Undergraduate Program

Overall Course 3 SB Requirements

The undergraduate program serves students who wish to seek employment in materials-related industries directly after graduation, as well as those who will perform graduate work in the engineering or science of materials. The sophomore and junior years contain some required core subjects that address the fundamental relations between processing, microstructure, properties, and applications of modern materials. The core subjects are followed by a sequence of restricted electives that provide more specialized coverage of particular materials and applications. The required thesis or industrial internship experience provides an opportunity for students to lay groundwork for their future careers.

Course 3 students take the General Institute Requirements (6 Science subjects, 8 Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences subjects), the Departmental Core, four Restricted Electives, four Unrestricted Electives and a thesis or two industrial internship reports. The REST (Restricted Electives in Science and Technology) and LAB (Laboratory) requirements are satisfied by the Departmental Core. The S.B. requires 185–195 units beyond the General Institute Requirements. The Departmental subjects cover all aspects of materials science and engineering. See the MIT Bulletin for subject descriptions. Many of the Course III offerings are archived by MIT's Open Couse Ware.

Requirements for Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering/Course III

General Institute Requirements (GIRs)

• Science Requirement, 6 Subjects
• Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Requirement, 8 Subjects
• Restricted Electives in Science and Technology (REST) Requirement (can be satisfied by 3.012 and 3.021J in the Departmental Program), 2 Subjects
• Laboratory Requirement (can be satisfied by 3.014 in the Departmental Program), 1 Subjects
• Total GIR Subjects Required for S.B. Degree, 17 Subjects

Communication Requirement

• The program includes a Communication Requirement of 4 subjects: 2 subjects designated as Communication Intensive in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CI-H) and 2 subjects designated as Communication Intensive in the Major (CI-M).

Departmental Program Units
Subject names below are followed by credit units, and by prerequisites or corequisites
Required subjects, 128-138 units

• 3.012 Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering, 15, REST
• 3.014 Materials Laboratory, 12, LAB, CI-M
• 3.016 Mathematical Methods for Materials Scientists and Engineers, 12, 18.02
  OR 18.03 Differential Equations, 12, 18.02, REST
  OR 18.034 Differential Equations, 12, 18.02, REST
• 3.022 Microstructural Evolution in Materials, 12, 3.012
• 3.024 Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Properties of Materials, 12, 3.012
• 3.021J Introduction to Modeling and Simulation, 12, 3.016 OR 18.03*, REST
  OR 1.00 Intro. to Computers and Engineering Problem Solving, 12, 18.01, REST
  OR 6.001, Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, 15, REST
  OR 3.016 Mathematical Methods for Materials Scientists and Engineers, 12, 18.02
• 3.032 Mechanical Properties of Materials, 12, 3.016*
• 3.034 Organic and Biomaterials Chemistry, 12, 3.091*
• 3.042 Materials Project Laboratory, 12, 3.012, 3.014, CI-M
• 3.044 Materials Processing, 12, 3.022, 3.016*
• 3.Th.U Thesis, 9–15 units per student's choice
  OR 3.930 Industrial Practice, 6, plus 3.931 Industrial Practice, 6

*Alternative prerequisites are listed in the subject description.

Restricted Electives

Everyone in the Course 3 Undergraduate Degree Program needs to take the core subjects, four restricted electives (48 units), four unrestricted electives, and a thesis or internship. For the four restricted electives, we have a wide selection of subjects offered within the department. Additionally, a subject outside Course 3 may be substituted for a Course 3 restricted elective by petition to the Undergraduate Committee (contact Amy Shea, amyshea(at)mit.edu) if it has a substantial materials content, and does not overlap significantly with another elective you have taken. It is also sometimes possible to substitute graduate subjects for restricted electives. We recommend you submit a petition prior to taking a subject that you wish to substitute for a restricted elective. Guidelines are given at the end of this document.

There are no limitations on which restricted electives you can take, and no need to specialize in a particular area. However, for students with interests in particular areas of Materials Science and Engineering, the following listing will be helpful. Department UG restricted electives are shown in bold; graduate subjects in italics. (Some of the UG restricted electives shown in bold meet with graduate subjects, but the requirements and grading for G and UG students will generally be different.). You need to petition to count a graduate subject, or any other subject not shown in bold or not listed here, as a restricted elective. Approval of these subjects is not automatic, and may depend on what other restricted electives you have taken. Note that many graduate subjects are offered only on alternate years. If you want to take a graduate subject, it is a good idea to discuss the prerequisites with the instructor first, since the prerequisites are often flexible. Please plan your restricted electives with your advisor, and petition in advance if you wish to substitute a subject.

Bio and Polymeric Materials For advice on choices, contact your advisor or Prof. Christine Ortiz (cortiz(at)mit.edu).

3.063 S Polymer Physics (12), 3.012
3.064 F Polymer Engineering, (12), 3.032, 3.044
3.051J (20.340J) S Materials for Biomedical Applications, (12), 3.091**, 7.012**, 3.012
3.052 S Nanomechanics of Materials and Biomaterials, (12), 3.032
3.053J (20.310J) F Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Biomechanics, (12), 18.03 or 3.016, 7.012
3.080 F Economic & Environmental Materials Selection (12)
3.91 S Mechanical behavior of plastics (12), 3.032,3.064 recommended
3.94 F Morphology of polymers (12), 3.063
3.941J (10.668J) S Statistical mechanics of polymers (12)
3.951J (2.921J) S Deformation and fracture of polymers (12), 3.032
3.96J (20.441J) F Biomaterials-tissue interactions (12) 3.091, 5.60, 7.012**
3.961J (20.451J) S Design of medical devices and implants (12) 2.79J**
3.962J (20.462J) F Molecular principles of biomaterials (12)
3.97J (20.411J) S Cell-matrix mechanics (12) 3.091, 5.60, 7.012**
3.971J (20.410J) S Molecular, cellular and tissue biomechanics (12) 7.012, 2.002**
3.98 S Polymer synthetic chemistry (9) 3.034

Electronic Materials For advice on choices, contact your advisor or Prof. Caroline Ross (caross(at)mit.edu).

3.15 F Electrical, Optical and Magnetic Materials and Devices, (12), 3.024
3.153 S Nanoscale Materials, (12), 3.024
3.155J (6.152J) FS Micro/Nano Processing Technology, (12), CI-M
3.080 F Economic & Environmental Materials Selection (12)
3.42 F Electronic materials design (12), 3.23
3.43J (6.720J) F Integrated microelectronic devices (12), 3.42
3.44 F Electronic materials and thin film processing (12), 3.20, 3.21
3.45 S Magnetic materials (12), 3.23
3.46 S Photonic materials and devices (12), 3.42
3.47 S Processing of materials on the nanoscale (12), 3.20 and 3.21
3.48J (6.778J) S Materials and procs for microelectromechanical devices & systems (12) 3.155J

Structural and Environmental Materials For advice on choices, contact your advisor or Prof. Chris Schuh (schuh(at)mit.edu.

3.064 F Polymer Engineering, (12), 3.032, 3.044
3.07 F Introduction to Ceramics, (12), 3.012
3.14 S Physical Metallurgy, (12), 3.012, 3.022, 3.032
3.080 F Economic & Environmental Materials Selection (12)
3.048****/3.52J(10.581J) S Materials Processing (12), 3.022, 3.044
3.083J (2.60) S Fundamentals of Advanced Energy Conversion, (12), 3.044
3.085J(22.70/22.070) S Materials for Nuclear Applications, (12), 3.012
3.40J (22.71J) S Modern physical metallurgy (12) 3.14
3.53 I Electrochemical processing of materials (9) 3.044
3.54J (22.72J) F Corrosion: the environmental degradation of materials (12) 3.012
3.55 F Macroscopic transport in materials processing (12), 18.03
3.57J (ESD73J) F Materials selection, design and economics (9)

Fundamental and Computational Materials Science For advice on choices, contact your advisor or Prof. Nicola Marzari (marzari(at)mit.edu).

3.046 S Thermodynamics of Materials, (12), 3.016 or 18.03 or 18.034, REST
3.021J*** S Introduction to Modeling and Simulation (12), 3.016 or 18.03 or 18.034, REST
3.016*** F Mathematical Methods for Materials Scientists and Engineers (12), 18.02
3.072****/ 3.60 F Symmetry, structure and tensor properties of materials (12) 3.07
3.073****/ 3.27 S Diffraction and structure (12), 3.024
3.074****/ 3.34 S Imaging of materials (12), 3.024, 3.073 or permission
3.320 S Atomistic computer modeling of materials (12) 3.022, 3.20,3.23

Archaeology and Materials Science For advice on choices, contact your advisor or Prof. Dorothy Hosler (hosler(at)mit.edu).

3.984 F Materials in Ancient Societies: Metal (12)

**Alternative prerequisites are listed in the catalog.

***These subjects can count as part of the core or as restricted electives, but not both. Count them as restricted electives if, for example, you already satisfied the math requirement with 18.03 or the computing requirement with 1.00 or 6.001.

****These subjects meet with graduate subjects. You do not need to petition for these subjects to count as restricted electives.

Guidelines for Petitions

1. The UG Committee is generally willing to allow one substitution, proided the substituted subject has (i) significant materials content, and (ii) does not overlap substantially with a restricted elective that the student has already taken. For example, if you take a graduate version of an undergraduate subject, we would not normally allow both to count towards the four restricted electives, so a petition to count the graduate subject towards the 4 REs would likely not be approved. So if you have taken 3.064 the UGC would probably not approve 3.91 as a restricted elective. If you have taken 3.053j the UGC would probably not approve 3.971j as a restricted elective.
2. The UGC is unlikely to allow more than one substitution, unless there are exceptional circumstances (e.g. if you are transfering into the department as a junior).
3. You are strongly recommended to petition prior to taking the subject that you want to substitute. The UGC does not guarantee approving substitutions retroactively.

Departmental Program units that also satisfy the GIRs (39)

Unrestricted Electives, 48 units

Total Units beyond the GIRs Required for S.B. Degree, 185–195

No subject can be counted both as part of the 17-subject GIRs and as part of the units required beyond the GIRs. Every subject in the student’s departmental program will count towards one or the other, but not both.

For more information on Course 3 SB requirements, see the MIT Course Catalogue.

The Department also offers Course 3A, a more flexible program designed for students such as pre-med, pre-MBA and pre-law students, and Course 3C, Archaeology and Materials. The Course 3 program is accredited by ABET (the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) while Courses 3A and 3C are not.

Updated December 28, 2007.