Materials Science Engineering

• Develop new ways to fight cancer.
• Create faster computer chips.
• Design safer air bags for cars.

With a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering, you’ll be equipped to make discoveries that advance the technology behind health care, communication, transportation, recreation and more. You’ll graduate from the program competitively positioned for diverse career opportunities in a broad range of fields, including the newly emerging field of nanomaterials and biomaterials.

As a student in materials science and engineering, you investigate the structural, electrical and magnetic properties of a variety of materials, including metals, ceramics, electronic and magnet materials, semiconductors, nanomaterials, biomaterials, aerospace materials and nuclear materials.

Through classroom learning and hands-on laboratory research, you:

• Analyze how materials behave physically and mechanically.
• Learn how to characterize materials.
• Study material fabrication and processes.
• Explore and design new materials and improved processes, devices and applications.

The department offers outstanding undergraduate research opportunities. Students design and conduct experiments using modern laboratory facilities, such as our small-scale clean room for semiconductor processing. You may also take part in a faculty member's leading research that is exploring exciting areas such as nanotechnology, biotechnology and alternative and renewable energy resources.

Our students also have excellent internship opportunities with NASA, U.S. national labs, semiconductor and metal production companies.

The University of Idaho is the only school in the state of Idaho that offers a full gamut of degrees in materials science and engineering, from a bachelor’s to master’s and doctorate levels, with a carefully crafted curriculum. More than $288,000 in scholarships are available to students each year.

Prepare for Success

Prepare for success in the materials and sciences program with high school courses in physics, engineering, math, chemistry and biology.

Your First Year

During the first two years of the materials science and engineering program, you complete University of Idaho core requirements and take prerequisite engineering courses to build your foundation in chemistry, math and physics.

During your first year, you may take:

• Introduction to Materials Science
• General Chemistry
• Engineering Physics
• Analytical Geometry and Calculus

What You Can Do

A bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering prepares you for a broad range of career opportunities in:

• Metal manufacturing
• Polymer engineering
• Nuclear and energy related fields
• Biotechnology
• Biomedical engineering
• Semiconductor processing
• Petroleum and fuel processing
• Aerospace engineering

Opportunities

The demand for materials scientists and engineers is high and is expected to remain strong, especially in the growing field of nonmaterial and biomaterials.

The earning potential for new graduates is excellent, with average starting salaries of more than $50,000. Companies that frequently hire our graduates include:

• Alcoa
• Allegheny
• Newmont
• Boeing
• Morrison-Knudsen
• Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory
• Argone
• USS-POSCO
• Hewlett-Packard Company
• Idaho National Laboratory
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Intel
• Micron
• Seagate

Current Research

Undergraduate engineering students at the University of Idaho have rare opportunities to engage in leading research alongside internationally recognized faculty.

Areas of faculty research and expertise in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering include:

• Semiconductor processing
• Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)
• Nanotechnology
• Biotechnology
• Alternative and renewable energies
• Material hydroprocessing
• Environmental issues of materials
• Corrosion
• Nuclear materials
• High temperature mechanical behaviors
• Advanced processing techniques

Hands-On Experience

Engineering Design EXPO: For your senior capstone, apply everything you’ve learned to develop a solution to a real-life engineering problem. Working as part of a team of other engineering students, you will design and present your capstone project at the University of Idaho Engineering Design Expo, the Pacific Northwest's largest interdisciplinary event showcasing the world of engineering and technological innovation.

Junior Engineering, Mathematics, and Science (JEMS): Students demonstrate engineering experiments to high school juniors and seniors that come to the University of Idaho campus for the two-week summer camp each July.

ASM student paper competition: This is an annual paper competition between students in the materials science and engineering programs at University of Idaho and at neighboring Washington State University. Student teams present their research work while they’re participating in faculty research related to materials science.

Internships: Students have excellent internship opportunities with NASA, U.S. national labs, semiconductor and metal production companies.

Lab Assistantships: Work in the laboratory alongside faculty as a lab assistant.

Facilities

Both undergraduate and graduate students have access to modern laboratory facilities and equipment, including:

• Class 1000 clean room facilities for semiconductor processing
• Atomic force-scanning tunneling microscopes (AFM/STM)
• Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM)
• Focused ion beam (FIB)
• Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
• Multi-channel potentiostat/galvanostat
• Sputtering system for thin film deposition
• Reactive ion etcher
• Environmental chamber
• X-ray diffractometer
• Simultaneous thermal analyzer (DSC-DTA-TGA instrument)
• SPEX mixer/mill (high-energy, ball-milling equipment)
• Ultraviolet laser
• Ion/ball miller