Materials Science
About Our Graduate Program
Materials Science and Engineering is concerned with the processing, composition, crystallography, microstructure and the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of metallic, semiconductor, ceramic, photonic, polymeric and composite materials, among others, for uses particularly in advanced applications such as solid state electronics, energy conversion and aerospace.
The USC Materials Science and Engineering Program was established in 1967. It is a graduate program granting Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy and Engineer degrees. The general requirements are outlined in the University Catalogue and the School of Engineering Bulletin. The information at the links below is intended to summarize the information contained in the University Catalogue and the Engineering Bulletin for graduate studies in Materials Science (MASC). For students entering with a B.S. degree, it normally takes three semesters to obtain an M.S. degree and a total of about five years from the B.S. for the Ph.D. degree. Data regarding time to graduation and job placement (fields) is available from the department office.