Materials

The Materials Department at UC Santa Barbara was conceptualized and built around one central precept: that research is most effective in a collaborative, multidisciplinary academic environment. The Department carries out research within and across the following areas:

• Electronic/Photonic Materials
• Functional and Quantum Materials
• Macromolecular/Biomolecular Materials
• Structural Materials

Programs of study and research can be individually tailored to accommodate research needs and student interest. All students are expected to take a departmental core sequence covering the fundamental concepts that underpin the understanding of the structure of materials, a sequence of courses in their major field generally focusing on the relationships between structure and properties, and electives selected from a wide range of graduate courses. The Department offers a wide menu of courses on advanced materials, including those of interest in critical technologies such as optoelectronics, energy storage, sustainable polymers, renewable energy, quantum information systems, and efficient propulsion systems. The curriculum also includes offerings in materials chemistry, synthesis and processing, advanced characterization, phase transformations and mechanics of materials.