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Materials Engineering Concentration

What is Materials Science/Materials Engineering?

Materials science is a wide-ranging interdisciplinary field of science and engineering involving the study of the relationship between the structures of materials (from nano- to macro-scale) and their properties and performance.

Material properties are important in many engineering activities including design, testing, reliability and failure analysis, and product and process development.

Materials engineering involves selecting materials, improving their properties and performance, lowering their manufactured costs, developing new processing methods, and increasing their durability and utility.

Materials are often the starting point for innovation of new products, and materials engineers are frequently on the leading edge in various industries developing as examples: stronger alloys, tougher ceramics, less costly and better performing composites, bio-materials for skin grafts and implants, and fiber optics.

Materials engineers are employed in a variety industries including microelectronics, computer manufacture, telecommunications, automotive, aeronautical/aerospace, building products, energy production, health care, and sports equipment as well as in basic research.

More information about the field of materials engineering, including short interviews with practicing professionals, is available at the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.

See the Academic Catalogue for requirements and guidelines for a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, with a concentration in materials engineering.

 

Spotlight

Summer research with the Hauber Fellowship program allows undergraduates to spend 10 weeks each summer working on an independent project under the guidance of Loyola faculty.