Materials Science and Engineering (BS): Nanomaterials Concentration
The Materials Science and Engineering (BS): Nanomaterials Concentration provides a comprehensive understanding of materials science and engineering, emphasizing the unique properties of materials at the nanoscale. This concentration delves into the fundamental principles governing the interactions and characteristics of materials at the atomic levels. Students explore advanced topics such as the design and manipulation of ultra-thin films, nanowires, nanoparticles, and other nanostructures and gain a deep understanding of how nanoscale phenomena鈥攕uch as quantum confinement, surface area effects, and interfacial properties鈥攄iffer from the behaviors observed in bulk materials. They also study how engineering materials at the nanoscale can impact their structural and functional properties, enabling groundbreaking applications in fields such as electronics, energy storage, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing.
Admission
Students complete the standard set of engineering first-year courses, which include courses in the humanities, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and computing. Students may apply to join the Department of Materials Science and Engineering as degree-seeking students via the . Students can declare a nanomaterials concentration during the CODA process or any subsequent semester once they join the MSE program.听
Curriculum
At NC State, Materials Science and Engineering students are trained to understand the complexities of all classes of material. Our curriculum begins with core courses in thermodynamics, kinetics, and structure, building a strong foundation before advancing to mechanical, thermal, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties.
Hands-on learning is a cornerstone of the program, with two laboratory courses that immerse students in analytical techniques to characterize materials at all scales and measure their properties. Our program covers cutting-edge technologies like nanomaterials, biomaterials, advanced functional materials, materials forensics, computational modeling, and AI-driven materials optimization.
A cornerstone of this concentration is MSE 465: Nanomaterials, a specialized course that introduces students to the unique properties and applications of materials at the nanoscale. This course covers the fundamentals of nanostructured materials, including their synthesis, characterization, and integration into various applications. Topics include quantum confinement effects, surface area-to-volume ratios, and the role of nanoscale phenomena in influencing material behavior.听 To further tailor their education, students select four electives from a diverse array of courses in materials processing, engineering, chemistry, physics, and related disciplines. This flexibility allows students to explore topics aligned with their specific interests and career goals. For example, students interested in energy applications might choose electives focusing on nanomaterials for batteries, photovoltaics, or fuel cells, while those aiming for careers in electronics may explore courses in semiconductor materials or quantum mechanics.听
In our two-semester capstone senior design project, students apply their knowledge to solve practical materials challenges with industry partners. Working in teams, you'll tackle hands-on problems and bridge classroom learning with real-world impact.听
The Materials Science and Engineering program is accredited by the .
Accelerated Bachelor鈥檚/Master鈥檚 Program
The gives students the opportunity to earn a bachelor鈥檚 and a master鈥檚 degree in five years. Four graduate courses (12 credit hours) can be taken while still an undergraduate student and can be double-counted towards both the bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees.
Contact Information
3002 Engineering Building 1 (EB1)
911 Partners Way, Raleigh NC 27695-7907
919.515.2377
Plan Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Math | ||
| 惭础听141 | Calculus I 1,2 | 4 |
| 惭础听241 | Calculus II 1,2 | 4 |
| 惭础听242 | Calculus III 3 | 4 |
| 惭础听341 | Applied Differential Equations I | 3 |
| 厂罢听370 | Probability and Statistics for Engineers | 3 |
| Sciences | ||
| 颁贬听101 &补尘辫;听颁贬听102 | Chemistry - A Molecular Science and General Chemistry Laboratory 1,2 | 4 |
| 颁贬听201 &补尘辫;听颁贬听202 | Chemistry - A Quantitative Science and Quantitative Chemistry Laboratory | 4 |
| 颁贬听220 | Introductory Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| 辞谤听颁贬听221 | Organic Chemistry I | |
| 颁贬听222 | Organic Chemistry I Lab | 1 |
| 笔驰听205 &补尘辫;听笔驰听206 | Physics for Engineers and Scientists I and Physics for Engineers and Scientists I Laboratory 1,2 | 4 |
| 笔驰听208 &补尘辫;听笔驰听209 | Physics for Engineers and Scientists II and Physics for Engineers and Scientists II Laboratory | 4 |
| Economics | ||
| 贰颁听205 | Fundamentals of Economics | 3 |
| 辞谤听贰颁听201 | Principles of Microeconomics | |
| 辞谤听础搁贰听201 | Introduction to Agricultural & Resource Economics | |
| Ethics Elective (verify requirement) | ||
| Required Courses | ||
| 惭厂贰听201 | Structure and Properties of Engineering Materials 2 | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听255 | Experimental Methods for Structural Analysis of Materials | 2 |
| 惭厂贰听260 | Mathematical Methods for Materials Engineers | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听270 | Materials Science and Engineering Seminar | 1 |
| 惭厂贰听300 | Structure of Materials at the Nanoscale | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听301 | Introduction to Thermodynamics of Materials | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听320 | Introduction to Defects in Solids | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听335 | Experimental Methods for Analysis of Material Properties | 2 |
| 惭厂贰听355 | Electrical, Magnetic and Optical Properties of Materials | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听360 | Kinetic Processes in Materials | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听370 | Microstructure of Inorganic Materials | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听380 | Microstructure of Organic Materials | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听420 | Mechanical Properties of Materials | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听423 | Introduction to Materials Engineering Design | 1 |
| 惭厂贰听470 | Materials Science and Engineering Senior Design Project | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听480 | Materials Forensics and Degradation | 3 |
| Nanomaterials Concentration Courses | ||
| 惭厂贰听465 | Introduction to Nanomaterials | 3 |
| Nanomaterials Electives (choose 2 courses) | 6 | |
| MSE Processing Elective (choose 1 course) | 3 | |
| Technical Elective (choose 1 course) | 3 | |
| Technical Writing | ||
| 贰狈骋听331 | Communication for Engineering and Technology | 3 |
| 辞谤听贰狈骋听333 | Communication for Science and Research | |
| Orientation Course | ||
| 贰听101 | Introduction to Engineering & Problem Solving 1,3 | 1 |
| 贰听102 | Engineering in the 21st Century 3 | 2 |
| 贰听115 | Introduction to Computing Environments 1 | 1 |
| GEP Courses | ||
| 贰狈骋听101 | Academic Writing and Research 1,3 | 4 |
| GEP Humanities | 6 | |
| GEP Social Sciences | 3 | |
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 2 | |
| GEP Elective | 3 | |
| GEP Interdisciplinary Perspectives | 3 | |
| GEP Global Knowledge (verify requirement) | ||
| GEP Foundations of American Democracy (verify requirement) | ||
| World Language Proficiency (verify requirement) | ||
| Total Hours | 126 | |
- 1
College of Engineering CODA class
- 2
Grade of C or higher required
- 3
Grade of C- or higher required
Nanomaterials Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 颁贬听435 | Introduction to Quantum Chemistry | 3 |
| 颁贬听437 | Physical Chemistry for Engineers | 4 |
| 颁贬贰听460 | Chemical Processing of Electronic Materials | 3 |
| 颁贬贰听465 | Colloidal and Nanoscale Engineering | 3 |
| CHE 468/568/ECE听468/568 | Conventional and Emerging Nanomanufacturing Techniques and Their Applications in Nanosystems | 3 |
| 贰听304 | Introduction to Nano Science and Technology | 3 |
| 笔驰听407 | Introduction to Modern Physics | 3 |
| Other nanomaterials electives (with departmental approval). Contact your MSE academic advisor for options. | ||
| 500-level courses (with departmental approval). Available to students who are admitted to an engineering ABM program OR have a minimum 3.5 overall GPA. | ||
MSE Processing Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MSE 440/540 | Processing of Metallic Materials | 3 |
| MSE 445/545 | Ceramic Processing | 3 |
| MSE 455/555 | Polymer Technology and Engineering | 3 |
| MSE 456/556 | Composite Materials | 3 |
| MSE 460/560 | Microelectronic Materials | 3 |
Engineering听Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Any MSE processing elective | ||
| CE听214 | Engineering Mechanics-Statics | 3 |
| CE听225 | Mechanics of Solids | 3 |
| CSC听110 | Computer Science Principles - The Beauty and Joy of Computing | 3 |
| CSC听111 | Introduction to Computing: Python | 3 |
| CSC听113 | Introduction to Computing - MATLAB | 3 |
| CSC听116 | Introduction to Computing - Java | 3 |
| ECE听331 | Principles of Electrical Engineering | 3 |
| ISE听311 | Engineering Economic Analysis | 3 |
| MAE听206 | Engineering Statics | 3 |
| MAE听208 | Engineering Dynamics | 3 |
| MAE听214 | Solid Mechanics | 3 |
| MSE听485 | Biomaterials | 3 |
| MSE/ECE/PY 489 | Solid State Solar and Thermal Energy Harvesting | 3 |
| MSE 409/509/NE听409/509 | Nuclear Materials | 3 |
| MSE听490 | Special Topics in Materials Science and Engineering | 1-4 |
| MSE听495 | Materials Engineering Projects (department approval required) | 3 |
| NE听202 | Radiation Sources, Interaction and Detection | 4 |
| TE听205 | Analog and Digital Circuits | 4 |
| Other engineering electives (with departmental approval). Contact your MSE academic advisor for options. | ||
| 500-level courses (with departmental approval). Available to students who are admitted to an engineering ABM program OR have a minimum 3.5 overall GPA. | ||
Technical Electives听
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Any MSE Processing Elective | ||
| Any Engineering Elective | ||
| BCH听451 | Principles of Biochemistry | 4 |
| CH听223 &补尘辫;听CH听224 | Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry II Lab | 4 |
| CH听315 | Quantitative Analysis | 3 |
| CH听401 | Systematic Inorganic Chemistry I | 3 |
| MA听305 | Introductory Linear Algebra and Matrices | 3 |
| MA听351 | Introduction to Discrete Mathematical Models | 3 |
| MA听401 | Applied Differential Equations II | 3 |
| MA听402 | Mathematics of Scientific Computing | 3 |
| MA听405 | Introduction to Linear Algebra | 3 |
| MEA听463 | Fluid Physics | 3 |
| PY听328 | Stellar and Galactic Astrophysics | 3 |
| 笔驰听407 | Introduction to Modern Physics | 3 |
| PY 411/511 | Mechanics I | 3 |
| PY 412/512 | Mechanics II | 3 |
| PY 414/514 | Electromagnetism I | 3 |
| PY 415/515 | Electromagnetism II | 3 |
| Other technical electives (with departmental approval). Contact your MSE academic advisor for options. | ||
| 500-level courses (with departmental approval). Available to students who are admitted to an engineering ABM program OR have a minimum 3.5 overall GPA. | ||
Ethics Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EED 414/514 | Ethics for Engineering Education | 3 |
| IDS听201 | Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| PHI听214 | Issues in Business Ethics | 3 |
| PHI听221 | Contemporary Moral Issues | 3 |
| PHI听227 | Data Ethics | 3 |
| PHI/STS 325 | Bio-Medical Ethics | 3 |
| PHI听375 | Ethics | 3 |
| STS听302 | Contemporary Science, Technology and Human Values | 3 |
| STS听304 | Ethical Dimensions of Progress | 3 |
Semester Sequence
This is a sample.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Hours | |
| 颁贬听101 &补尘辫;听颁贬听102 | Chemistry - A Molecular Science and General Chemistry Laboratory 1,2 | 4 |
| 贰狈骋听101 | Academic Writing and Research 1, 3 | 4 |
| 贰听102 | Engineering in the 21st Century 3 | 2 |
| 惭础听141 | Calculus I 1,2 | 4 |
| 贰颁听205 | Fundamentals of Economics or Principles of Microeconomics or Introduction to Agricultural & Resource Economics | 3 |
| 听 | Hours | 17 |
| Spring Semester | ||
| 颁贬听201 &补尘辫;听颁贬听202 | Chemistry - A Quantitative Science and Quantitative Chemistry Laboratory | 4 |
| 贰听101 | Introduction to Engineering & Problem Solving 1,3 | 1 |
| 贰听115 | Introduction to Computing Environments 1 | 1 |
| 惭础听241 | Calculus II 1,2 | 4 |
| 笔驰听205 &补尘辫;听笔驰听206 | Physics for Engineers and Scientists I and Physics for Engineers and Scientists I Laboratory 1,2 | 4 |
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 1 | |
| 听 | Hours | 15 |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| 惭厂贰听201 | Structure and Properties of Engineering Materials 2 | 3 |
| 厂罢听370 | Probability and Statistics for Engineers | 3 |
| 惭础听242 | Calculus III 3 | 4 |
| 笔驰听208 &补尘辫;听笔驰听209 | Physics for Engineers and Scientists II and Physics for Engineers and Scientists II Laboratory | 4 |
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 1 | |
| 听 | Hours | 15 |
| Spring Semester | ||
| 惭厂贰听255 | Experimental Methods for Structural Analysis of Materials | 2 |
| 惭厂贰听260 | Mathematical Methods for Materials Engineers | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听270 | Materials Science and Engineering Seminar | 1 |
| 颁贬听220 or 颁贬听221 | Introductory Organic Chemistry or Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| 颁贬听222 | Organic Chemistry I Lab | 1 |
| 惭础听341 | Applied Differential Equations I | 3 |
| GEP Requirement | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 16 |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| 惭厂贰听300 | Structure of Materials at the Nanoscale | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听301 | Introduction to Thermodynamics of Materials | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听320 | Introduction to Defects in Solids | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听335 | Experimental Methods for Analysis of Material Properties | 2 |
| Technical Elective | 3 | |
| GEP Requirement | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 17 |
| Spring Semester | ||
| 惭厂贰听355 | Electrical, Magnetic and Optical Properties of Materials | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听360 | Kinetic Processes in Materials | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听370 | Microstructure of Inorganic Materials | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听380 | Microstructure of Organic Materials | 3 |
| Nanomaterials Concentration Elective | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 15 |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| 惭厂贰听420 | Mechanical Properties of Materials | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听423 | Introduction to Materials Engineering Design | 1 |
| 惭厂贰听465 | Introduction to Nanomaterials | 3 |
| 贰狈骋听331 or 贰狈骋听333 | Communication for Engineering and Technology or Communication for Science and Research | 3 |
| MSE Processing Elective | 3 | |
| GEP Requirement | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 16 |
| Spring Semester | ||
| 惭厂贰听470 | Materials Science and Engineering Senior Design Project | 3 |
| 惭厂贰听480 | Materials Forensics and Degradation | 3 |
| Nanomaterials Concentration Elective | 3 | |
| GEP Requirement | 3 | |
| Ethics Elective (GEP Requirement) | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 15 |
| 听 | Total Hours | 126 |
- 1
College of Engineering CODA class
- 2
Grade of C or higher required
- 3
Grade of C- or higher required
Career Opportunities
Earning a Bachelor of Science in MSE: Nanomaterials offers graduates a wealth of exciting career opportunities across diverse industries. The interdisciplinary nature of an MSE education prepares individuals to work in roles that involve designing, developing, and optimizing materials that drive innovation and address societal needs. Here鈥檚 what you can expect:
Starting Salary: Graduates in MSE typically earn an average starting salary of $70,000 to $90,000 per year.
What can I do with a Nanomaterials Concentration?
A concentration in nanomaterials within MSE offers exciting career opportunities in cutting-edge fields where material properties at the nanoscale are leveraged to revolutionize industries. Nanomaterials professionals are equipped with the expertise to design, characterize, and optimize materials with unique properties like high strength, lightweight, improved electrical conductivity, and enhanced reactivity, making them invaluable in various applications. Whether you aim to pursue a career in research, product development, or environmental sustainability, a concentration in Nanomaterials provides a strong foundation for growth.
Common Industries
- Advanced Materials & Manufacturing: Engineer nanostructured metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites for high-performance applications.
- Electronics & Semiconductors: Develop nanoscale materials for microchips, sensors, transistors, and quantum computing.
- Aerospace & Defense: Enhance lightweight, high-strength materials for aircraft, spacecraft, and protective coatings.
- Energy & Sustainability: Create high-efficiency solar cells, next-gen batteries, and hydrogen storage materials.
- Biomedical & Healthcare: Design nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery, biosensors, and tissue engineering.
- Automotive & Transportation: Improve fuel efficiency, durability, and lightweight materials for electric and conventional vehicles.
- Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology: Innovate in nanomedicine, drug delivery systems, and diagnostic tools.
- Environmental Engineering: Engineer nanomaterials for water purification, air filtration, and carbon capture.
- Consumer Goods: Develop self-cleaning surfaces, antimicrobial coatings, and high-performance textiles.
Career Titles
- Nanomaterials Scientist: Conducting research and development of new nanomaterials for specific applications.
- Nanotechnology Engineer: Designing and fabricating nanoscale devices and systems.
- Quality Assurance Specialist: Ensuring nanoscale products meet rigorous safety and performance standards.
- Sustainability Specialist: Developing nanomaterials for eco-friendly and sustainable solutions
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