The Interdisciplinary Masters of Science (MS) in Materials Science & Engineering is a research based degree program, culminating in a Masters thesis. All students accepted into the MS Program are supported financially by a faculty member. Students take courses and conduct research year round from start to completion of degree. The degree is estimated to take 4-5 semesters for a full-time student. Contact msegrad@boisestate.edu with any questions about the program curriculum.
Content on this page is provided as a quick reference for planning. All official course descriptions/degree requirements/admission standards/program learning outcomes/etc. are published on the Graduate Catalog site. Updated June 2024.
Program Requirements
Course Requirements
| Requirements | Credits |
|---|---|
| Required Core | 12 total credits |
| MSE 605 Crystallography & Crystal Chemistry | 4 |
| MSE 608 Solid State Thermodynamics | 4 |
| MSE 618 Phase Transformations/Kinetics | 4 |
| Technical Emphasis Requirement | 9 |
| Choose 9 credits from 500-level or 600-level courses in science and engineering fields chosen in consultation with the advisor and approved by the graduate coordinator. | — |
| MSE 593 Thesis Research | 9 |
| Total | 30 |
Other Requirements
Entrance Exam
All students in the Materials Science & Engineering Interdisciplinary Graduate Program are admitted provisionally and must pass the MSE Entrance Exam with an 80% or better within the first year of enrollment. The exam is designed to help ensure all MSE graduate students have an appropriate level of knowledge specific to materials science & engineering. Each student will receive more information about the exam prior to the first semester of enrollment.
Thesis
For the Master of Science degree, the thesis documents original research carried out by you while enrolled in the graduate program. A thesis is characterized by a clearly stated proposition or hypothesis that is investigated using analysis and synthesis of data or other scholarly evidence; the thesis must include a discussion of the relevant literature and demonstrate the ability of the student to independently and successfully address a significant intellectual problem with concepts and methods that are accepted in the major field of study.
Final Oral Exam
As part of your program, you must defend your thesis through a final oral examination. The examination consists of three sequential parts in which you will present and defend your thesis research: (i) a public presentation, (ii) a public question and answer session, and (iii) a private question and answer session conducted by the student’s Supervisory Committee addressing any questions they have on your research. The outcome of the final oral examination can only be pass or fail and is determined by a majority vote of the Supervisory Committee.