Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy

 

In the University of Cambridge, the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy plays a central and major role in research and teaching in materials science. With an academic staff of nearly 30, the Department's research covers all major areas of the subject, and this breadth is reflected in the scope of our four-year undergraduate course. The emphasis in undergraduate teaching is always on the underlying principles which are applicable to the whole range of engineering materials; ceramics, metals, polymers, composites, solid state device materials. The lecture courses are integrated with laboratory work, projects, example classes and supervisions in small groups. Supervisions are mainly college-based and enable students to receive personal attention, so that they can receive additional help with the topics they find difficult and have extra encouragement with the parts of the course in which they are particularly interested. Contact with industry plays an important part in the course through visits to industrial facilities, speakers from industry and vacation placements. The Department is home to graduate students from all over the world, mostly studying for the PhD degree. About 30 new graduate students arrive each year, many of whom join us with backgrounds in physics, chemistry or engineering. A new course leading to the MPhil degree in Computational Modelling of Materials has been started in 2000, designed for graduates from many different disciplines, and echoing the rapid growth and importance of this approach in materials research. Formal application, as either a PhD or MPhil student, must be made to the Board of Graduate Studies, but the Department is always keen to hear from prospective students, who are encouraged to identify possible research areas from the staff profiles on this site.

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