Modern society is heavily dependent on advanced materials: lightweight composites for faster vehicles, optical fibres for telecommunications and silicon microchips for the information revolution. Materials scientists study the relationships between the structure and properties of a material and how it is made. They also develop new materials and devise processes for manufacturing them. Materials Science is vital for developments in nanotechnology, quantum computing and nuclear fusion, as well as medical technologies such as bone replacement materials.
This diverse programme spans the subject from its foundations in physics and chemistry to the mechanical, electrical, magnetic and optical properties of materials, and the design, manufacture and applications of metals, alloys, ceramics, polymers, composites and biomaterials. This work is supported by excellent laboratory and teaching facilities.
In a course taught partly by the Sa•d Business School, the programme also offers an opportunity to develop an understanding of entrepreneurship (learning how to write a business plan, raise capital and start a company). There are also voluntary options to learn a language .
The Oxford Materials degree includes the special feature in its fourth year of an eight-month full-time research project, when you join a research team here at Oxford in one of the strongest Departments of Materials in the UK or, occasionally, at an overseas university or in an industrial laboratory (additional costs may be associated with a project outside Oxford). Significant scientific publications sometimes result from these projects. You will learn how to break down a complex problem, design an experiment or model, manage a project and communicate your results. These research skills are transferable to many career paths and are valued highly by employers.
The current MEng degree is accredited by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) on behalf of the UK Engineering Council, towards the achievement of Chartered Engineer status. Reassessment of the programme by the IOM3 is expected to take place in 2015; the outcome will determine the accreditation status of the programme for those cohorts of students commencing their studies in the studies in the period October 2015 to October 2019.