MSc in Advanced Materials
Manchester Metropolitan University
Key Information
Campus location
Manchester, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 - 2 year
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
GBP 19,000 / per year *
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
Aug 2024
* UK and Channel Island students: £10,000 per year | EU and non-EU International students: £19,000 per year
Introduction
From clean energy to clean water, advanced materials provide the building blocks of innovation in a vast range of sectors and applications. As a materials chemist, you may design and develop intelligent products for areas such as health, energy, mobility, and communication, as well as environment and climate management.
Our MSc Advanced Materials offers the chance to get to grips with materials chemistry including the design, analysis, and characterisation of materials. With a multi-disciplinary approach, we offer a fascinating combination of chemistry and project management to develop your professional skills and prepare you to join the next generation of materials scientists.
The course is suited to talented chemists and scientists with a passion for analysing and creating innovative materials. With a core interest in materials chemistry, in this course, you’ll develop an in-depth understanding of the relationship between the structure and performance of different materials, the fundamental principles driving the development of innovative products, and strategies for the design and development of novel materials.
Features and benefits
- Cutting-edge equipment - Learn the latest analytical and materials characterisation techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-rays photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy, in our state-of-the-art facilities in the Department of Natural Sciences.
- Research Expertise - We’re home to PrintCity, our 3D additive and digital manufacturing centre, and Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre, which is leading the way in harnessing renewable energy.
- Learn alongside world-leading researchers - We are 6th in the UK for the impact of our research in Engineering and 100% of research impact is world-leading or internationally excellent (REF 2021).
- Professional impact - With a mix of practical skills, research-led understanding and industry-standard project management techniques, this course offers the professional tools you’ll need for your career in the field.
- Optional placement year (International students only) - Boost your career prospects and put theory into practice with an industry placement year.
- Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre - Our £4.1m Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre allows us to support over 100 small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and industrial partners to advance their hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
- A UK leader in hydrogen technology - We’re creating a new national facility that will be the epicentre of hydrogen technology in the UK. The facility will allow Greater Manchester’s organisations to explore and establish different materials, methods and standards required for the next generation of green hydrogen and fuel cells at the scale required to allow the city to reach Net Zero by 2038.
Admissions
Curriculum
Course information
You’ll cover a range of units, learning about recent developments in materials science, nanotechnology and how to enhance material properties and characteristics, as well as improve production methods and design. From there, you’ll also learn a variety of advanced techniques, from the spectroscopic, surface and structural analysis techniques used by materials scientists as characterisation methods, to the management skills vital for delivering successful projects.
While the course includes a set of nine core units, both our Innovative Materials and Energy Materials units offer the flexibility to focus on areas that we’re working on in our Advanced Materials and Surface Engineering research centre. That means you can explore issues like Energy Storage, Electrochemical Techniques or 3D printing, to name just a few potential topics. You’ll have the chance to specialise in your studies and explore your passions.
In your final term, your research project offers the chance to specialise even further, designing your own materials investigation to develop both your theoretical knowledge and your practical skills. As part of your research project, you'll complete a dissertation as the final write-up to your research project.
Year 1
You'll study nine core units over this one-year course, including an advanced practical research project.
Core units
- Advanced Project And Personal Development
- Management Of Projects Fundamentals
- Management Of Projects Professional Practice
- Applied Materials For Modernisation
- Energy Materials
- Bulk Characterisation Techniques In Material Science
- Electron-Spectroscopy And Imaging Techniques For Surface Analysis
- Nanotechnology
- Innovative Materials
Placement options
Strengthen your skillset by applying the skills you’ve learned throughout your academic studies in a practical, real-life industry environment. This course is available with an optional industrial placement year, giving students the chance to tailor their knowledge to suit a specific industry or skill set. By learning things that can’t be taught or experienced in a classroom, you’ll gain hands-on experience and inside knowledge of industry practice. This is an excellent opportunity to put theory into practice and gain transferable workplace skills, providing a real boost to your CV when you graduate.
The University’s Careers Service will assist students in finding suitable placements. There will also be plenty of help and advice from staff in the Department of Natural Sciences. After finding a placement, your tutors will be on hand to ensure this is the right choice for you and your career aspirations, to make sure that you get the most from your time in the industry.
A placement fee of £1,850 applies.
Career Opportunities
With a mix of chemistry, engineering and project management, MSc Advanced Materials will equip you with the skills to join the next generation of materials scientists. From academia to industry, whether in a technical role driving discovery or a managerial role leading teams, this course can help you prepare for a future at the forefront of materials development.
As such, it’s a qualification that could take you into various industries or sectors, in roles including:
- Research scientist
- Materials scientist/metallurgist
- Product/process development scientist
- Quality control chemist/analyst
- Technical manager
- Technical sales
- Consultancy and management work (technical and non-technical)
- PhD studies
Whether you’re a recent graduate looking to extend your skills, or already in practice and looking to progress your career, this course develops a range of professional-standard skills and opens up a variety of specialist career paths.
We place employability at the heart of your learning and teaching, regularly reviewing our courses to ensure that they are up-to-date and relevant to the needs of the industry. You will be taught and supervised by research experts, most of who are at the forefront of their specialist field and who will give you support and guidance throughout your studies.