MS in Ceramic Engineering
PhD in Ceramic Engineering

Academic Program

The department has internationally recognized research programs in the areas of glass, electronic ceramics, refractories, structural ceramics, composites, biomaterials, and ceramic processing. Fundamental and applied research interests include structure-property relationships in ceramics and glasses; electrical, dielectric, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties of ceramics; ceramic-ceramic, ceramic-metal, and ceramic-polymer composites; solid-oxide fuel cells; electrical conducting, dielectric, and ferroelectric ceramics; glasses for nuclear waster disposal; glass and ceramic biomaterials for drug delivery and medical implants; processing, sintering, and microstructure control of structural and functional ceramics; defect chemistry, thermochemistry, and phase equilibria.

Research Opportunities

The department is located in McNutt Hall which provides spacious facilities for offices, instruction, and research. Laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and instrumentation for research in ceramic materials. Extensive facilities are available in the department for the synthesis, forming, and fabrication of ceramics and glasses, the microstructural characterization of powders and fabricated ceramics, and the detailed characterization of the electrical, dielectric, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties of ceramics. Additional facilities in the Materials Research Center (MRC) and the electron microscope facility at Missouri S&T provide major instrumentation for characterizing the structure and composition of ceramic materials, including computerized X-ray diffractometers; high resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopes; atomic force microscopes; Auger/ESCA spectrometers, and thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyzers. Additional facilities for graduate research in ceramics, such as atomic absorption/emission and X-ray fluorescence spectrophotometers, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers, are available in other academic departments.

A strong affiliation exists between the department and MRC which provides for interdisciplinary materials research. Ceramic engineering faculty are either senior research investigators or research investigators in this nationally recognized center. The department plays a key role in the Electronic Materials Applied Research Center (EMARC), a state/industry/university research center located at Missouri S&T, whose main activities include the development of new ceramic and polymer materials for fuel cells, oxygen permeable membranes, piezoelectric sensors, actuators, and emitters, and thin film devices and structures.

The department is a participating institution in an NSF-sponsored Center for Dielectric Studies at the Pennsylvania State University, in which the department's main research activities are focused in the area of dielectric ceramics for high energy density applications. In the refractories and structural ceramics area, the department is the site for refractories research in an NSF/industry/university Center for Glass Research at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Faculty and students in the department are focusing on research into new refractory ceramics for more efficient manufacturing in the iron, steel, and glass industries, sensors for glass melting furnaces, and corrosion of glass-contact refractories. The center also funds research related to composition-structure-property relationships in glasses.

Biomaterials form an area of increasing emphasis for the department's research activities. Research into glass microspheres for drug delivery in the human body has received international recognition, generating numerous U.S. and foreign patents, and leading to clinical trials in the U.S. and abroad. Other areas of research include bioactive glasses and ceramics, intraocular lens materials, and ceramics for orthopedic implants.

Career Opportunities

Ceramic engineering graduate students find career opportunities in several key industrial sectors that manufacture ceramics or use ceramics for electrical, magnetic, optical, chemical, thermal-mechanical, biomedical, and nuclear applications. Employment opportunities include research and development engineers in large or small companies, manufacturing engineers, and process engineers. Graduates interested in an academic career may choose to become doctoral or postdoctoral candidates at Missouri S&T, other universities, or national laboratories.

Financial Assistance

Professional Societies

Graduate Admission Criteria

Admission is normally awarded to those students who are ranked in the upper third of their baccalaureate graduating class or who have performed successfully at the graduate level. For international applicants, an undergraduate GPA equivalent of 70% is required. For domestic students a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) is required. To be admitted to the program, a GRE Quantitative (Q) plus Verbal (V) score of >1100, and Analytical Writing Score (AW) of > 3.5 is required. For international applicants, a minimum TOEFL score of 570 (paper); 230 (computer); or 88 iBT is required. Note for the TOEFL: if the student has an MS degree from a US institution or has been studying in the US more than one year, applicants are not required to submit a TOEFL score. For further information go to the Admissions website at: http://admissions.mst.edu/index.html.

Graduate Student Financial Support

Financial aid for graduate students at the Missouri University of Science and Technology consists of either Graduate Research Assistantships or Graduate Fellowships. These two forms of support are described in our Assistantships section. Students who receive either a Graduate Research Assistantship or a Fellowship, at one quarter time or above, are eligible for a waiver of their out-of-state fees.

Graduate Student Regulations & Procedures

MSE Graduate Handbook

MSE Safety Manual