材料科学与工程是一个跨学科计划。工程和科学学科的学生在材料的物理和化学，材料的热力学和结构以及当今制造环境中材料的最新技术方面都拥有坚实的基础。教师的研究领域主要集中在为当今的电子，能源，生物医学和高科技行业开发新型材料。这些材料可以是块状或薄膜形式，范围包括陶瓷，半导体，金属，聚合物和生物材料。系的教职员工是马里兰大学材料研究科学与工程中心，马里兰大学纳米中心和马里兰大学能源研究中心的主要参与者。
Materials Science and Engineering is an interdisciplinary program. Students from engineering and science disciplines receive a solid foundation in the physics and chemistry of materials, thermodynamics and structure of materials, as well as the latest technological aspects of materials in today's manufacturing environment. Faculty research areas are mainly concentrated in the development of novel materials for today's electronics, energy, biomedical and high tech industries. These materials may be bulk or thin film format and range from ceramics, semiconductors, metals, polymer and biomaterials. Departmental faculty members are major participants in the University of Maryland Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, the Maryland NanoCenter and the University of Maryland Energy Research Center.