Depending on your primary interest, you'll also take courses in chemistry, biology, geology, physics, economics, anthropology, history, or sociology. The department offers a minor in environmental sciences for those who are majoring in engineering or the natural sciences. Students graduate with a bachelor of arts degree. Engineers use that knowledge to develop, prepare, modify, design, and employ materials for specific applications. At Hopkins, you'll work with professors at the forefront of this exciting field.
Materials scientists explore a variety of areas.
A few examples are design of surgical implants that will not be rejected by the body, development of structural parts of an aircraft capable of withstanding extreme stress, and production of computer components with crucial tolerances for conduction and heat dissipation. Materials science majors study physics, chemistry, mathematics, and materials science. You can choose from programs in acoustics, biomaterials, ceramics, composites, corrosion, electrochemistry, metallurgy, engineering physics, nanostructured materials, nondestructive evaluation, polymers, failure analysis, and electronic materials. The Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, headquartered in the department, coordinates faculty and student efforts to develop methods for testing materials for use in buildings, space vehicles, and the human body. The Department of Mathematical Sciences represents the spirit of modern mathematics by integrating applied and theoretical mathematics and illuminating its use as a common language through which engineers and scientists interact.