Materials Science and Engineering (EngScD, PhD)

Doctoral Program

At the end of the first year of graduate study in the doctoral program, candidates are required to take a comprehensive written qualifying examination, which is designed to test the ability of the candidate to apply coursework in problem solving and creative thinking. The standard is first-year graduate level. There are two four-hour examinations over a two-day period.

Candidates in the program must take the oral examination by the end of the spring semester of their second year. Candidates must submit a written proposal and defend it orally before a Thesis Proposal Defense Committee consisting of three members of the faculty, including the adviser, in the spring semester of their third year. Doctoral candidates must submit a thesis to be defended before a Dissertation Defense Committee consisting of five faculty members, including two professors from outside the doctoral program. Requirements for the Eng. Sc.D. (administered by the School of Engineering and Applied Science) and the Ph.D. (administered by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences) can be found on the Doctoral Degrees page.

Areas of Research

Materials science and engineering is concerned with synthesis, processing, structure, and properties of metals, ceramics, and other materials, with emphasis on understanding and exploiting relationships among structure, properties, and applications requirements. Our graduate research programs encompass research areas as diverse as polycrystalline silicon, electronic ceramics grain boundaries and interfaces, microstructure and stresses in microelectronics thin films, oxide thin films for novel sensors and fuel cells, optical diagnostics of thin-film processing, ceramic nanocomposites, electrodeposition and corrosion processes, structure, properties, and transmission electron microscopy and crystal orientation mapping, magnetic thin films for spintronic applications, chemical synthesis of nanoscale materials, nanocrystals, two-dimensional materials, nanostructure analysis using X-ray and neutron diffraction techniques, and electronic structure calculation of materials using density functional and dynamical mean-field theories. Application targets for polycrystalline silicon are thin film transistors for active matrix displays and silicon-on-insulator structures for ULSI devices. Novel applications are being developed for oxide thin films, including uncooled IR focal plane arrays and integrated fuel cells for portable equipment.

Thin film synthesis and processing in this program include evaporation, sputtering, electrodeposition, and plasma and laser processing. For analyzing materials structures and properties, faculty and students employ electron microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, photoluminescence, magnetotransport measurements, and X-ray diffraction techniques. Faculty members have research collaborations with IBM, and other New York area research and manufacturing centers, as well as major international research centers. Scientists and engineers from these institutions also serve as adjunct faculty members at Columbia. The National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory is used for high-resolution X-ray diffraction and absorption measurements.

Entering students typically have undergraduate degrees in materials science, metallurgy, physics, chemistry, or other science and engineering disciplines. First-year graduate courses provide a common base of knowledge and technical skills for more advanced courses and for research. In addition to coursework, students usually begin an association with a research group, individual laboratory work, and participation in graduate seminars during their first year.