Note that these thoughts aren’t a substitute for advising. You should always feel free to reach out to me (enze@) with questions, especially if you’re undeclared, and you can find the most up-to-date UG degree information at https://mse.stanford.edu/major

Contents

  1. ENGR 50
  2. Math & Science
  3. Core
  4. Labs
  5. Electives

If you’re reading this post, then congratulations on declaring the best Major at Stanford! 🎉 If you haven’t declared yet, then please go do that and then come back here. And if you’re not Stanford affiliated, I’m not quite sure this page will be helpful for you, but you’re always welcome here. All views are my own.

One of the best reasons to be an MSE Major is the huge selection of courses with small class sizes (~10) and extreme flexibility in sequencing (essentially no hard prereqs at the time of writing). While the flexibility is nice to give students room to explore, time to study abroad, and the ability to join the Major later in their Stanford careers, it can also be confusing for students to know when to take what and why. Take for example this conversation (paraphrased) I overheard from the sophomores in my class:

Student 1: “Did you understand what Prof. X was saying today?”
S2: “Not a clue. I was doing fine until we got to electrochemistry in Week 2.”
S3: “So what was the thing we’re supposed to do in lab?”
S2: “I don’t know. I think we just have to mix these three things together… and that gives us the answer.”
Finally, me: “Are you all in ###?”
S1: “Yeah, all three of us.”
Me: “Isn’t that a capstone course??”
All: “😁🤷🏼”

Something like this should never happen, but I don’t even blame them, because if you look at our Major requirements and the flowcharts and plans, theres a lot of numbers, titles, and administrivia, but no explanation of why a student might want to take a course and why the courses are sequenced as they are. It might seem like a trivial nuance, but I personally believe this reasoning is more beneficial as a guide than infinite four-year plans, none of which will perfectly match a student’s schedule. It is a futile effort to design for the average student, because the average student doesn’t exist. So until we come up with a better way to formally communicate this information, I will write some thoughts below on the courses we offer and some strong recommendations regarding when to take them so you can maximize what you get out of our curriculum. This is, of course, the purpose of advising, so I might give similar advice in person and may have even directed you here.

ENGR 50

This course is so central to our Department’s mission that it deserves its own section. This is the flagship Introduction to Materials Science course that is listed as an Engineering fundamental. It is offered every quarter, and while there are some different focuses each quarter (Bio in Autumn, Energy in Winter, Nano in Spring), the core content comprising ~80% of the course is identical. This is a great course introducing you to the field of MSE, and as such:

  • You should take it as early as possible. Period. No need to overthink this or wait for the “more suitable” version. All three instructors are excellent. 💯
  • You should use it as an opportunity to see how materials scientists think. I can’t promise you the content will be that deep, but the exposure to the MSE tetrahedron, defects, length scales, interdisciplinary applications, etc., is enough for you to get a sense of what to expect in the field and what society will expect from you.
  • It’s arguably one of the most broadly applicable ENGR fundamental courses that you can use to satisfy the SoE requirement for all Engineering Majors (plus AQR and SMA WAYS). Your future life might not involve bioengineering, chemical processes, numerical optimization, or mechanics, but it will almost certainly intersect materials because literally everything is made up of atoms, and hence a material. So even if you’re not thinking of MSE, you should take this course (and then declare MSE, ofc).

Math and Science courses

These requirements, due to the 100-unit cap, are fewer than when I went through, but they definitely hit on the important points. Absolutely, take these as soon as you can so you can let the knowledge marinate and be applied throughout your Stanford career. I believe CHEM 31A will be helpful to do before ENGR 50, while the others don’t really matter.

  • MATSCI ends up being a 60–40 physics–chemistry split for most people, so having a little more physics required makes a lot of sense, and it’s nice that the additional approved science course can be anything.
  • As someone who likes math a lot, I’m conflicted that there is only one additional approved math course. Yes, CME 100 and CME 102 are both necessary for the Major, but CME 104 (Linear algbera and PDEs) and STATS 110 (Statistics) are both super important to be a competent materials engineer, in my opinion. So maybe that is to say, you can’t go wrong with either choice (take both if you can!).
    • Generally speaking, with the way MATSCI courses are currently taught, there seems to be the greatest emphasis on linear algebra, with differentiation a close second. Statistics, while super useful, is not heavily emphasized in the curriculum and integration is also rare.

MATSCI Core

By MATSCI Core, I’m referring specifically to four courses: 142 (Quantum), 143 (Structure), 144 (Thermo), and 145 (Kinetics), all of which are required for the major. While these courses might seem independent in terms of their topics, there are still some considerations:

  • I teach 143, which is arguably the most logical next step in our curriculum’s progression. You should take ENGR 50 either before or concurrently to set you up for success, as this is the Core course that most directly relies on prior knowledge.
  • 142 and 144 are both foundational topics that are quite theoretical in their treatment, so I strongly recommend that you have “mathematical maturity” (as they say) before diving in, probably having finished CME 100 and taking CME 102 at least concurrently. At the same time, these don’t rely as much on ENGR 50, so if you feel excited to jump into MSE, these are both early options if for some reason ENGR 50 doesn’t align. You might find 142 and 144 time consuming because these are topics that just naturally make students think very hard—and that’s a good thing! 🧠
  • Definitely take 144 before you take 145. While this prereq, like most others, is soft (i.e., there’s no enrollment restriction), in reality it’s a must. Your life will become ∞ easier if you take some version of thermodynamics before you take kinetics—walk (equilibrium) before you run (non-equilibrium).
  • Finally, I would recommend taking all four of these Core courses in the same year, or as many as you can, so that you move in tandem with the rest of your cohort. Taking classes together is a great way to build a bond, and in the near future we will sequence our Core courses such that you can take two in Winter and two in Spring, ideal for your second year (or first year, if you decided early on).

MATSCI Labs

All MATSCI labs are numbered in the 160s, and students in the Major have to take four of them, with the choice of a Writing in the Major (160, 161, or 164). Note that while these courses involve more extensive laboratory sessions, there are also lecture components built in that complement the experiments to provide more context. While these course numbers are higher than 140s and thus suggestive of taking after the Core (mostly true), you do not have to finish the Core before starting these courses, just a few select details if you happen to be interspersing them:

  • Before I (you) continue, please make sure you have at least completed ENGR 50 before taking any of these.
  • I strongly recommend taking MATSCI 160 first out of all the lab courses, starting with the fact that Haoxue is an excellent instructor. I remember when going through undergrad that I thought “WIM” was a capstone-like experience, but it really is just teaching you how people in your field write/communicate; and since all MSE lab courses have lab reports or presentations, it would be prudent to learn how to write effectively before continuing further. Besides ENGR 50 and a soft statistics prereq, you should take this as early as possible.
  • The 143 prereq to MATSCI 162 is no joke though. Believe Arturas when he says this.
  • Either MATSCI 161 or MATSCI 163 can be used to fulfill the capstone requirement for the Major, even if ExploreCourses doesn’t say this (yet). So, even if you’re planning to use the research track for the capstone, we strongly recommend taking the prerequisites for these two courses first and waiting until your third or fourth year before taking them with the majority of your cohort.
  • MATSCI 164, MATSCI 165, and MATSCI 166 are excellent examples of the interdisciplinary nature of MSE, and will ask you to combine skills from several different courses. I think these are great opportunities to learn a lot, but be mindful that they’ll definitely stretch your thinking!
  • Otherwise, the lab courses don’t relate to each other in content, so after 160 you can take the lab courses in any order with respect to each other.

MATSCI Electives

There are lots of elective courses in the department, impossible to discuss them all, so I’ll primarily focus on a few categories. Note that for the Major you are only required to take two of them, one for the Fundamentals and one for the Focus Area, but students often take several of these because they’re really good(!!)

  • Generally speaking, the 150s can be taken around the same time as the Core and in any order, with a few considerations:
    • MATSCI 151 is a great course taught by Reiner on a very foundational topic: mechanics. That being said, it tends to be underenrolled, presumably because the description dissuades MATSCI majors from taking it. I would certainly recommend taking it, which you can do straight from ENGR 50!
    • MATSCI 152 is a course I’m less familiar with, but the topic is relevant and Kunal is extremely knowledgeable. While there are no prerequisites listed, I think ENGR 50 is a sensible one, and 142 might be a helpful foundation.
    • MATSCI 156 is taught by yours truly and has a bit of overlap with 152 (naturally) and expects a bit more prerequisites for you to maximize enjoyment and understanding. I believe it’s possible to do thermo and electromagnetism concurrently; the course is just difficult in the complete absence of that knowledge.
  • It might seem odd that the 180s don’t have many prerequisites and appear to rehash the 140s in content based on their course descriptions. That’s because the 180s are the Grad Core for MS and PhD students. That being said, they are often some of the most enjoyable courses (they were mine), and I trust you’ll have a good time too, bearing in mind:
    • My first tip is a psychological one: Do not be intimidated by the grad students. If you’ve done well in the Undergrad Core and other MATSCI classes, you absolutely belong here and can go toe-to-toe academically with them; I’d bet money on it. Particularly because in advanced degrees the coursework/GPA does not matter as much, so those students likely won’t be as hard-working as you. If there’s a 180s course that looks interesting to you, I encourage you to try it if you have a solid grasp of the fundamentals. Do be prepared though when you attend the first class and you spot only 2 undergrads and 40 graduate students—it might even just be you.
    • Don’t be afraid to ask questions and ask for help! Faculty love to see undergrads in their Grad Core courses and will often go the extra mile to make sure you understand the concepts. They know Stanford undergrads work very hard academically and will reward you accordingly.
    • The overall approach of these courses is more theoretical. PhD students need a strong foundation for their research, so you’ll find that these courses are structured accordingly. Probably fewer applications and cool demos, more derivations and going deep. 🕳️
    • As such, the courses are undoubtedly more advanced than the undergraduate Core and you should be appropriately prepared. For example, if you did well in 144 (UG Thermo) and found it enjoyable, you are a good candidate for 181 (GR Thermo); but maybe hold off on 185 (GR Quantum) if you have yet to take 142 (UG Quantum).
    • The courses have a sequence, corresponding to the term they’re offered. For example, much like 144–145, it is probably expected that if you’re in 182 (Kinetics) in Winter, you will have first mastered the content in 181 (Thermo) in Autumn since all graduate students move through the Grad Core together. I think 184 (Structure)–183 (Defects) have a similar expectation, but you can build this background knowledge from any source (UG courses, research, etc.)
  • The 190s are just like the 180s (which used to be the 190s before the Grad Core restructuring), covering specific materials classes and properties. All of the previous points apply.

Last updated: Feb. 17, 2024.