Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics
Materials Science and Engineering, PhD
Explore the synthesis, processing, structure, and properties of diverse materials, developing innovative solutions to complex design challenges.
Pave the way for new technologies to improve the world through enhanced and novel materials. In the PhD in Materials Science and Engineering program at Columbia Engineering, you’ll probe the fundamental properties of matter and help devise solutions to design challenges in domains like clean energy, biotechnology, and more efficient computing.
Our graduate students work in areas as diverse as polycrystalline silicon; electronic ceramics grain boundaries and interfaces; oxide thin films for novel sensors and fuel cells; electrodeposition and corrosion processes; structure, properties, and transmission electron microscopy and crystal orientation mapping; and chemical synthesis of nanoscale materials. Faculty collaborations with regional and global research and manufacturing centers enhance your opportunities to engage in cutting-edge developments and make professional connections to advance your career.
Why Earn your PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at Columbia?
Columbia gives you a rigorous Ivy League education in the heart of a vibrant global city for unmatched opportunities and impact.
As a student, you’ll benefit from:
- New York City
Join top talent in one of the world’s most exciting and influential cities. Students choose Columbia Engineering over MIT, Berkeley, and others because of the New York City ecosystem of research and enterprise that can’t be found anywhere else.
- Unique Multi-Disciplinary Department
By its very nature, materials science draws on knowledge from multiple fields. Columbia Engineering’s program is housed in a department that also includes applied physics, applied mathematics, and medical physics, giving you broad exposure to several domains and experience with collaborative, multi-disciplinary problem-solving.
- Top Research Facilities
Access the most advanced equipment and labs so you can take your research wherever your curiosity leads. In addition to the department’s dedicated teaching laboratory and clean room facilities, the department is also part of the Columbia Nano Initiative, which includes the Center for Precision-Assembled Quantum Materials and the Center for Programmable Quantum Materials.
- Columbia University
With a PhD from Columbia, you’ll join one of the world’s most international, accomplished networks of researchers and alumni. Your Ivy League credential will open doors wherever you go and the relationships you build here will accelerate your career.