The Colorado School of Mines (CSM) is at the forefront of all aspects of materials education and research. A unique feature of materials education at CSM is the flexibility offered students to choose the educational path most appropriate for their goals. Students in the interdisciplinary materials science program at Mines may select any of the five participating departments as their home department: Chemical Engineering, Physics, Metallurgical & Materials Engineering, Engineering or Chemistry.

Research

There are tremendous opportunities for researchers in materials science and engineering to meet the exciting demands for the development and processing of new materials, and to extend the range of service and application of existing and traditional materials. The graduate students in materials science actively participate in six research centers on the CSM campus. The following centers promote interaction between students and faculty from different departments and interested scientists and engineers from industry and government agencies:

• Colorado Center for Advanced Ceramics
• Center for Welding, Joining and Coatings Research
• Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center
• Advanced Coatings and Surface Engineering Laboratory
• W.J. Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy
• Center for Solar and Electronic Materials

Degree Programs

Both the M.S. and Ph.D. consist of a broad-based interdisciplinary program that ensures a sound understanding of the scientific principles of materials with specialization in one of the following primary areas:

• Advanced Polymeric Materials
• Biomaterials
• Ceramics
• Composites
• Computational Materials Science
• Electronic Materials
• Joining Science
• Mechanics of Materials
• Nuclear Materials
• Surfaces & Interfaces/Films & Coatings

All students in Materials Science must complete the following core curriculum:

• MLGN500 – Processing, Microstructure and Properties of Materials
• MLGN512/MTGN412 – Ceramic Engineering
• MLGN530/CRGN415/CHGN430 – Introduction to Polymer Science
• MLGN501/CHGN580 – Structure of Materials
• MLGN504/MTGN555 – Solid State Thermodynamics OR
  CHEN509 – Advanced Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
• ML511 – Kinetic Concerns in Materials Processing

Master of Science - Thesis option

This degree requires a minimum of 36 credit hours of acceptable coursework and research. Eighteen of these credits must be course credits from the materials science core curriculum listed above. The remaining 18 credits must be research hours culminating in the successful writing and defense of a thesis.

Master of Science – Non-thesis option

Students pursuing the non-thesis option are required to complete the 18 credit hour core curriculum as well as 12 additional course credits in a specialty area. The final six credits are a case study that must be written and defended .

Doctor of Philosophy

The Ph.D. program consists of 72 hours of course and research credit after the Bachelor’s Degree. Students must complete the materials science core curriculum plus additional courses as required by the focus area as well as a minimum of 30 hours of research credit. A written and/or oral qualifying examination in one of the primary areas listed above is also required. Students must then write and defend a doctoral dissertation.

Admissions/Entrance Requirements

The primary admission requirement for this interdisciplinary program is a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences, physical science, or engineering, equivalent to the degree programs offered at CSM in the following departments: Chemistry and Geochemistry, Engineering (mechanical, electrical, or civil), Chemical Engineering, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, or Physics.

A student admitted to this graduate program who has not taken one or all of the following courses (or equivalent) will be required to satisfy any such deficiency early in their program of study: Mechanics, Differential Equations, Modern Physics, Physical Chemistry/Chemical Thermodynamics.

The completed application must contain two official transcripts of all previous college work, three letters of recommendation, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) results (CSM graduates exempted), and any supporting materials that the applicant wishes to provide. Applications are considered throughout the year.

Fall Admission	Yes
Financial support priority deadline	Jan. 15
U.S. citizen application deadline	July 1
International application deadline	April 1
Spring Admission	Yes
U.S. citizen application deadline	Nov. 1
International application deadline	Sept. 1
GRE required	Yes
Subject test required	No
Average accepted Verbal	515
Average accepted Quantitative	745
Average accepted Analytical Writing	4.1

Financial Assistance

All accepted students are provided funding through teaching and research assistantships. TA and RA contracts typically cover tuition, fees and a monthly stipend for one academic year, the majority of which are awarded in the fall. The academic departments award all fellowships and assistantships in conjunction with the admissions review process.

Federal student loans are also available to give graduate students additional funding beyond any assistantships and fellowships they might receive .

Contacts

Dr. David Olson, Lead Scientist
Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program
Colorado School of Mines
Golden, CO 80401
Phone: 303-273-3660
FAX: 303- 384-2307