The Master of Science in Materials Science with Physics Emphasis provides advanced study of materials science and physics, with coursework covering the general properties of materials, advanced materials characterization, and the fundamental chemical and physical principles governing materials behavior. Topics include crystal structure, extended and point defects, mechanical, electrical, thermal and magnetic properties of metals, ceramics, electronic materials, composites and organic materials, as well as atomic structure, chemical bonding, thermodynamics, crystallography, electronic and optical properties, defects, and phase transformations. Students develop theoretical understanding and practical experience in modern techniques for characterizing materials' structural, chemical, mechanical, thermal, and electronic properties, including data interpretation and the selection of appropriate characterization techniques. The program also includes laboratory safety and compliance, seminar, colloquium, and graduate level research. Students may choose a thesis or non-thesis option, with research and thesis in materials science for the thesis option and research problems producing a research report rather than a thesis for the non-thesis option. The Physics emphasis includes Classical Mechanics, covering Lagrangian, Hamiltonian, and Poisson formulation of mechanics Electromagnetic Theory, covering electrostatics, magnetostatics, time-varying fields, Maxwell's equations, and electromagnetic wave propagation and Quantum Mechanics, covering non-relativistic quantum theory, operator formalism, perturbation and variational methods. Elective courses include Advanced Computational Physics, which covers numerical solution methods of partial differential equations and applications to electricity, magnetism, fluid dynamics, and quantum mechanics Statistical Thermodynamics.
