The department offers programs of graduate study both in Materials Science and in Metallurgical Engineering. Graduate students may choose one of these programs depending on their desired emphasis, their undergraduate training and the research topic chosen. Students of Materials Science may pursue studies in Polymeric Materials, Metallic Materials, Ceramic Materials, or other materials such as Composites or Biomaterials. The main emphasis is on the investigation of the structure at the molecular and atomic level and relating it to macroscopic properties of these materials such as strength, phase transitions or adhesion. In the Metallurgical Engineering program the research will be concerned with more engineering aspects of metallic materials, such as high temperature mechanical properties which include creep, fatigue, and fracture properties of alloys, powder metallurgy, tribology, and solidification processing. Through their research projects, students will have opportunities to learn the use of modern instrumental techniques including mechanical testing systems (MTS), electron microscopy, small-angle and wide-angle X-ray diffraction and Raman, infrared and X-ray photoelectron infrared spectroscopy.