Course summary

Metallurgy and Materials Science at Birmingham is a major research centre with world class facilities. Our research is at the leading edge of Materials Science and Engineering, and we work closely with a range of industrial partners to ensure that the potential of our discoveries are maximised. New materials underpin development and progress across a wide variety of sectors. New technologies, from planes to batteries, from hip implants to electronic devices, are made possible, and often limited by, the materials we currently know and use. Materials Scientists and Engineers work hard to understand how and why materials behave the way they do, and exploit this knowledge to develop new materials with amazing properties. This programme comprises a major research project and six taught modules, four compulsory and two optional. The research project can be taken full-time or part-time and can be carried out in the University or by industrial collaboration with a company. We will provide the research supervisor and will arrange for all necessary facilities and resources. Alternatively, the research project can be carried out in an industrial research laboratory with both academic and industrial supervisors. This route is suitable for candidates seconded from industry. This programme can be taken on a full- or part-time basis. This one-year Course (full-time) comprises a major research project (two-thirds of the year) and six taught modules (one-third of the year), which are taken intermittently throughout the year. Students with an appropriate technical background (a Materials Science first degree) can start the course at any time. Students without a background in Materials Science are required to take the Introduction to Materials module (see module section), and must start the MRes Course at the beginning of the academic year, in September.