Materials Engineering Professional Master’s Program (PMP)
The mission of the Professional Master’s Program (PMP) in Materials Engineering is to provide advanced technical education combined with mentorship and additional professional development opportunities in key areas of interest in the industrial sectors of regional, national, and international importance.
The Professional Master’s concentration will allow for up to 12 credits outside of MSE, including courses in business/leadership/entrepreneurship/communication etc., which are traditionally not permitted on research-based plans of study. The Professional Master’s will require at least 18 credits of MSE courses, of these courses, 9 credits of MSE courses should have a topical emphasis determined by the student in consultation with their faculty advisor (i.e. materials processing, materials characterization, physical metallurgy, computational materials, etc.). The topical emphasis is defined by the student, there are not predetermined categories as these selections are intended to reflect the specific career goals of the student. If students elect to take Independent Study projects, these will need to be related to the topical emphasis.
General Program Questions
Research Focus
The Professional Master’s concentration will not have a thesis/research component and will not have direct matriculation to the Ph.D., program. This degree is not a pathway to Ph.D. Students who wish to apply to the PhD program may do so at the completion of the Professional Master’s and will be required to submit a separate graduate application. However, students are encouraged to seek out independent study projects that enhance their professional development and are aligned with long-term career goals.
Core and technical courses
Total course hours in the plan of study = 30
Required Courses: All students will be required to take a 3 credit “Fundamentals of MSE” course which is exclusive to professional master’s students and will be offered each fall semester. Two semesters of a zero-credit seminar course will be required. The preferred seminar is MSE 691, which is exclusive to Professional MS students, however, students can petition to take alternative seminar courses (i.e. the Engineering Management Seminar) to fulfill this requirement if needed.
Students will be required to apply 6 credits of “Industrial Practice” Electives on their plan of study, which include but are not limited to the following:
- CE 59700 – Advanced Project Management and Analysis
- IE 53000 – Quality Control
- IE 57000 – Manufacturing Process Engineering
- MSE 59700 – Lean Manufacturing
- MSE 59700S – Commercial Metallurgical Processing
- MSE 59900 – Independent Study (Design Project, up to 6 credits total are allowable)
Students are permitted (but not required) to apply 12 credits of “Professional Breadth” Electives on their plan of study, which include but are not limited to the following:
- ABE 59100 – Understanding Federal Science Policy and Funding
- CE 52400 – Legal Aspects in Engineering Practice
- ENGL 42100 – Technical Writing
- IE 54500 – Engineering Economic Analysis
- MGMT 56200 – Project Management
- MGMT 60000 – Accounting for Managers
- MGMT 66000 – Operations Management
The remaining courses are expected to be 500 and 600 level courses from the MSE course catalog or from science or engineering disciplines. A minimum of 18 credits must be in MSE courses. A list of acceptable courses for each of the above categories will be maintained by the MSE graduate committee, published online, and reviewed on an annual basis.
Plan of Study Samples
Sample Professional Master's Plan of Study A
12 months to completion; plan of study with MSE topical emphasis on “industrial processing of materials”.
Fall Semester
- (3) ^MSE 53000 Fundamentals of Materials Engineering for Industrial Practice
- (3) MSE 54800 Deposition Processing
- (3) *MSE 59700S Commercial Metallurgical Processing
- (3) MSE 51200 Powder Processing
- (0) ^MSE 69100 Seminar
Spring Semester
- (3) MSE 51000 Microstructural Characterization Techniques
- (3) MSE 56000 Production of Inorganic Materials
- (3) MSE 59700 Polymer Synthesis
- (3) MSE 53600 Solidification of Castings
- (0) ^MSE 69100 Seminar
Summer Semester
- (6) *MSE 59900 Independent Study (Design Project)
^ Required Core Course; may operate under a temporary number initially
* Industrial Practice Elective (minimum 6 credits required)
# Professional Breadth Elective (12 credits maximum allowed)
Sample Professional Master's Plan of Study B
Plan features a summer off for external internship and four courses that are outside of MSE dept.
MSE topical emphasis on “lean manufacturing”.
Fall Semester
- (3) ^MSE 53000 Fundamentals of Materials Engineering for Industrial Practice
- (3) #IE 54500 Engineering Economic Analysis
- (3) STAT 51100 Statistical Methods
- (3) *MSE 59900 Independent Study (Design Project)
- (0) ^MSE 69100 Seminar
Spring Semester
- (3) *MSE 59700L Lean Manufacturing
- (3) #MGMT 56200 Project Management
- (3) *MSE 59900 Independent Study (Design Project)
- (0) ^MSE 69100 Seminar
Summer Semester
- Off Campus Internship
Fall Semester
- (3) MSE 54700 Intro to Surface Science
- (3) MSE 55000 Physical Properties of Crystals
- (3) #MGMT 66000 Intro to Operations Management
- (0) ^MSE 69100 Seminar
^ Required Core Course; may operate under a temporary number initially
* Industrial Practice Elective (minimum 6 credits required)
# Professional Breadth Elective (12 credits maximum allowed)