Materials PhD

Undergraduate preparation for the materials M.S./Ph.D. includes a degree in engineering, physical sciences, or mathematics. However, the breadth of the materials field requires that flexibility be built into the undergraduate educational requirements. Upper-division courses in several of the following topics are expected:

Students with a B.S. degree (having a 3.2 minimum grade-point average) are eligible to be admitted to M.S./Ph.D. status and those with an M.S. degree (having a 3.5 minimum grade-point average) are eligible to be admitted to Ph.D. status. The department gives priority for admission to students who are interested in obtaining a Ph.D. Admissions for the Ph.D. are largely limited to the Fall Quarter but limited admissions for the Winter or Spring quarters are available. The deadline for application is given on the departmental web page and is consistent with those of the Graduate Division. Satisfactory performance in all sections of the Graduate Record Examination is required, with emphasis on superior performance in the quantitative GRE. Applicants whose native language is not English must receive a score of at least 100 on the internet based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), 600 on the paper based test, or complete the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) prior to admission to UCSB. Requests for exceptions to this requirement may be considered for those students who have completed an undergraduate or graduate education at an institution whose primary language of instruction is English.