The Cornell MS&E undergraduate curriculum consists of two parts: the Common Curriculum and the MS&E Major Courses. Included here is a description of those requirements and the courses that fulfill them.
MS&E Majors graduating in 2009, or 2010 should use the 2009 MS&E Graduation Checklist to plan their course schedules in consultation with their advisors.
MS&E Majors graduating in 2011 or later should use the 2011 MS&E Graduation Checklist to plan their course schedules in consultation with their advisors.
The Common Curriculum is taken by all Cornell engineering undergraduates and is designed to provide the fundamentals in math and science needed to succeed in engineering. This curriculum provides broad exposure to different engineering fields as well as exposure to the social context in which engineering is done via a sequence of liberal studies electives. ENGRD/MS&E 2610 "Introduction to the Mechanical Properties of Materials-From Nanodevices to Superstructures" and ENGRD/MS&E 2620 "Electronic Materials for the Information Age" are ENGRD/MS&E classes in the common curriculum. Students typically affiliate with MS&E after taking ENGRD/MS&E 2610 in the fall of their sophomore year, but may also affiliate after taking ENGRD/MS&E 2620 in the spring of their freshman or sophomore year.
Note: Either ENGRD 2610 or ENGRD 2620 may be used to satisfy MS&E affiliation requirements.
A complete description of Common Curriculum requirements can be found in the Undergraduate Engineering Handbook.
The MS&E Major Curriculum is comprised of Core Courses, MS&E Laboratory, Research, and Design Courses, and Technical Electives.
MS&E Core Courses
MS&E Core Courses are designed to provide a detailed introduction to the basic concepts of Materials Science and Engineering. The principles learned in these classes apply to all types of materials and to all kinds of engineering materials problems. These courses are:
MS&E 2610 "Mechanical Properties of Engineering Materials: From Nanodevices to Superstructures" OR
MS&E 2620 "Electronic Materials for the Information Age"
Note: Whichever of 2610 & 2620 is not taken to satisfy affiliation requirements is taken as an MS&E Core Course.
MS&E 2060 "Atomic and Molecular Structure of Matter"
MS&E 3010 "Chemistry of Materials"
MS&E 3030 "Thermodynamics of Condensed Systems"
MS&E 3040 "Kinetics, Diffusion, and Phase Transformation"
MS&E 3050 "Electronic, Magnetic and Dielectric Properties of Materials"
MS&E 4020 "Mechanical Properties of Materials; Processing and Design"
MS&E Laboratory, Research, and Design Courses
Hands-on experience and design are important parts of an engineering education. Most sophomore courses in MS&E have a laboratory component (2610, 2620, & 2060). All juniors take laboratory courses (3110 and 3120) that complement the junior level core courses (3010-3050) as well as a course in design (3070). Seniors may decide between a two semester laboratory sequence and a research project sponsored by a faculty member leading to the writing of a Senior Thesis (4030/4040 and 4050/4060, respectively). Seniors also take a course in design (4070). In addition, many MS&E undergraduates participate in faculty research projects for academic credit in their sophomore, junior, and/or senior years (MSE 2910/2920, 3910/3920, and 4910/4920, respectively).
Technical Electives
In order to ensure sufficient breadth and depth, the MS&E curriculum requires that students take two materials electives and three materials applications electives, as well as an upper level Technical Elective. One of these courses, or one of the advisor approved electives from the Engineering Distribution, must satisfy the advanced mathematics/computation/modeling requirement. Students with a GPA above 3.5 at the end of the junior year may take additional elective courses to satisfy Honors Program requirements. In choosing electives, students are encouraged to discuss their plans and objectives with their faculty advisor.
MS&E 4100 "Physical Metallurgy and Applications"
MS&E 4610 "Biomedical Materials and Their Applications"
MS&E 5210 "Properties of Solid Polymers"
MS&E 5310 "Introduction to Ceramics"
MS&E 5430 "Thin Film Materials Science"
No other courses may be substituted for the Materials Electives.
Materials Application Electives
The Materials Applications Electives are divided into five categories. These categories reflect the strategic areas that the MS&E Major has identified as being important in the future. Looking ahead, materials will be used more and more in integrated systems where many kinds of dissimilar materials will be combined in new and interesting ways. Thus, the MS&E curriculum reflects a systems approach. Four technological areas have been identified where materials are expected to be the deciding factor in determining whether and how well that technology may succeed, and where a tremendous benefit to society may be expected if it does succeed. A fifth area focuses on Technology Management and Ethics. These courses are designed to provide students with an understanding of the context in which the development and implementation of new technologies takes place.
The Materials Applications Electives categories are listed below, along with courses that have been approved in each of the six categories:
NOTE: (FSAD 4390/BME 5390 and MSE 4610 may not both be counted as Materials Applications Electives due to content overlap)
1. Biotechnology and Life Sciences
4. Technology Management and Ethics
MSE 4810 (also MSE 5870) "Technology Management"
5. Information Science and Technology
CHEME 4800 "Chemical Processing of Electronic Materials"
ECE 4370 "Fiber and Integrated Optics"
ECE 4570 "Silicon Device Fundamentals"
ECE 4820 (also MSE 4820) "Plasma Processing of Electronic Materials"
ECE 5350 "Semiconductor Physics"
ECE 5360 (also MSE 5410) "Nanofabrication of Semiconductor Devices"
MSE 5420 "Flexible Electronics"
MSE 5450 "Magnetic and Ferroelectric Materials"
6. Materials Research
AEP 4440 "Quantum and Nonlinear Optics"
AEP 4500 (also PHYS 4454) "Introductory Solid State Physics"
CHEME 6400 "Polymeric Materials"
MSE 5710 "Analytical Techniques for Materials Science"
MSE 5720 "Computational Materials Science"
FSAD 4360 "Fiber Chemistry"
FSAD 6160 "Rheology of Solids: Dynamic Mechanical Analysis of Fibers and Polymers"
FSAD 6200 "Physical Properties of Fiber-Forming Polymers and Fibers"
FSAD 6660 "Fiber Formation: Theory and Practice"
Students are required to take Materials Applications courses from at least two different categories. One of these must be an MS&E course and two must be taken from other departments (non-MS&E number).
A number of courses at Cornell focus on materials applications. Students wishing to determine if a course not on the above list may be substituted to satisfy the Materials Applications requirement should fill out a petition, have it signed by their advisor, and submit it to the MS&E Director of Undergraduate Studies. The petition must specify the category in which the proposed course should be counted and should include a brief explanation, along with copies of the catalog description and the syllabus for the proposed course.
Outside Technical Elective
An Outside Technical Elective can be any advanced (2000 level or above) technical (engineering or physical science) course that fits into the student's educational objectives.