Education

Materials are at the heart of our quality of life and economic welfare and will become even more so in the future, especially considering the need to build a sustainable world and to use our resources intelligently. Materials engineers invent, design, make and use materials for products, processes and services and they carry out these activities based on an in-depth understanding of materials processing, the structure of materials and materials properties, including the intricate relationships between them.

The Master of Science in Materials Engineering is a two-year programme.

The programme offers three options: Metals and Ceramics, Polymers and Composites and Materials for Nanotechnology. The programme is composed of a set of core courses covering both the fundamentals and principles of materials science and engineering in combination with more specialised option-specific courses and a number of electives.
The Master of Science in Materials Engineering is an initial Master's programme. You can follow this programme on a full-time or part-time basis.

Profile

The ideal prospective student should be strongly motivated to pursue a career in materials science and engineering or in industrial sectors dealing with materials. He/she should hold a basic three- or four-year Bachelor's degree in a field of engineering or one of the physical sciences.

The programme builds on the basics of engineering science: physics, mathematics, chemistry and mechanics. It is also assumed that the student has already covered the fundamental courses in the materials engineering curriculum (structures, microstructures, mechanical behaviour of materials, transport phenomena, thermodynamics and kinetics) prior to starting the Master's programme. Transition courses, however, are organised for those who have followed a Bachelor's programme that did not provide all of these fundamental courses.

Our Master's programme provides a sound scientific knowledge needed for graduates to excel in the development and evaluation of new materials and processes applicable in the wide field of materials science and engineering. Additionally, communication, presentation and social skills will be honed in an international environment.

For specific admission requirements, click on the desired programme in the 'Choose your courses of study' section.

Objectives

The programme prepares students to become academic engineers with the acquired knowledge to understand and engineer the complex relations between production, structure, properties, and applications of materials. In this way they can assume a prominent role in the development, production, design and application of traditional as well as advanced materials. Aspects of safety and environment of the production and use of materials are also taken into consideration.
At the end of the programme, it is expected that the student has fundamental scientific knowledge in the field of physics, chemistry and mathematics and is able to translate this knowledge into useful applications. The student will also have a prominent knowledge of design methodologies and skills. The student will have developed a strong analytical and problem solving attitude and will be equipped to conduct fundamental as well as applied scientific research. The student will be capable of transferring technological knowledge aided by his/her communication capacities and supported with insights in ethical, social and economic problems. The student can easily acquire new insights, methodologies and results within his own discipline and apply these in a research or industrial environment. Finally the student will be able to assume the role of the engineer in society in a critical way and will have developed an overall quality reflex.

Graduates of the Materials Engineering programme will also obtain the following specific competencies:
- A broad-based fundamental knowledge of the production, processing and properties of structural materials (metals, ceramics, polymers and composites)
- A perceptive knowledge of the properties and structure of functional materials
- A comprehensive knowledge of the main material characterisation techniques and modelling techniques relevant to the production and design and use of materials
- An understanding of the sustainability aspects of materials

After graduation

Graduates have access to a wide range of engineering sectors. Prominent technical industries such as the automotive, aerospace, energy, microelectronics, and chemical industries, and emerging sectors such as nanotechnology, biomaterials, and recycling are keen to hire qualified and talented materials engineers. They may be oriented to functions such as process engineer, material or product developer, design specialist, quality control engineer or consultant, whereas graduates with an interest in research can apply for an R&D position or start a PhD. Several alumni have also started their own companies.

Information sessions

KU Leuven organises a Verderstudeerbeurs each spring. In addition, faculties also organise information sessions for many of their bridging and graduate programmes.

http://www.kuleuven.be/toekomstigestudenten/masters/infomomenten.html All information sessions for (future) Master's students

Spotlight

The Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering (MTM) is involved in several strategic fields of materials research and development: advanced alloys and production processes, ceramics, nanomaterials, high temperature processing of liquid metals, intermetallics, polymers and composites, computational thermodynamics, deformation processing, materials performance and degradation, non-destructive testing, surface engineering, biomaterials and nanomaterials. A healthy mix of people working both in experimental and computational materials science makes it a very dynamic place (currently about sixty PhD students and twenty post-doctoral fellows, with a majority of international researchers). The department operates as one unit with one departmental manager and a high level infrastructure. MTM is also the driving force of the Leuven Materials Research Centre (Leuven MRC).

Facilities, activities, and social events

• Industrial visits
• Computer and wifi internet facilities
• Campus library across the road in a beautiful and historical environment
• Unique research environment and infrastructure
• Monthly house seminars about hot topics
• Social activities: soccer, monthly sports activity , film, barbecue, parties, etc.

Contact

Faculty of Engineering Science
Programme director
Prof. dr. Ir. B. Blanpain
Tel. +32 16 32 12 16 or +32 16 32 12 60
Administrative office
Kasteelpark Arenberg 1 bus 2200
3001 HEVERLEE
tel. + 32 16 32 13 50
fax + 32 16 32 19 82
info@eng.kuleuven.be
www.eng.kuleuven.be
General information
Study Advice Service
Naamsestraat 80 box 5415
3000 LEUVEN, Belgium
To contact us please complete the contact form on our website.

Useful links

Visit this programme's website.

Download this brochure

Download this Master's brochure.

Order this Master's brochure.