Materials Informatics

The online Materials Informatics (MI) Graduate Certificate is designed for interdisciplinary graduate education at the intersection of materials science, engineering and data science. This generation of materials engineers are expected to demonstrate data science skills and knowledge of artificial intelligence. The skills and knowledge delivered in this graduate certificate program provide the foundation necessary for understanding materials informatics and high-throughput materials discovery, widening career prospects and enhancing materials science careers.

Eligibility

• BS degree in the sciences or engineering from an accredited four-year college or university
• Overall (or major) GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4-point scale

Potential applicants without the prior background in Materials Science and Engineering are advised to complete MSE 500 prior to applying, although success in that course does not guarantee admission into the certificate program. Distance education students enrolled through Engineering Online (EOL) are eligible to apply for the Materials Informatics Graduate Certificate Program (MI GCP). With many online MSE and Statistics (ST)/Mathematics (MA) courses to choose from, students can customize their particular certificate programs to focus on specific areas of materials science that interest them.

Plan of Study

A total of four classes (12 credit hours) is required, including the core course MSE 723 (3 credit hours) and three MSE and ST or MA elective courses (9 credit hours). By judicious selection of elective courses, in consultation with the MI GCP Coordinator, students can customize their GCP to focus on areas of interest to them.

Career Prospects

Material science is changing, and those changes result in new expectations for those working in materials engineering. As the demand for new and improved materials grows, data-driven direction is in high demand. The kind of information that is extracted from large datasets is too complex for a single person to analyze without the right tools. As a result, professionals in this field either work with data scientists or take it upon themselves to learn how to use tools like materials databases, machine learning, and high‐throughput methods, all of which are now established tools in the materials research toolset.

The Materials Informatics Graduate Certificate (MIGC) provides the skills and knowledge needed to excel in this industry. Certificate coursework addresses the challenges of data veracity, integration of experimental and computational data, standardization, and the chasm between business applications and academic research. Certificate graduates master the skills and understanding necessary to advance their careers in the field of materials science as an engineer, engineering manager, data scientist or project manager.

Additional Resources

For detailed information regarding engineering online programs and how to apply and enroll, please visit the Engineering Online website.