Nov 05, 2024  
2024-2025 Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Catalog

Materials Science and Engineering, Nanotechnology Emphasis, B.S.


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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 with an emphasis in Nanotechnology 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 unless the course is offered as Pass/No Pass only, which requires 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.

 

Materials Science and Engineering, B.S. Four-Year Course Plan   

Requirements for the Materials Science and Engineering Major


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

Required Major Preparation [48 Units]


Computing Requirement [4 units]


Choose one of the following options:

Biological or Environmental Systems Science Requirement [4 units]


Choose one of the following courses:

Additional Degree Requirements [10 Units]


Complete the following courses: 

Engineering Fundamentals Requirement [18 Units]


Complete the following courses:

Materials Science and Engineering Core [26 Units]


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

Nanotechnology Emphasis


Nanotechnology is shaping – and will continue to shape – the needs of future workforces. To prepare our graduates for current and future industrial needs, it is pertinent to have an education program that clearly shows students how nanotechnology connects and interacts with each traditional field. Also, aspects of nanotechnology that are not covered by traditional disciplines need to be taught. We therefore offer a Nanotechnology Emphasis that fills this educational gap and is complementary to our other programs. In addition to teaching nanoscale synthesis, characterization and fabrication, as well as simulation, other salient aspects of this Emphasis include:

  1. enabling students to learn the knowledge and skills that bridge basic research and applications-specific device development;
  2. enabling students to integrate knowledge from different fields, and thus to stay abreast of the exciting scientific breakthroughs and discoveries that are advancing the field of nanotechnology every day.

Nanotechnology Emphasis Core Requirement [11-12 units]


 Complete the following courses in addition to the MSE core courses:

Nanotechnology Emphasis Technical Elective Requirement [1-4 units]


If needed, complete one of the MSE major technical elective courses, to meet the 12-unit MSE major technical elective requirement. The course should be one that is not used to complete the nanotechnology core requirements, above. The nanotechnology core requirements complete 11 of the 12 technical electives required for the MSE major.

Nanotechnology Emphasis Program Learning Outcomes


Upon completion (as assessed through homework assignments, lab reports, quizzes and examinations), graduates will be able to:

  • demonstrate fundamental understanding of nanomaterials, nanoscale devices and systems, and instrumentation for nanotechnology;
  • demonstrate the basic hands-on ability to make nanomaterials such as nanoparticles and 1D nanostructures;
  • demonstrate knowledge of how to characterize nanomaterials;
  • demonstrate the ability to apply basic knowledge from different fields in the context of nanotechnology;
  • view nanotechnology from inter- and multi-disciplinary perspectives.

Transfer Students


To be admitted to the Materials Science and Engineering major transfer students must meet the following requirements:

Applicants will, at the time of admissions have completed at minimum each of the following courses (or their equivalent) with a “C-” or better:

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