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Future Students

Earning a Minor in MSE

Students majoring in other departments at the University of Washington can receive a minor in Materials Science & Engineering.

Admission to the Minor

There is no formal admission process for the minor; you formally declare the minor with your major adviser.  Students need to declare the minor in order to be eligible to receive entry codes for all MSE Minor courses except MSE 170. 

Minor Prerequisite Courses

MSE 170 may be taken in any quarter before you start the remaining courses. The remaining course sequence begins Autumn quarter.

Students in the 300-level Minor courses are assumed to have completed the same prerequisite courses as Junior students in the MSE major, including these courses:

  • MATH 124, 125, 126 and 307
  • PHYS 121, 122
  • CHEM 142, CHEM 152

Required courses for the MSE minor

To earn a minor in MSE, students must complete the following courses:

Course # Course name Credits Quarter offered Prerequisites
MSE 170 Fundamentals of Materials Science 4 Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer CHEM 142
MSE 321 Thermodynamics & Phase Equilibrium 4 Autumn None
MSE 331 Crystallography & Structure 3 Autumn 170
MSE 322 Kinetic & Microstructure Evolution 4 Winter 321
MSE 342 Materials Processing I 3 Winter 170, 321
MSE 351 Electron Theory of Engr. Materials 3 Winter 170, 331
MSE 333 Materials Characterization 3 Spring 170, 331, 351
MSE 352 Functional Properties of Materials I 3 Spring 351
MSE 362 Mechanical Behavior of Materials 3 Spring 170