Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
The Materials Engineering curriculum has received national recognition for its innovative structure and will provide both breadth and depth in your understanding of science and engineering principles and practices. The curriculum in materials engineering emphasizes practical applications as well as principles. The laboratories are constantly evolving, and our students benefit from frequent exposure to a wide variety of materials testing and analysis equipment. The program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission ABET. Our students have a reputation for being immediately productive in industry, and they are also actively sought by graduate programs throughout the country.
Program Learning Objectives
- An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
- An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
- An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
- An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
- An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
- An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
- An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.
- An integrated understanding of scientific and engineering principles underlying the four major elements of the field: structure, properties, processing, and performance related to materials systems.
- An ability to apply and integrate knowledge from each of the above four elements of the field to solve materials selection and design problems.
Degree Requirements and Curriculum
In addition to the program requirements listed on this page, students must also satisfy requirements outlined in more detail in the Minimum Requirements for Graduation section of this catalog, including:
- 40 units of upper-division courses
- 2.0 GPA
- Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR)
- U.S. Cultural Pluralism (USCP)
Note: No Major or Support courses may be selected as credit/no credit. In addition, no more than 12 units of cooperative or internship courses can count towards your degree requirements.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| MAJOR COURSES | ||
| MATE 1110 | Introduction to Materials Engineering | 1 |
| MATE 1210 | Principles of Materials Engineering for Majors | 3 |
| MATE 1215 | Materials Laboratory I | 1 |
| MATE 2225 | Materials Microscopy Laboratory | 1 |
| MATE 2235 | Materials Spectroscopy Laboratory | 1 |
| MATE 2245 | Engineering Analysis and Technical Communication | 1 |
| MATE 2280 | Materials Thermodynamics and Kinetics | 4 |
| MATE 3232 | Materials Ethics, Diversity, and Society (Upper-Division 4) 1 | 3 |
| MATE 3310 | Polymeric Material Systems | 4 |
| MATE 3340 | Electronic Materials Systems | 4 |
| MATE 3360 | Metallurgical Materials Systems | 4 |
| MATE 3401 | Advanced Materials Characterization | 1 |
| MATE 3403 | Computational Materials Engineering | 2 |
| MATE 3480 | Composite Material Systems | 4 |
| MATE 4300 | Materials Selection for the Life Cycle (GWR) | 3 |
| MATE 4422 | Ceramic and Glass Materials Systems | 3 |
| MATE 4461 | Senior Project I | 1 |
| MATE 4462 | Senior Project II | 2 |
| Design Elective | ||
| IME 3326 | Statistical Decision-Making and Quality Control | 3-4 |
| or ME 3234 | Design Thinking and Creativity | |
| Technical Electives | ||
| Select from the following: 2 | 6 | |
| Micro/Nano Fabrication | ||
| Micro/Nano Fabrication Laboratory | ||
| Medical Physiology for Engineers | ||
| Advanced Issues in Biomaterials | ||
| Structural Analysis | ||
| Reinforced Concrete Design | ||
| Foundations of Macromolecular Chemistry | ||
| Polymer Synthesis and Characterization | ||
| Polymer Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory | ||
| Solid and Hazardous Waste Management | ||
| Project Organization and Management | ||
| Sales Engineering | ||
| Engineering Management | ||
| Reliability for Design and Testing | ||
| Packaging Fundamentals | ||
| Packaging Polymers and Processing | ||
| Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Project | ||
| Packaging Sustainability | ||
| Fibrous Materials | ||
| Special Problems for Advanced Undergraduates 3 | ||
| Materials Characterization Theory | ||
| Nanoscale Materials | ||
| Biotechnology for Sustainable Materials | ||
| Corrosion Engineering | ||
| Welding Metallurgy and Joining of Advanced Materials | ||
| Fracture and Failure Analysis | ||
| Materials, Design, and Sustainability of Energy Generation and Storage | ||
| Special Advanced Topics | ||
| Special Advanced Laboratory | ||
| Materials and the Environment | ||
| Solidification and Densification | ||
| Fluid Mechanics | ||
| Composites Manufacturing, Machining, and Testing | ||
| Solid State Physics | ||
| Professional Development Elective | ||
| Select from the following: 2 | 3-4 | |
| Human Anatomy and Physiology I | ||
| Human Anatomy and Physiology II | ||
| Introduction to Electrical Design in Biomedical Engineering | ||
| Introduction to Electrical Design in Biomedical Engineering Lab | ||
| Micro/Nano Fabrication | ||
| Micro/Nano Fabrication Laboratory | ||
| Medical Physiology for Engineers | ||
| Advanced Issues in Biomaterials | ||
| Current and Evolving Topics in Biomedical Engineering | ||
| Legal Responsibilities of Business | ||
| Financial Accounting for Nonbusiness Majors | ||
| International and Cross Cultural Management | ||
| Civil Engineering Materials | ||
| Structural Analysis | ||
| Foundations of Macromolecular Chemistry | ||
| Polymer Synthesis and Characterization | ||
| Polymer Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory | ||
| Business and Professional Communication | ||
| Science Communication | ||
| Microeconomics | ||
| Programming for Economics and Analytics | ||
| Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering | ||
| Noise Control and Occupational Safety and Health | ||
| Financial Decision Making for Engineers | ||
| Sales Engineering | ||
| Engineering Management | ||
| Reliability for Design and Testing | ||
| Industrial Safety and Maintenance | ||
| Packaging Design Fundamentals | ||
| Lean Six Sigma Green Belt | ||
| Packaging Fundamentals | ||
| Packaging Polymers and Processing | ||
| Supply Chain Management in Manufacturing and Services | ||
| Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Project | ||
| Packaging Sustainability | ||
| Materials Science of Sports, Food, and Functional Clothing | ||
| Fibrous Materials | ||
| Special Problems for Advanced Undergraduates 3 | ||
| Materials Characterization Theory | ||
| Nanoscale Materials | ||
| Biotechnology for Sustainable Materials | ||
| Corrosion Engineering | ||
| Welding Metallurgy and Joining of Advanced Materials | ||
| Fracture and Failure Analysis | ||
| Materials, Design, and Sustainability of Energy Generation and Storage | ||
| Special Advanced Topics | ||
| Special Advanced Laboratory | ||
| Materials and the Environment | ||
| Solidification and Densification | ||
| Calculus III | ||
| Engineering Dynamics | ||
| Applied Programming for Mechanical Engineering | ||
| Fluid Mechanics | ||
| Composites Manufacturing, Machining, and Testing | ||
| Engineering, Design, and Social Justice | ||
| Introduction to Statistical Computing with SAS and SQL | ||
| SUPPORT COURSES | ||
| CHEM 1120 | Fundamentals of Chemical Structure and Properties (5A & 5C) 1 | 4 |
| CHEM 1122 | Fundamentals of Chemical Reactivity | 4 |
| or CHEM 2240 | Organic Chemistry: Fundamentals and Applications | |
| EE 2201 | Electric Circuits for Non-Majors | 2 |
| EE 2241 | Electric Circuit Analysis Laboratory I | 1 |
| ENGL 1148 | Critical Thinking for Technical Writers (1B) 1 | 3 |
| ENGR 2211 | Introduction to Mechanics | 4 |
| IME 1140 | Technical Graphics Communication for Design and Manufacturing | 1 |
| IME 1142 | Materials Joining | 1 |
| MATH 1261 | Calculus I (2) 1 | 4 |
| MATH 1262 | Calculus II | 4 |
| MATH 2341 | Linear Analysis | 4 |
| PHYS 1141 | General Physics I | 4 |
| PHYS 1143 | General Physics II | 4 |
| STAT 3210 | Engineering Statistics (Upper-Division 2/5) 1 | 3 |
| GENERAL EDUCATION (GE) | ||
| (See GE program requirements below) | 27 | |
| FREE ELECTIVES | ||
| Free Electives | 0 | |
| Total Units | 125-127 | |
- 1
- Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.
- 2
If a course is taken to meet this requirement, it cannot be double-counted to satisfy another Major or Support requirement.
- 3
Maximum of 8 units of MATE 4400 may count towards Technical Electives or Professional Development Electives.
General Education (GE) Requirements
- 43 units required, 16 of which are specified in Major and/or Support.
- If any of the remaining 27 Units is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
- See the complete GE course listing.
- A grade of C- or better is required in one course in each of the following GE Areas: 1A (English Composition), 1B (Critical Thinking), 1C (Oral Communication), and 2 (Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning).
| Lower-Division General Education | ||
| Area 1 | English Communication and Critical Thinking | |
| 1A | Written Communication | 3 |
| 1B | Critical Thinking (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| 1C | Oral Communication | 3 |
| Area 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning | |
| 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 3 | Arts and Humanities | |
| 3A | Arts | 3 |
| 3B | Humanities: Literature, Philosophy, Languages other than English | 3 |
| Area 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | |
| 4A | American Institutions (Title 5, Section 40404 Requirement) | 3 |
| 4B | Social and Behavioral Sciences | 3 |
| Area 5 | Physical and Life Sciences | |
| 5A | Physical Sciences (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| 5B | Life Sciences | 3 |
| 5C | Laboratory (may be embedded in a 5A or 5B course) (1 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 6 | Ethnic Studies | |
| 6 | Ethnic Studies | 3 |
| Upper-Division General Education | ||
| Upper-Division 2/5 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning or Physical and Life Sciences (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Upper-Division 3 | Arts and Humanities | 3 |
| Upper-Division 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) (3 units in Major) 1 | 0 |
| Total Units | 27 | |
- 1
- Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.