and industry.

• In our new Home of Engineering and Materials , we're ripping up the rule book to offer a truly innovative teaching and learning experience. You'll have access to world-leading sustainable research facilities and some of the most unique, industry-leading equipment and instrumentation in the sector to meet today's requirements and those of the future.
• The course is accredited by the Institute of Materials (IOM ³ ) and counts as academic training towards the professional qualification of Chartered Engineer.
• A final year research project enables students to gain an in-depth experience of working in a research team conducting a cutting-edge project, providing a grounding for working in R&D or going on to study at PhD level.

Assessment is by a combination of coursework and examinations. The subject is by nature practical and this is reflected in the teaching and assessment methods which as well as lectures and exams include:

• Laboratories
• Problem Classes
• Computing Exercises
• Team Projects
• Case Studies
• Essays

Coursework is a key element across all units, with a minimum of 20% coursework based assessment for each unit.

The Department of Materials is home to an extensive array of unique facilities and equipment, across both materials science and engineering, and fashion business and technology.

Our new Home of Engineering and Materials opened in 2022 and is a place like no other. This is where engineers, material scientists and fashion students collaborate, innovate and make their mark on the world. Unleash your potential in our creative, academic playground that signals the evolution of a proud history of innovation spanning almost 200 years.

In this very special place, we're ripping up the rule book, offering you a truly innovative teaching and learning experience. As well as our creative classrooms, you'll also have access to world-leading sustainable research facilities in our new buildings.

Our variety of spaces allows for greater collaboration for all our students, and it is the place to connect and tackle real-life challenges together. So, a chemical engineer could be sat alongside a materials scientist working on clean water, or bump into a fashion student developing their own sustainable brand, or an aerospace engineer sending a rocket into space. It is a place like no other for interactions and one of the biggest communities of engineers and materials scientists in any University in the world.

Dive into a world of possibilities, whether you are interested in aerospace, robotics, or sustainable fashion, there's a home for you here. Explore Our Home for Engineering and Material Science .

We also benefit from close ties to a long list of leading centres, institutes and research hubs, including but not limited to, the National Graphene Institute, the Photon Science Institute, Henry Royce Institute, Electron Microscopy Centre, Dalton Cumbrian Facility and BP International Centre for Advanced Materials.