MATSC-PHD - Materials Science and Engineering (PhD)
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Program Overview
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering is concerned with designing, making, and characterizing new materials that will have societal impact. Materials science and engineering is an interdisciplinary field involving the relationships between structure and properties of materials and how to take advantage of them in applications. Our students and faculty do research down to the infinitesimally small to achieve breakthroughs of global significance, working at the atomic and molecular levels to engineer matter that will enable the materials, devices, and systems essential for cutting-edge solar energy production, energy storage, information technology, medicine, and more.
The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program is designed to give students a broad and deep understanding of materials science and engineering so that they will have long and fruitful careers as researchers or teachers at the university level.
Students who graduate from our program will be among the world’s leading experts in the areas of their dissertation research. They also will have the intellectual tools to move into new research areas as the field grows and develops.
The University’s basic requirements for the PhD degree are outlined in the Graduate Degrees section of the Bulletin. Department requirements are stated below. See the Materials Science and Engineering Department website for more information.
Admissions Information
For MATSCI-PHD admissions information, please visit: https://mse.stanford.edu/academics-admissions/doctoral-program/phd-admissions
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
The PhD degree is awarded after completing a minimum of 135 units of graduate work to satisfy program requirements and satisfactory completion of any additional university requirements.
Any course that satisfies the PhD degree requirements must be taken for a letter grade, if offered.
Students must take at least one course each quarter of enrollment that applies to their doctoral degree program requirements.
Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in all courses taken at Stanford.
Degree requirements for the department are as follows.
15 units required.
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All five courses must be taken during the first year and for a letter grade.
PhD students must achieve a 3.5 GPA average in the core courses (211-215) to be admitted to the Qualifying Exam without petition for exception.
Students may propose a petition for exemption from one required core course if they have taken a similar course in the past. The units are not waived and a substitute course must be completed. To petition, a student must consult and obtain academic and/or research advisor approval, and consent of the instructor of the proposed core course. If the petition is approved, the student submits the signed petition form and an updated program proposal.
Students admitted to the program prior to 2021 may substitute core courses with the previous numbering system (MATSCI 201-210).
24 total units required.
All technical elective courses must be completed for a letter grade.
In consultation with their advisor, students select eight (8) courses of technical electives in areas related directly to the student’s research interest in Materials Science and Engineering.
Of the eight technical elective courses (24 units), five must be Materials Science and Engineering courses (15 units), and include at least one characterization course (3 units). The remaining two to three courses can be from other subject codes.
Technical electives outside of the MATSCI electives must be letter-graded lecture/lab courses at the 200 level or above in science fields, technology, engineering, math, natural sciences, or statistics. Courses in other subject areas, such as business and entrepreneurship, may be approved by the student's advisor and Student Services.
Technical electives may NOT include colloquium, research, and teaching courses such as course, course, course, course, course, course, or course (or their course equivalents in other subject codes).
Technical elective courses tend to focus on topic areas including, but not limited to: Biomaterials, Electronic Materials Processing, Materials Characterization, Mechanical Behavior of Solids, Physics of Solids and Computation, and Soft Materials.
15 units required.
Of the eight total technical elective courses, students complete five graduate level courses within the Materials Science and Engineering subject code (15 units). If the characterization course requirement is fulfilled with a MATSCI subject code course, only four additional MATSCI electives are required within the total eight courses.
A maximum of one course substitution request will be considered for this requirement. Substitutions must be submitted for approval to the Student Services office and Director of Graduate Studies, with an explanation of the relevance of the course to the student's research and a description of the materials science content that would justify an exception.
Elective courses must be taken for a letter grade and may not include colloquium, research, seminars, or independent study such as MATSCI 200, 230, 231, 232, 299, 300, 399, or 400.
3 units required.
Of the eight total technical elective courses, one must be a characterization course from the approved list below.
Course substitution requests will be considered by the Director of Graduate Studies and Student Services office, given the student provides a justification and relevance for materials characterization.
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6-9 units required.
The remaining two to three elective courses can be from other subject codes.
Technical electives outside of the MATSCI electives must be letter-graded lecture/lab courses at the 200 level or above in science fields, technology, engineering, math, natural sciences, or statistics. Courses in other subject areas, such as business and entrepreneurship, may be approved by the student's advisor and Student Services.
Technical electives may NOT include colloquium, research, and teaching courses such as course, course, course, course, course, course, course or their course equivalents in other subject codes.
Technical elective courses tend to focus on topic areas including, but not limited to: Biomaterials, Electronic Materials Processing, Materials Characterization, Mechanical Behavior of Solids, Physics of Solids and Computation, and Soft Materials.
3 units required.
Students must take MATSCI 230: Materials Science Colloquium each quarter of their first year (autumn, winter, and spring). Attendance is required, the roll is taken, and more than two absences results in an automatic “No Pass” grade. Students required to take an EFS course may register for the EFS courses, but they must attend (sign-in required) each colloquia session.
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75 units required.
Students must complete a minimum of 75 units of MATSCI 300: Ph.D. Research. Often, students complete additional research units and can apply those units to the Residency requirements.
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18 units required.
2 units required.
Students must complete MATSCI 231: Materials Science Research Advising during the autumn of their first year and MATSCI 232: Ethics and Broader Impacts in Materials Science during the spring of their first year.
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16 units required.
In addition, students complete at least 16 other residency units from any subject code. These may include MATSCI 300: PhD Research units beyond the required 75 units, other engineering courses, MATSCI 400: Participation in Materials Science Teaching, or a maximum of three units MATSCI 299: Practical Training.
PhD students are expected to match with a dissertation research advisor by the end of their second quarter in the program and complete the Declaration of Advisor form.
When the research advisor is from outside the department, the student must also identify a MATSCI Co-Advisor from the department’s primary faculty (on Academic Council) to guide departmental requirements, core coursework, and opportunities.
Declaration of the research advisor is a requirement for making satisfactory degree progress. Students must spend autumn and winter of their first year in research rotations, shadowing, or other means of involvement. Research rotations are meant to allow students to engage in research within labs, explore research areas, and meet other potential advisors.
If a student does not declare a PhD research advisor and any required co-advisor by the stated deadlines, they are considered to be "on academic notice" as a warning of unsatisfactory degree progress. The student's progress and efforts will be closely monitored to ensure that they declare on a reasonable timeline during the quarter of notice. If a student requires an additional quarter, a faculty committee will meet to review the case and decide on possible outcomes.
If a student has not declared by the summer of their first year, a possible consequence includes the termination of a student’s study toward a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering; however, the student may continue to work toward an MS degree. Departmental PhD financial support does not continue.
Students must complete a PhD Program Proposal form in their first month of study. This form allows for course selection planning and orients first-year students to degree requirements. The proposed courses are not binding, but subsequent changes to course selections should be discussed with both the student's advisor and the Student Services office to ensure applicability to program requirements and relevance to the student's research area.
PhD students must apply for a MATSCI MS degree after the PhD Qualifying Examination, as a requirement for Advancement to PhD Candidacy. A Graduate Program Authorization Petition (in Axess) and an MS Program Proposal Form are submitted at this time. The student should confer the MS degree by the end of their third year of studies and within the university’s candidacy eligibility period.
If the student has previously completed a MS degree in Materials Science at an external institution, they may waive this requirement.
The PhD Final Completion Form must be submitted after the student completes the minimum 135 units of coursework, and no later than one academic quarter before students transition to Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) Status. At the same time, students must apply for TGR in Axess and submit their Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee Form.
TGR
Once students complete a certain number of credits, they are eligible for what is called “Terminal Graduate Registration status.” TGR is a full-time student status with a lower tuition rate which acknowledges that formal coursework is no longer needed because the student's main activity will be dissertation research. TGR status is granted to PhD students once the following requirements are satisfied:
Advancement to Candidacy
Doctoral Dissertation Committee formation
Completion of all required courses and degree requirements, accrual of minimum 135 units (verified by submission of the PhD Final Completion form).
Students must complete the following forms and actions prior to the start of the quarter in which they become eligible for TGR (typically Spring Quarter of the 4th year for PhD students):
(i) Request for TGR Status eForm, (ii) Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee form, (iii) PhD Final Completion Form, (iv) Confirmation that MS program has been added, and (v) Enrollment in MATSCI 802: TGR Course for zero units in their primary advisor's section.
Coursework is no longer considered necessary during this advanced stage of study; however, students are allowed to take 1-3 additional units during TGR quarters if they choose to. Consult with Student Services staff about this.
Current students subject to either this set of requirements or a prior set must obtain the approval of their advisor before filing a revised program sheet. They should, as far as possible, adhere to the intent of the new requirements.
Onsite Safety Training is required of all incoming PhD students during the week of Graduate Orientation.
Admission to the Exam
A departmental Qualifying Examination must be taken by the end of February of the second year. The minimum standard for admission to the PhD Qualifying Exam is completion of the five MATSCI core courses with a GPA of 3.50 or better. For students with a GPA in the core courses below 3.50, admission to the exam may be allowed by petition to the Department Chair and vote of the faculty.
Exam Purpose
The exam evaluates a student's capacity to perform outstanding research, and has several goals:
To motivate the student to review and synthesize coursework and research material.
To determine the student's creative potential to pursue doctoral research.
To determine the student's ability to understand and apply fundamental concepts.
To test the student's oral communication skills and ability to respond to questions.
To identify areas that need strengthening as the student works toward the doctorate.
Committee Structure
The Qualifying Examination Committee has three members: the student’s research advisor and two MATSCI core faculty members, assigned by the department. For students with a primary advisor outside of the department, their MATSCI Co-Advisor will not sit on the committee. Faculty are randomly assigned to Qualifying Exam Committees based on selected topics from students.
Exam Structure
The oral qualifying examination can last up to 2.5 hours and consists of two parts.
Section A consists of a 20-minute presentation on the student’s proposed area of research and a 30-35 minute question session covering the student presentation. The presentation is expected to cover some of the theoretical formalism and principles underlying the research topic and the experimental techniques to be used. While it is not necessary for a student to have obtained experimental data for the examination, it is essential that material beyond the level of the core curriculum be presented. The questioning session for this part of the exam will cover the proposed area of research, theoretical background material, and proposed experimental methods. The student is expected to demonstrate an ability to think clearly and adequately communicate about the important aspects of their research topic.
Section B of the qualifying exam is a question and answer session lasting up to 60 minutes. It is intended to test the student's knowledge of fundamental materials science topics that relate to their proposed area of research. Questions in Section B will be limited to two core Materials Science topics selected jointly by the student and the advisor, and the fundamentals of the proposed research subfield, especially as they relate to core concepts in Materials Science and Engineering.
Evaluation
For each section, the student will receive a “pass,” “conditional pass,” or “fail” decision. If a “conditional pass” is given, the committee must provide a clear set of tasks for the student to complete in order to pass the Qualifying exam and a clear timeline in which to complete them.
All conditions must be satisfactorily completed to clear a "conditional pass" by the end of the second year so the student can advance to PhD Candidacy.
If a student fails a given section of the exam, they will be given the opportunity to re-take that section within a specified time period determined by the faculty committee. If a student fails the exam a second time, a faculty review committee with meet to determine possible outcomes, including dismissal from the PhD program.
Upon completing the Qualifying Examination, students must complete the Application for Candidacy for Doctoral Degree form, approved by their research advisor(s), within two weeks.
This form details the degree requirements to be met by the individual student during the PhD Candidacy period, including all the courses listed in the degree requirements as well as the research units and any other course requirements imposed by the University. The student is expected to discuss course selections with their advisor to ensure they are appropriate for the student's research interests and academic direction.
An explanation and approval from the advisor must accompany any deviations from the requirements and guidelines on the Application for Candidacy form. All deviations must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies (submit requests for program deviations to the Student Services office).
Candidacy is valid for five years from the date of approval by the department unless terminated by the department (e.g., for unsatisfactory progress). The candidacy end date is listed on the student’s record in Axess.
Any time after completing an acceptable draft of the dissertation, or sufficient written work relevant to the student's dissertation research, with the approval of the advisor and reading committee, the student may schedule the University Oral Exam (also known as the dissertation defense).
The student is responsible for requesting an Oral Examination by submitting a University Oral Defense Exam form (found on the Student Affairs website) to the Student Services Office at least three weeks before the date proposed for the examination. Orals may be scheduled at any time of day that is agreeable to the examining committee members. The Oral Dissertation Defense Exam Form specifies the exam’s date, time, location, and the Oral Examining Committee members.
The Oral Defense Committee comprises at least five members: three examining members of the Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee, a fourth faculty member, and a University Chair. At least two examining members of the Oral Committee must be regular faculty members of the Materials Science Department and three must be members of the Stanford Academic Council. With their advisor’s help, the student will find an appropriate outside Chair who must be an Academic Council member and may not be affiliated with either the Materials Science & Engineering Department or the department of the student’s advisor (if that advisor is from outside MSE). The purpose of requiring an outside Chair is to ensure that university rules are followed and that the review is objective.
At the time of Oral Defense Form submission, the student must also provide (at minimum) a research abstract that summarizes their defense topic and dissertation direction. The expectations for completion of specific written work (abstract, outline, publications, chapters, and/or a dissertation draft) prior to the defense is at the discretion of the advisor. The student must receive prior approval from their advisor to proceed with exam scheduling, to ensure that the student has completed sufficient research and written work to hold the defense.
The student's research abstract, outline, or dissertation draft must be provided to the examining committee at least three weeks prior to the defense date.
Before being awarded a PhD degree, the candidate must successfully pass a University Oral Examination that is a Dissertation Defense. This examination aims to test the candidate’s command of the field of study and confirm fitness for scholarly pursuits.
A defense of the dissertation is presented either upon completion of a substantial portion of the dissertation or upon completion of a pre-final draft (in either case, a draft of the work completed should be available for the examining committee well in advance of the examination); this type of examination is intended to verify that the research represents the candidate’s own contribution to knowledge, and to test his or her understanding of the research. General questions pertaining to the field as a whole, but beyond the scope of the dissertation itself, may be included.
The candidate is expected to:
Demonstrate their ability to explain and defend the thesis and its contribution to knowledge before experts in the field.
Present a coherent picture of the research and its setting to scholars whose particular areas of interest lie outside the candidate’s area of research.
Answer satisfactorily any questions deemed pertinent by the examining committee.
The university oral examination is typically completed with the student and all members of the examination committee, including the out-of-department chair, attending in person. The decision to approve remote participation of a committee member must be approved by the department chair or director of graduate studies.
The first portion of the oral examination must be in the form of a public seminar, followed by a period of private questioning by the official examining committee. The examination should not exceed three hours in length.
At the conclusion of the examination, the candidate is asked to leave so that the committee can confer in private and vote on the results of evaluation. The committee Chair will tally the votes of the members and record the results of the examination on the University Oral Examination form.
Further information on the Oral Exam can be found in 4.7.1 Doctoral Degrees, University Oral Examinations & Committees: Policy.
The University requires all candidates for the PhD degree to present a dissertation which is an original contribution to knowledge, the result of independent work exemplifying the highest standards of the discipline and of lasting value to the community. Every doctoral dissertation is read and approved by a three-member doctoral dissertation reading committee.
The student proposes the reading committee by submitting a Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee Form to the Office of Student Services. Prospective members of the committee must agree to participate and the chair of the department approves the committee. The Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee is made up of at least one member from the student’s major department, typically the candidate’s principal research advisor, and two other members. If the student's principal research advisor is from a department outside of MATSCI, their MATSCI Co-advisor must also serve on the Reading Committee.
Normally, all members are on the Stanford Academic Council. If a reader is not on the Academic Council, but is particularly well-qualified to consult on the dissertation topic and holds a PhD or equivalent foreign degree, the department chair may approve their appointment as reader. If that individual is to serve as the principal dissertation advisor, the department requires the appointment of a co-adviser who is a member of the Academic Council. A student may petition to add or remove members of the reading committee or to change their principal advisor.
Students form their Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee typically in their third or fourth year. Students must submit their Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee form to be eligible for Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) Status. This is usually submitted alongside the PhD Final Completion Form when applying for TGR in Axess.
A dissertation based on a successful investigation of a fundamental problem in materials science and engineering is required. A student is expected to have fulfilled all the requirements for this degree, including completing a dissertation approved by their research advisor(s) and reading committee members within approximately five years after enrolling in the PhD program. At least once per year students are expected to report to the members of their Reading Committee on the progress of their dissertation.
After successful defense of the dissertation through the Oral Exam, the student is allowed one "writing quarter," an additional quarter of enrollment to submit the dissertation and confer the PhD degree.
The doctoral dissertation is expected to be an original contribution to scholarship or scientific knowledge, to exemplify the highest standards of the discipline, and to be of lasting value to the intellectual community.
Every doctoral dissertation is read and approved by the Stanford faculty members of the student’s doctoral dissertation reading committee to ensure that standards for programmatic and university quality are met.
A final draft of the dissertation must be submitted to the student's reading committee at least four weeks prior to the University submission deadline of the given quarter. This allows sufficient time for the review and integration of the committee's feedback before final submission to the University Registrar.
Students must follow university guidelines for the submission of their Dissertation. See Dissertations and Theses on the Student Affairs Website, Format Requirements for Your Dissertation or Thesis and Submission Requirements for full details.