As the title states. All thoughts welcome
Have you been accepted? If not, it would be wise to have a good safety option too.
I don’t even know what that means- Material Science & Engineering. Are you thinking ceramics, composites, meta-materials, semiconductors, or what? I like UCSB or, better, MIT. If you are thinking Carbon-Reinforced Epoxy, Wichita State may be good, or Auburn. Are you applying, or choosing among acceptances?
I am not seeing CMU as being part of this grouping, either. Maybe there is something about CMU that I don’t know?
At Georgia Tech Materials Science and Engineering is the degree but you break into a tighter track after sophomore year (i.e., ceramics, polymer and fiber, etc)…same thing at Auburn I believe.
@eyemgh I have already been accepted to UIUC, waiting on the others in the next few days. I’m really leaning toward UIUC and just want to make sure I’m making a good choice/informed decision
@ItsJustSchool Materials Science and Engineering is a pretty relevant engineering major. Concentrations like those you listed a generally decided as a focus during sophomore or junior year, although there are many more than those you listed (as @threeofthree said). I’m not totally sure where UCSB (or any of your other suggested schools) are coming from (just based on stats and rankings I’ve seen). Also, Carnegie is in the top ten for MSE (US News Rankings) and is generally considered a good engineering school, so I’m not sure where your thoughts are coming from in that aspect. If there’s something I’m missing in that aspect, by all means direct me to that information, it could be very helpful! But also, its far too late to apply to any other schools anyway.
CMU has a huge reputation in robotics and computer science. Initiatives such as the self-driving car, etc. are huge. I am sure they are excellent in Material Science. Materials science is very broad and very fractionated. It is very relevant, yes, but schools have departments that are more chemical, mechanical, and semiconductor oriented, depending on the school. Right now, for example, UCSB is doing great work in the more semiconductor area of Materials Science. They have a national center for nano science research, for example, and are looking into metamaterials.
If you are looking at more mechanical, such as composite layup, you would look to another school. Non-destructive testing would also fall more into that more mechanical area. Think aircraft wings, reinforced concrete, materials for shipbuilding, and construction of high-tech vehicles.
Looking at recent conference proceedings would be one way to gauge the emphasis.
Materials science is such a broad field that asking “where is the best place to study” materials science does not have enough meaning to give an in-depth answer, even at the undergraduate level. You have to ask, what does the OP mean by Materials Science?
Oh come on, @ItsJustSchool. This person is just now trying to decide on a school for his undergraduate studies. Do you think he/she honestly knows exactly which focus area interests him/her? Perhaps, but that’s rare among people of that age. It’s therefore kind of premature to target a school specifically because of its polymers group or nanometer oaks group if one just knows they are interested in materials science in general at this point.
There are a lot of departments nationwide that have good researchers in many different areas wishing the materials science umbrella and choosing any of those is going to be perfectly fine and provide opportunities to explore all those options for the OP.
If he/she was searching for graduate programs, individual research specialties like that would be of primary importance and I’d agree wholeheartedly with you.
@boneh3ad, you make a fair point. Perhaps you would like to answer the original post?
As for me, my answer would be different for someone who wants to work with new battery technology, versus someone wanting to work with solar/optics, versus someone who is all about the new Corvette or lightweight earthquake-safe bridges. I cannot answer the question. Maybe the stock answer revolving somewhere around ABET accreditation?
Others are free to chime in, my point is that looking at a global ranking is of little value since the field is so broad. All the schools look excellent to me at educating undergraduates- I could not tell you which is “better”. The next level is needed to discriminate- what kind of materials science and engineering would you like to be exposed to in an undergraduate research project?
Well I didn’t answer the original question because I’m not familiar enough with each program to make an informed response. I am not a materials guy (and in fact, sort of detest the subject). I only really know that UIUC has a good department by reputation.
I will say that ultimately, most of the materials science branches are tied by the common thread of continuum mechanics, so most of these programs, regardless of individual specialties, are likely to provide a similar (early) undergraduate experience, academically speaking. The biggest differences likely lie in the available electives.