University of Texas at El Paso Academic Catalog

Academic Catalog

M.S. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

The Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department offers a Master of Science with a major in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering and an undesignated Master of Science with a major in Engineering.

Admission Requirements 

General requirements for admission are described in the Admissions section of the Graduate Catalog. Specific admission requirements for the Master’s Program in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering are described below.

  1. Undergraduate or graduate degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering or a related field from an ABET accredited institution in the United States, or proof of equivalent education from an international institution.
  2. Demonstration of academic achievement and potential as indicated by the results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and upper-level undergraduate and graduate coursework. The GRE requirement is waived for students from UTEP.
  3. Three letters of recommendation.
  4. A written statement of intent, describing his/her career goals and describing his/her vision of the path to those goals (including a summary of previous preparation and of his/her expectations from the graduate program).
  5. Submission of a CV/resume summarizing, professional and academic experience and any other evidence of background, knowledge, research, or work experience in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering that may be available.
  6. Applicants from countries where English is not the first language are required to demonstrate English proficiency. Please consult the graduate school website for required scores.

Applicants whose undergraduate degrees are not in Metallurgical or Materials Engineering (i.e., a related engineering or physical sciences field) might need to successfully complete specific undergraduate deficiency work as recommended by the Graduate Program Director or Committee.

Additionally, applicants must submit evidence of successful completion (or equivalent) of coursework that includes:

MME 3306Rate Processes3
MME 3308Appl Chemical Thermodynamics3
MME 3406Nanofuctnl Physical Metallurgy4
MME 3407Mechanical Behavior of Matls4

Degree Requirements 

Two options are available for students: Thesis and Non-Thesis (Project or Course Only):

Program Requirement
Thesis Program 24 semester hours of coursework
6 semester hours of thesis (MME 5398 and MME 5399)
30 total semester hours minimum
Project Program 30 semester hours of coursework
6 semester hours of project (MME 5396 and MME 5397)
36 total semester hours minimum
Non-Thesis (Course Only) Program 36 semester hours of coursework
36 Semester hours minimum

Specific Requirements for Thesis Program

Students in the Thesis Option must take 30 credit hours, which includes MME 5398 Thesis I and MME 5399 Thesis II. MME 5399 Thesis II must be repeated until the thesis is defended and submitted to the Graduate School for approval. The thesis courses cannot be counted toward requirements in the Non-Thesis Options. All students must take at least 24 hours of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering courses (15 core credits and 9 elective credits). The student is allowed to enroll in three (3) credit hours of approved coursework in areas outside the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Program or three (3) credit hours of Individual Studies in place of one three-credit hour elective course. All courses require a grade of C or better and a minimum GPA of 3.0 is required for graduation. Please refer to the graduate catalog for time limitations and other degree requirements. 

Thesis work should clearly demonstrate the student’s ability to execute independent, innovative research. The research should be original and make a contribution to the state of the art. Thesis work is the substance of the MS degree. It must be written, in whole or in part, as a technical paper and submitted to a peer-reviewed journal prior to scheduling the thesis defense. The student should be the first author along with the research advisor (if applicable to include research advisor).

MME 5398
MME 5399
Thesis
and Thesis
6
Fifteen (15) credit hours of core courses and nine (9) credit hours of graduate elective MME courses.30
Total Hours30

Specific Requirements for Non-Thesis Project Program

Students in the Non-Thesis Project Option must take 36 hours , which include MME 5396 Graduate Projects and MME 5397 Graduate Projects. The student is allowed to enroll in three (3) credit hours of approved coursework in areas outside the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Program or three (3) credit hours of Individual Studies in place of one three-credit hour elective course. A report must be submitted to the supervising project instructor. The project courses MME 5396 Graduate Projects and MME 5397 Graduate Projects can not be counted toward requirements in the Thesis Option. All courses require a grade of C or better and a minimum GPA of 3.0 is required for graduation. 

MME 5396
MME 5397
Graduate Projects
and Graduate Projects
6
Fifteen (15) credit hours of core courses and fifteen (15) credit hours or graduate elective MME courses.36
Total Hours36

Specific Requirements for Non-Thesis Course Only Program

Students in the Course Only Option must take 36 credit hours, which include 15 credits of core courses and 21 credits of elective courses. The student is allowed to enroll in three (3) credit hours of approved coursework in areas outside the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Program or three (3) credit hours of Individual Studies in place of one three-credit hour elective course. All courses require a grade of C or better and a minimum GPA of 3.0 is required for graduation.

Fifteen (15) credit hours of core courses15
Twenty-one (21) credit hours of graduate elective MME courses. 21
Total Hours36

Advisory Committees

The department faculty, as well as the Graduate School, will approve all program curricular proposals. The Graduate Program Director will monitor the academic progress of all graduate students until a thesis or research advisor is chosen. This can be done at any time after the student matriculates into the MS program. The student will form a Research Advisory Committee that will consist of the research advisor (who serves as chair) and at least one additional member of the department faculty and one faculty member from another academic department. An additional member of the committee is often desirable if a concentration is involved, bringing the committee size to four members. All members of the committee must be members of the Graduate Faculty. Students are required to meet with their Research Advisory Committee at least once per year

Degree Plan

Thesis Option

Core Courses (A minimum grade of B is required)
Required
MME 5302Matls Extrac, Synth, & Process3
MME 5401Microstruc & Microchem Charac4
MME 5403Adv Concepts in Matls Sci Engr4
MME 5304Phase Transformations & Micros3
MME 5195Graduate Seminar1
Electives
Select 9 credit hours of graduate MME courses9
Required
MME 5398Thesis3
MME 5399Thesis3
Total Hours30

 Non-Thesis Option

Core Courses (A minimum grade of B is required)
Required
MME 5302Matls Extrac, Synth, & Process3
MME 5401Microstruc & Microchem Charac4
MME 5403Adv Concepts in Matls Sci Engr4
MME 5304Phase Transformations & Micros3
MME 5195Graduate Seminar1
Electives
Select 15 credit hours of graduate MME courses15
Graduate Project Courses
Required:
MME 5396
MME 5397
Graduate Projects
and Graduate Projects
6
Total Hours36

Non-Thesis (Course Only) Option 

Core Courses (A minimum grade of B is required)
Required:
MME 5302Matls Extrac, Synth, & Process3
MME 5401Microstruc & Microchem Charac4
MME 5403Adv Concepts in Matls Sci Engr4
MME 5304Phase Transformations & Micros3
MME 5195Graduate Seminar1
Electives
Select 21 credit hours of graduate MME courses21
Total Hours36

Graduate MME Courses

MME 5191Individual Studies1
MME 5194Graduate Research1
MME 5195Graduate Seminar1
MME 5245Electron Microscopy Appl2
MME 5294Graduate Research2
MME 5302Matls Extrac, Synth, & Process3
MME 5304Phase Transformations & Micros3
MME 5308Mechanical Behavior of Matls3
MME 5311Ceramics3
MME 5313Advanced Matrls & Composites3
MME 5314Polymer Engineering3
MME 5315Metallography and Micro Inter.3
MME 5321Engineering Alloys3
MME 5331Biomaterials3
MME 5333Biofabrication3
MME 5342Hydrometallurgy3
MME 5350Material Joining Technologies3
MME 5351Non-Destructive Examination3
MME 5352Root Cause Analysis3
MME 5353Fracture Mechanics3
MME 5390Special Topics3
MME 5391Individual Studies3
MME 5394Graduate Research3
MME 5396Graduate Projects3
MME 5397Graduate Projects3
MME 5401Microstruc & Microchem Charac4
MME 5403Adv Concepts in Matls Sci Engr4
MME 5494Graduate Research4
MME 5594Graduate Research5
MME 5694Graduate Research6

Undesignated Degrees

A student holding a Bachelor of Science with a major in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering or a related materials area can work toward a 33-semester-hour undesignated MS in Engineering degree without a thesis, leading to a concentration in an area outside of the major. The coursework includes 18 hours in the major field and at least 12 hours in the particular area of concentration. The work in the major field includes credit for MME 5396 Graduate Projects. Possible areas of concentration are indicated below.

Interdisciplinary Concentrations 

Possible concentrations for an undesignated degree or to complement a research area or to achieve a broader materials background can involve Business Management, Operations Research, Structural Mechanics, Electronic Device Design and Development, Experimental Design, Manufacturing Engineering emphasizing advanced manufacturing and Materials Processes, Waste Materials Management, and the like. Some examples of other engineering courses which might contribute to developing these areas include the following:

Civil Engineering

CE 5305Advanced Structural Analysis3
CE 5312Environmental Processes3
CE 5317Stats Methods for Civil Eng3

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

EE 5311Semiconductor Device Physics3
EE 5312Advanced Optoelectronic Device3

Mechanical/Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering

IE 5351Linear and Combin Optimiz Meth3
or MECH 5351 Intro to 3D Eng & Additive Mfg
IE 5352Design/Analysis Indust Exprmnt3
IE 5390Special Topics Industrial Engr3
or MECH 5390 Special Topics Mechanical Engr

Metallurgical and Materials Engineering or Materials Engineering Concentration

Students from other Science or Engineering disciplines might wish to develop a concentration in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering or Materials Engineering. In general, a concentration could be developed by considering the core program:

MME 5302Matls Extrac, Synth, & Process3
MME 5304Phase Transformations & Micros3
MME 5401Microstruc & Microchem Charac4
MME 5403Adv Concepts in Matls Sci Engr4

Other Concentrations

Other concentrations could be developed by other groupings of courses or areas represented by course groupings. The first three core courses shown above from the MS program are also articulated with the PhD program core in materials science and engineering. Students completing the MS degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering and pursuing the PhD degree in Materials Science and Engineering can waive MASE 6400, and MASE 6402 , substituting work as recommended by the Graduate Program Director.