Materials Science and Engineering, B.S.

In addition to adhering to the General Education requirements, students must meet the following requirements to receive the B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at UC Merced.

All students in the School of Engineering, regardless of major, are required to complete all requirements for all majors with a C- or better. (ENGR 091 , ENGR 191 , CE 001 , and BIOE 001 are the only exceptions, which require a P grade.)

Students in the School of Engineering must repeat a required course after receiving a grade of D+, D, D-, F, Unsatisfactory, or Not Passed, and may do so no more than twice beyond the initial enrollment in the class. Students may repeat a course only one time (for a total of two attempts to earn a C- or better). If students do not complete these requirements, they may take these courses at another institution or petition the school who hosts the course for a third attempt. The third attempt is not guaranteed at UC Merced.

Required Major Preparation [36 Units]

All School of Engineering students are required to complete the following lower-division major preparation courses.

Mathematics Requirement [20 units]

Complete the following five courses:

MATH 021: Calculus I for Physical Sciences and Engineering Units: 4
MATH 022: Calculus II for Physical Sciences and Engineering Units: 4
MATH 023: Vector Calculus Units: 4 or MATH 023H: Honors Vector Calculus
MATH 024: Linear Algebra and Differential Equations Units: 4
MATH 032: Probability and Statistics Units: 4

Physics Requirement [8 units]

Complete the following four courses:

Computing Requirement [4 units]

Choose one of the following options:

ME 021: Engineering Computing Units: 4 (strongly encouraged), or
BIOE 021: Introduction to Computing with Python Units: 4 (required for Bioengineering majors)

Biological or Environmental Systems Science Requirement [4 units]

Choose one of the following courses:

BIO 001: Contemporary Biology Units: 4
BIO 005: Concepts and Issues in Biology Today Units: 4
BIOE 002: Molecular Biology for Engineers Units: 4
ESS 001: Introduction to Earth Systems Science Units: 4
ESS 005: Introduction to Biological Earth Systems Units: 4

Engineering Fundamentals Requirement [15 Units Specified]

The following fundamentals courses are required:

ENGR 057: Statics and Dynamics Units: 4
ENGR 120: Fluid Mechanics Units: 4
ENGR 151: Strength of Materials Units: 4
ENGR 155: Engineering Economic Analysis Units: 3

Materials Science and Engineering Core [29 Units Specified]

The MSE core consists of courses designed to give all students a common foundation of core knowledge and skills specific to the discipline:

Lower Division Requirement [4 units]

Complete the following course:

ENGR 045: Introduction to Materials Units: 4

Upper Division Requirement [25 units]

Complete the following courses:

MSE 109: Materials Thermodynamics Units: 4
MSE 110: Solid State Materials Properties Units: 4
MSE 111: Materials Kinetics and Processing Units: 4
MSE 112: Materials Selection and Performance Units: 4
MSE 113: Materials Characterization Units: 4
ENGR 193: Engineering Capstone Design I Units: 2
ENGR 194: Engineering Capstone Design II Units: 3

Additional Degree Requirements [9 Units Specified]

CHEM 002: General Chemistry I Units: 4 or CHEM 002H: Honors General Chemistry I
CHEM 010: General Chemistry II Units: 4 or CHEM 010H: Honors General Chemistry II
ENGR 191: Professional Seminar Units: 1

Technical Electives Requirement [At Least 12 Units]

Technical electives should be selected in a manner that is complementary to, yet integrated with, your major area of study, and should be determined through close interaction with your major area advisor.

At least 8 units of these 12 units must be upper division courses. At least 4 units of these electives must be selected from those that are “MSE 1xx”.

The following list has been approved; you may also choose technical electives from others offered in the School of Engineering, subject to approval by the MSE faculty and the satisfaction of any prerequisites on a case-by-case basis:

MSE 104: Engineering Living Systems Units: 3
MSE 114: Polymeric Materials Units: 4
MSE 115: Ceramic Materials Units: 3
MSE 116: Composites Units: 3
MSE 117: New Materials Units: 3
MSE 118: Introduction to Nanotechnology and Nanoscience Units: 4
MSE 119: Materials Simulations Units: 3
MSE 121: Mechanical Behavior of Materials Units: 4
MSE 126: Nanodevice Fabrication: Bridging Research and Education Units: 4
MSE 161: Sustainable Energy: Powering the World with Minimal Use of Materials Units: 4
MSE 195: Upper Division Undergraduate Research Units: *
BIOE 045: Introduction to Biomaterials Units: 4
CHEM 008: Principles of Organic Chemistry Units: 3
CHEM 100: Organic Synthesis and Mechanism Units: 4
CHEM 112: Quantum Chemistry and Spectroscopy Units: 4
CHEM 113: Chemical Thermodynamics and Kinetics Units: 4
CHEM 153: Physical Chemistry Laboratory Units: 2
ENGR 096: Human-Centered Research and Design Units: 2
ENGR 097: Engineering Service Learning I Units: 2
ENGR 170: Introduction to Electron Microscopy Units: 3
ENGR 197: Engineering Service Learning II Units: 3
ME 129: Tribology Units: 3
ME 135: Finite Element Analysis Units: 4
ME 137: Computer Aided Engineering Units: 3
ME 138: Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics Units: 4
PHYS 010: Introductory Physics III Units: 4
PHYS 116: Mathematical Methods Units: 4
*A maximum of 4 units of MSE 195 can apply to this requirement.

Additional Degree Recommendations [2-7 Units]

ENGR 096: Human-Centered Research and Design Units: 2
ENGR 097: Engineering Service Learning I Units: 2
ENGR 197: Engineering Service Learning II Units: 3

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