ironvivs

Hello everyone, this is my first thread. I am going to apply for universities and I plan to apply for engineering. Material E interests me a lot, but I was wondering what is the difference between Material science and material engineering？
I understand that maybe scientists do more researching&developing, while engineers worry about how to produce and make stuff, but are the curriculum alike? How about work/hours, employment rate and salary?

Thanks in advance.

PoppinBottlesMGT

Here is a quote from Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction:

"Strictly speaking, 'materials science' involves investigating the relationship that exists between the structures and properties of materials. In contrast, 'materials engineering' is, on the basis of these structure-property correlations, designing or engineering the structures of a material to produce a predetermined set of properties. From a functional perspective, the role of a materials scientist is to develop or synthesize new materials, whereas a materials engineer is called upon to create new products or systems using existing materials. Most graduates in materials programs are trained to be both materials scientists and materials engineers."

I think it mostly depends on where you go as far as what title is used, but I could be wrong.

TaciturnType

They are often quite similar, but it does vary from school to school. I know many departments (including MIT) call the major MS&E because the fields overlap. Your best bet, however, is to look at the curriculum for each school you're applying. Compare what courses are offered and what areas are emphasized by the time of graduation. For example, Materials Engineering at Georgia Tech has quite a practical focus, particularly at the undergrad level. Materials Science at Cal Tech is only a graduate program, however, meaning you're almost exclusively developing new materials. I know there's a Cal Tech grad student around here who describes it as a disguised physics program, and in fact I believe they're planning to combine it with the Applied Physics program in the near future.

ironvivs

thanks guys, I really appreciate it! I am a Canadian student though I am thinking McGill or U of T. Any suggestions?

RacinReaver

The Materials Science option at Caltech has been, in a way, combined with Applied Physics, but they're still offering two different degrees. I think if that continues will depend a lot on who becomes (or stays) our department head.

I think, generally, the name of the department will tell your the flavor of MSE you're going to be seeing. Will you be taking more classes in things like plant design or nucleation & growth theory? Will your program focus on a specific aspect of materials or will you be required to take classes on metals, polymers, ceramics, semiconductors, etc?