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Materials Science & Engineering Program Area

Within their engineering sciences degree, students may choose a concentration in materials science and engineering (MSE). The MSE Program Area provides structure and guidance for this concentration in fields such as nano- and bio-materials for health and sustainability, ice material physics for understanding climate change, and computational modeling to design novel materials.

MSE Program Area Lead: Jifeng Liu

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The Student Experience

We are committed to facilitate close faculty-student interactions and experiential learning, as well as collaborative interdisciplinary research efforts to cultivate discovery and innovation.

A professor and student work together in the materials testing lab.

Based on core expertise in the structure-property relationships of materials, a diversity of concentrations is offered bridging collaborative synergies across biological and chemical, biomedical, electrical and computer, energy, and mechanical, operations and systems engineering research areas.

Students are expected to propose a plan of study that supports their interests, potentially including distinctive intellectual paths unconstrained by disciplinary boundaries and enriched by interdisciplinary synergies.

Materials Science & Engineering Research

Students and faculty apply their knowledge in materials science to address the most challenging problems in our society, such as energy, sustainability and medicine. They also bridge to other research areas to maximize the human-centered impact of ongoing investigations which include:

Lab Spotlight

Dartmouth co-authors pose for a photo in the materials testing lab.

Team Discovers New High-Performance Solar Cell Material

A Dartmouth-led study published in Joule presents an entirely new stable, earth-abundant, high-performance material for solar absorbers—the central part of a solar cell that turns light into electricity.

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Coursework

Students who choose the MSE Program Area need not limit their academic interests to MSE. Many of our students and faculty move comfortably between disciplines, working at the intersection of MSE and quantum computing and sensing, biomedical engineering, and climate change, to name a few.

Our flexible curriculum allows for a wide range of academic paths which students develop with guidance from their advisor to meet individual needs.

Graduate Degrees

Students interested in obtaining a PhD, MS, or MEng focused on MSE are encouraged to contact faculty lead Jifeng Liu or other individual faculty in their areas of interest. Applicants are also invited to visit campus and meet with engineering students and faculty.

PhD

MS

MEng

Undergraduate Degrees

Students interested in the AB/BE, or Partner School Dual-Degree program with a focus on MSE are encouraged to contact Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Doug Van Citters. Applicants are also invited to visit campus and meet with engineering students and faculty.

AB

BE

Partner School DUAL DEGREE