Materials Engineering, B.S. at Iowa State University

Our Materials Engineering programme will give you a strong grounding in the physical and chemical structure, properties, manufacturing and design of materials.

The first year has been designed to offer a very broad skills based engineering background, to discover how materials engineering interacts with all the different engineering disciplines in practice. You’ll build a strong foundation in fundamental engineering concepts such as fluid mechanics, design, materials and mathematical modelling, whilst being introduced to Materials Engineering through our ‘Explore Materials’ module. Modules in design and experimental practice, will help you to develop the practical workshop and laboratory-based skills necessary for all engineers, and put core programme material into perspective and to practical use.

Our specialised second year modules have been designed to help you focus on developing an understanding of the relationships between the structure and composition of materials and their properties and functionality, and the broad range of applications for different materials.

The third-year design project will provide you an opportunity to use your skills and knowledge to address topics associated with the four Grand Challenges for the future as identified by the UK Government - artificial Intelligence and data, ageing society, clean growth and the future of mobility. For example, with projects tackling issues ranging from the development of bespoke devices for personalised healthcare to the use of sustainable energy to create the next generation of transportation systems.

Students who choose to take the MEng degree will carry out an industry or research-linked project that focuses on solving real engineering research and design problems.

We've recently undertaken a review of our programmes to ensure that they will prepare you for life beyond 2030 and ensure they reflect the global challenges facing both our society and your future as engineers. We have developed the modules we offer in consultation with our students, staff and industry to enhance your student experience and graduate employability.

We have mapped the modules in our programmes to a range of attributes that we would like our students to attain, within the areas of creativity, resilience, communication and professional practice in order to produce well-rounded, interested and highly employable graduates. This not only ensures that students develop the required technical knowledge and understanding as they progress through their degree, but also gives us the confidence that students will graduate with skills they can apply to a range of future careers or higher-level study.