Minor in Materials Engineering
Materials Engineering focuses on the study, design, development, and testing of materials required in a wide range of manufactured products. Materials engineering is at the core of many new technologies that help decrease our impact on the earth, give us technological tools that change lives, and protect our health; ranging from renewable energy to environmental remediation, biomedical devices to controlled drug delivery, automotive and aerospace industries, buildings, and bridges.
The Materials Engineering minor at Tufts University enables undergraduate students to access a set of courses that will direct their education towards this field, giving them a background that will enrich the career directions and research questions that they can take on. It is intended to broaden the applied skills of physical scientists, build the fundamental knowledge of engineers, and enable all students to build interdisciplinary skill sets that will differentiate them in their future careers.
Program Requirements and Policies
The Materials Engineering minor is administered by the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. If you have any questions, please contact the program advisor Associate Professor Ayse Asatekin.
Students taking on the Materials Engineering minor should have a strong background in chemistry and physics. It is highly recommended that students take CHEM 1 or 11 before starting this minor.
Each student must take a total of 6 courses as described below. No class can be taken pass/fail. The same course cannot be used to satisfy more than one requirement at the same time. Please refer to the Minor in Materials Engineering Degree Sheet as you progress throughout the program.
Chemistry Foundation (select one course)
- CHEM 2: General Chemistry II with Lab
- CHEM 12: Expanded General Chemistry II with Lab
Materials Science and Engineering Fundamentals (select one course)
- ES 10: Introduction to Materials Science
- ME 11: Materials and Manufacturing
Materials Chemistry and Physics Fundamentals (select one course)
- CHBE 121/MSE 137: Principles of Polymerization
- CHBE 122/MSE 138: Physical Chemistry of Polymers
- PHY 72: Intro to Solid State
- PHY 173/MSE 140: Intro to Solid State Physics I
- PHY 174/MSE 141: Intro to Solid State Physics II
Materials Engineering and Application (select one course)
Application: Biomaterials
- BME 153/CHBE164/MSE 151: Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine
- BME 155: Biosurfaces and Interfaces
- ME 117/MSE 173: Biomaterials
Application: Plastics, Clean Tech, and Others
- CHBE 121/MSE 137: Principles of Polymerization
- CHBE 122/MSE 138: Physical Chemistry of Polymers
- CHBE 175: Electronic Devices for Energy Applications
- EE 113/MSE 110: Semiconductor Devices
- EE 114/MSE 111: Physics of Solar Cells
Electives (select two courses)
- Additional coursework from the Materials Chemistry and Physics Fundamentals category above
- or additional coursework from the Materials Engineering and Application category above
- or additional coursework from the approved courses below
Characterization of Materials
- CHBE 122/MSE 138: Physical Chemistry of Polymers
- CHEM 163/MSE 126: Diffraction Methods of Structure Determination
- CHEM 136/MSE 123: Spectroscopy and Molecular Structure
- EE 214/MSE 201: Optoelectronic Characterization
- CHEM 144/MSE 125: Spectroscopic Methods of Analysis
Mechanics of Materials
- ES 5: Intro to Mechanics
- BME 11: Biomechanics
- BME 149/MSE 150: Biomechanics
- CEE 122/MSE 174: Solid Mechanics
- ME 20: Mechanics I
- ME 125/MSE 176: Mechanics of Materials at the Micro and Nano Scale
- ME 120/CEE 122/MSE 174: Solid Mechanics
Materials Processing and Analysis
- ME 110/MSE 170: Manufacturing Processes and Materials Technology
- ME 114/CHBE 114/MSE 171: Theory and Application of Polymer Materials and Processing
- ME 116/CHBE 116/MSE 172: Composite Materials
- ME 157/MSE 179: Mass Tr. and Phase Transformations in Mater. Process.
Surface Science
- CHBE 140: Surface and Colloid Chemistry
- CHEM 138/MSE 128: Atomic Scale Structure and Properties of Surfaces
- CHEM 139/MSE 129: Chemistry of Complex Interfaces, Catalysts and Devices
- BME 155: Biosurfaces and Interfaces