Registration & Courses

Everything You Need to Know About Graduate Coursework

All full-time students should be enrolled in 12 units each quarter to ensure eligibility for employment and access to university services, such as health care. For all Materials Science and Engineering degree programs, the core courses should be taken in the first two-quarters of enrollment (fall and winter), followed by electives selected in consultation with your major professor or graduate advisor. Sample schedules for each degree program are available under the “About Our Programs” section.  

We know students are curious about selecting their electives, so we’ve identified a list of several common electives. This list should be used to guide your discussion with your major professor. Students often select electives from the Departments of Chemistry, Physics and other engineering disciplines, as well as from Materials Science and Engineering. Please be sure to complete a program of study form for your degree program.

Program of Study Forms

• Program of Study Form - Doctoral
• Program of Study Form - M.Eng
• Program of Study Form - MS

If you have identified a major professor and are actively conducting research, use the tool below to locate the course registration number for your major professor. Please take care to ensure that you are enrolled in the correct section of EMS 290, 290C (1 unit for group meeting), and/or 299 (variable units for conducting research):

Core Courses

Electives

• EMS 289A: Special Topics Mat Sci
  • Monday / Wednesday
  • 3:10-4:30pm
  • Olson 267
  • Professor Scott Mccormack
  • CRN: 39393

Research Units

The EMS 299 form is currently being processed through Qualtrics. If you need to register for EMS 299 units and did not receive an email with the EMS 299 form from Qualtrics please email chms-gradadvising@ucdavis.edu. The PDF version of the EMS 299 form can be found below in case you need to review it before you submit your responses on the Qualtrics form. 

EMS 299 Form 

If you plan to go on a planned educational leave (PELP), contact your graduate program coordinator to complete the necessary paperwork before you register. If you plan to be out of the state for the entirety of the quarter, you should complete an in absentia application and register as normal in 12 units. 

Complement Your Materials Science and Engineering Education

The electives listed below are a few recommended classes to help you and your major professor guide your coursework to complement your research objectives, though it is in no way a comprehensive list of all the courses available. The list will be updated annually with any new courses approved by major professors and graduate advisors.  

• Biological Materials
• BIM 202: Cell and Molecular Biology for Engineers (4 units).
  BIM 214: Cell Mechanics (4 units).
  BIM 262: Molecular Biophysics (4 units).
  BIM 289A: Cellular and Molecular System Engineering (4 units).
  BPH 241: Membrane Biology (3 units).
  ECH/EMS 245: Micro- and Nano-Technology in Life Sciences (4 units).
  EMS 288: Physical Biology of Cells (4 units).
  FST 202: Physical Chemistry of Foods (3 units).
• Chemical Engineering

• ECH 170: Introduction to Colloid Surface Phenomena (3 units).
  ECH 254: Colloid and Surface Phenomena (4 units).
  ECH 264: Emulsions, Microemulsions, Bilayers (4 units).
  ECH 253A: Advanced Fluid Mechanics (4 units).

• Chemistry
• CHE 210A: Quantum Chemistry (3 units).
  CHE 222: Chemistry of Nanoparticles (3 units).
  CHE 226: Principles of Transition Metal Chemistry (3 units).
  CHE 228C: Solid State Chemistry (3 units).
• Civil Engineering 
• ECI 244: Life Cycle Assessment (4 units).
  ECI 245A: Applied Environmental Chemistry – Inorganic (4 units).
  ECI 268: Infrastructure Economics (3 units).
• Computational 
• CHE 204: Mathematical Methods in Chemistry (3 units).
  ECH 261: Molecular Modeling (4 units).
  ECS 223: Parallel Algorithms (4 units).
  ECS 289K: Scientific Computing (1-3 units).
  STA 135: Multivariable Data Analysis (4 units).
  MAE 207: Engineering Experiments and Uncertainty (4 units).
• Electrical, Optical and Magnetic Properties 
• EEC 146A: Integrated Circuits Fabrication (3 units).
  EEC 150A: Signals and Systems I (4 units).
  EEC 236: Nonlinear Optical Applications (3 units).
  EEC 237B: Laser Physics II (4 units).
  EEC 242: Advanced Nanostructured Devices (3 units).
  EEC 289K: Ultrafast Photonics: Science, Technology and Applications (3 units).
  EEC 289L: Solid State Devices and Physical Electronics (3 units).
  ECH/EMS 246: Photovoltaics and Solar Cells (3 units).
  EMS 288: Glass – Science and Technology (4 units).
  PHY 108: Optics (3 units).
  PHY 240A: Condensed Matter Physics (3 units).
  PHY 243A: Surface Physics of Materials (3 units).
  PHY 243B: Surface Physics of Materials (3 units).
  PHY 243C: Surface Physics of Materials (3 units).
  PHY 250: Special Topics (3 units) (Topic varies by instructor). 
• Engineering Education
• ECI 289C: Engineering Education Lesson Design I (2 units).
• Fiber and Polymer Science 
• FPS 250A-F: Special Topics in Polymer Fiber Science (4 units).
• Imaging and Spectroscopy 
• BIM 289B: Biomedical Imaging (4 units).
  CHE 205: Spectroscopy (3 units).
  CHE 216: Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (3 units).
  CHE 240: Advanced Analytical Chemistry (3 units).
  CHE 241B: Laser and X-Ray Spectroscopy (3 units).
  CHE 241E: Microscopy and Imaging (3 units).
  EEC 289K: Ultrafast Photonics: Science, Technology and Applications (3 units).
  EMS 230: Fundamentals of Electron Microscopy (3 units).
  EMS 230: Electron Microscopy Lab (2 units).
• Management 
• MGT 255: New and Small Business Ventures (3 units).
  MGT 250: Technology Competition and Strategy (3 units).
  MGT 251: Management of Innovation (3 units).
  MGT 267: Teams and Technology (3 units).
  MGT 290: Topics in General Management (3 units).
• Mechanical Properties
• EMS 248: Fracture of Engineering Materials (3 units).
  EMS 249: Fatigue Mechanisms (3 units).
  MAE 250C: Mechanical Performance of Materials (4 units).
• Nuclear Science 
• BIM 243: Radiation Detectors in Biomedical Applications (4 units).
  GEL 227: Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry (4 units).
  GEL 251: Advanced Topics in Isotope Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry (3 units).
  PHY 224A: Nuclear Physics (3 units).
  PHY 245A: High-Energy Physics (3 units).
  PHY 252B: Techniques of Experimental Physics (3 units).
• Thermodynamics
• ECH 252: Statistical Thermodynamics (4 units).
  EMS 244: Interaction of Materials and their Environment (3 units).