Undergraduate Programs

Welcome

Welcome to the Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Department undergraduate programs. Chemical engineering adds chemistry as a full partner to the traditional engineering sciences of mathematics and physics. Chemical engineers typically focus on chemical processes that turn raw materials into valuable products. Students choose this program to gain the broadest scientific and technical skills to apply to chemical, biological, and environmental problems. Chemical engineers have contributed to advances as wide-ranging as nuclear medicine, pharmaceuticals, plastics and other synthetic materials, pollution controls, and improvements to food production.

The Materials Science Engineering program is designed to provide education and training areas related to the impact of materials on the environment and biotechnology. Its distinctive features include a multi- and interdisciplinary curriculum which develops students’ communication and computer skills, and draws from the physical sciences as well as other engineering disciplines such as chemical, civil, and mechanical engineering. Students gain a fundamental understanding of structures, properties, processing, and performance with an emphasis in engineering aspects of materials and the selection of materials to meet design goals.

[Link to the General Catalogue for more information]

Chemical Engineering

Chemical Engineering - FAQ

What is a Chemical Engineer?

A chemical engineer is an engineer with a deep understanding of chemistry, physics, and mathematics.

American Chemical Society (ACS) Web site

"Chemical Careers in Brief" on the ACS Web site

What does a Chemical Engineer do?
Because the talent set of a chemical engineer is very broad, our graduates find employment in a wide variety of fields, ranging from the chemical industry, to the biomedical industry, to the electronics industry, to the petroleum industry, to law and beyond.

Why come to UCI?
Our classes are small in size, taught by experts in their fields, and our students have many opportunities to work on cutting edge research projects with excellent faculty.

What is unique about the undergraduate program at UCI?

The undergraduate degree offers technical electives that cover a broad spectrum of topics (environmental, materials, biochemical, biomedical, electronic processing), and students can specialize in one of three areas:

Environmental Engineering
Biochemical Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering

What if I want a more biological focus?
Because many of the courses required for the degree are foundation courses for biological science (e.g., general and organic chemistry, physical chemistry, biochemistry), undergraduate majors in Chemical Engineering can easily take additional classes in Biological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering.

What if I want to go into a Health Profession?
By adding just a few additional classes to the standard Chemical Engineering curriculum, students can satisfy all requirements for entry into Medical School, Pharmacy School, and Dental School.

Chemical Engineering Mission & Goals

Chemical Engineering - FAQ

Materials Engineering - FAQ

What does a materials engineer do?

Materials engineers perform the following tasks:

Processing materials (metals, alloys, ceramics, polymers, composites, nanomaterials, electronics)
Examining their behavior
Characterizing their structures
Improving their performance
Modifying their behavior
Predicting their properties

The role of materials engineer in treating materials is similar to that of a doctor (Physician, Dentist, Psychiatrist) in treating people. This similarity is illustrated in this diagram.

Why should you consider seriously becoming a materials engineer?

Materials have been so intimately related to the emergence of human culture and civilization that early cultures were identified by the name of the significant materials dominating those cultures. These include the stone, bronze, and iron ages of the past.
Future technology, new advances, and novel products are driven by research and development in materials.
Materials are crucial to national defense, the quality of life, and the security of the nation.
Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) has become an indispensable component of modern engineering education

There is an increased level of sophistication required of engineering materials in a rapidly changing technological society and the selection of materials has increasingly become an integral part of almost every modern engineering design.

Over the next 30 years, MSE will be one of the following four areas, which will dominate research, advances and development in Information Technology, Materials Technology, Genetic Technology, Energy Technology. Where
design used to be purely mechanical, at present, the selection of materials has become an integral part of almost every modern engineering design.

Can you combine the major in materials science and engineering with another engineering major?

MSE is an interdisciplinary field. It has intimate relations to other engineering disciplines
(e.g. AE, ChE, CE, EE, CE, EnvE, and ME)in terms of processing, selection, and performance.

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of MSE and its intimate relations with other engineering disciplines,
a student will be able to satisfy the degree requirements of two majors in a straightforward manner.
Graduate with both MSE and another engineering major (AE, ChE, ME, EE, CE, BME) will have stability, flexibility, security, and adaptability in their professional careers.
As a result of the exposure to a second engineering discipline, you will have the knowledge, the training, and the skills to participate in projects or programs of an interdisciplinary nature (in industry, national labs. or universities).

Why should join the materials science engineering (MSE) major at UCI?

Prepare you for graduate study if you wish to continue your education.
Help you advance your career in a focused field.

As anUndergraduate student in the MSE program at UCI, you will have the unique opportunity of working on exciting research projects that distinguished faculty members oversee and that are funded by federal agencies.

Your participation in research will:

Provide you with hand-on experience
Train you for teamwork
Develop your ability to think and create
Improve you ability to write technical reports.
Prepare you for graduate study if you wish to continue your education and advance your career.

What are the job opportunities in MSE?

Many aerospace, manufacturing, ceramics, composite, biomedical, and electronic industries are located in Orange County and Southern California. Considerable activities in these industries are related to materials and their efficient production and use. Some examples include the design of semi-conductors and optoelectronic devices, development of new technologies based on composites and high temperatures superconductivity, microelectronic-mechanical systems (MMS), nanotechnology, biomedical products, performance (quality, reliability, safety, energy efficiency, etc.) in automobile and aircraft components, improvement in nondestructive testing techniques, corrosion behavior in refineries, radiation damage in nuclear power plants, and fabrication of advanced materials.
National laboratories, such as Livermore more national lab focus on research and development in materials
During the past two decades, Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) has become an indispensable component of modern engineering education; partly because of the increased level of sophistication required of engineering materials in a rapidly changing technological society; and partly because the selection of materials has increasingly become an integral part of almost every modern engineering design.
Very recently, a number of distinguished scholars have expressed the view that during the 21st century, MSE will become an integral part of the curricula of all engineering disciplines. In particular, several analysts have predicted that over the next 30-40 years, the following four areas will dominate research, advances, and development: Information Technology, Materials Technology, Genetic Technology, and Energy Technology.

Materials Science Engineering

Materials Engineering - FAQ

Materials Science Engineering Minor

Materials Science Engineering

Materials Science Engineering Mission & Goals

Materials Science Engineering Minor