Materials Science and Engineering

Carnegie Mellon's Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) aims to determine and exploit the connection between the processing, structure, and properties of materials; by doing so, engineers can develop materials that fit the performance criteria for specific applications, which are useful for the technological needs of our society. In addition to this product-specific knowledge, MSE is concerned with the implications of materials production and their sustainable use on the environment and energy resources.

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Programs

Undergraduate

Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering

Master’s

Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering

Welcome to Materials Science and Engineering

MSE graduates go on to...

Work at companies like:

3M
Apple
Epic
Ford Motor Company
Intel
Merck
Naval Nuclear Laboratory
Nike
Procter and Gamble
Samsung

Pursue graduate degrees or careers in academia at universities like:

Carnegie Mellon University
Cornell University
Duke University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Pennsylvania State University
Stanford University
University of California Berkely
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Michigan

Research areas

Advanced materials processing and manufacturing

Materials computation and informatics

Materials for information technology

Soft and bioactive materials

Sustainable energy production, conversion, and storage

News

Dec 20

News & Events

Taking a chance on ambition

The Dowd Engineering Seed Fund for Graduate Student Fellowships funds innovative research proposals.

Each year, the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation invites alumni speakers to share their experiences at its Entrepreneurial Student Lunch Seminars. This year’s seminars featured two MSE graduates - Sam Kernion (M.S. ‘10, Ph.D. ‘12) and Dylan Lew (B.S./M.S. '21).

MSE entrepreneurs return to inspire students

Dec 18

Advanced Manufacturing

A solid step for polymer rings

A new discovery about how ring-shaped polymers behave has the potential to enable new ways for scientists to design more sustainable materials.

Research paper

Watch the Video

Dec 2

Advanced Manufacturing

Embracing fundamentals for future success

MSE alumnus Craig Hillman has used the foundation laid by his undergraduate education at CMU to guide his path as an entrepreneur and businessman.

Nov 21

Advanced Manufacturing

Recent graduate spotlight: Ruby Jiang

As a graduate student in the materials science and engineering department, Jiang maximized opportunities to foster interdisciplinary connections, resulting in a job at Meta.

Nov 18

News & Events

Alumna receives Society of Women Engineers award

Siya Scindia was chosen from among thousands of student members for her outstanding leadership.

Nov 7

Artificial Intelligence

Engineering entrepreneurs find their way

When faculty and students in the College of Engineering create intellectual property, our culture supports their efforts to form startups.

Doctoral student Rajib Halder participated in the Neutron Scattering Graduate Research Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which offers graduate students the opportunity to work on collaborative research projects alongside scientific experts at two of the Department of Energy’s world-leading neutron sources.

Student completes prestigious research program

Oct 16

Cyberphysical Systems

Faculty members win DOE Early Career Program Awards

Carlee Joe-Wong and Thomas O’Connor win the Early Career Program Award from the Department of Energy Office of Science for their independent projects.

Oct 14

Advanced Manufacturing

Multi-university team pursues AI-enhanced design tool

A recent DARPA award will bring together researchers from multiple universities to develop novel turbomachinery design tools to break the one-part-one-material paradigm.

Watch the Video

Oct 2

Health & Biomedicine

CMU-led project to fight obesity, Type 2 diabetes receives ARPA-H backing

A CMU-led team of researchers has secured an award of up to $34.9 million from ARPA-H to develop a new bioelectric medicine-based treatment for obesity and Type 2 diabetes patients.

Oct 1

Health & Biomedicine

Putting on the refinishing touches

After a rewarding experience as an intern at Covestro in 2023, senior Phylicia Ma returned to the company in 2024 as an Automotive Coatings Intern.

Materials science and engineering and chemical engineering faculty will collaborate on projects supported by the Naval Nuclear Laboratory to create additively manufactured structural alloys that can sustain extreme environments.

Interdisciplinary team partners to develop advanced alloys

Sep 24

Advanced Manufacturing

Kurchin receives Simons Foundation award

Rachel Kurchin has received the Scientific Software Research Faculty Award from the Simons Foundation in support of her project, "Next-generation charged DFT calculations in Julia.”

Sep 19

Advanced Manufacturing

Bockstaller named Alcoa Professor

Michael Bockstaller has been appointed as an endowed chair, one of the highest recognitions that can be awarded to a faculty member.

Sep 12

Advanced Manufacturing

Energizing a global partnership in materials

Ismaila Dabo brings his computational research expertise to the materials science and engineering department at Carnegie Mellon, and to bolster the department's engagement at CMU-Africa.

Sep 10

Advanced Manufacturing

Thirsty for opportunity

This summer, senior Isabelle Millan was a Product Excellence Scientist Intern for the Unilever Health & Wellbeing Collective, where she worked on one of their Liquid IV products.

Aug 20

Advanced Manufacturing

Unlocking quantum potential

Juan Chamorro, who recently joined the MSE department as an assistant professor, has always enjoyed studying physics through the lens of chemistry. Pursuing a career in materials science and engineering is allowing him an opportunity to explore the discipline in a more tangible way.