NSME offers a Master's degree with either a Plan I (thesis), Plan II (non-thesis/project) or Plan III (coursework only) option, as well as a PhD degree. General requirements for the degrees offered follow. Nanoscience and nanotechnology have been referred to as the Industrial Revolution of the 21st century. Nanoscience refers to the scientific phenomena that occur at sizes around a nanometer, which is one billionth of a meter. An example of scale is the walls of cells, which are five nanometers thick. Demand for graduates in nanotechnology has been increasing steadily, but currently, only a few universities offer degree programs. UNM's interdisciplinary Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering degree program is offered jointly by the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering, evolving from the traditional disciplines of solid state physics, chemistry, biology, materials science and engineering. More than 70 faculty in nine academic departments worked together to develop the Nanoscience and Microsystems degree program. This program is a great example of how our faculty's leading-edge research benefits graduate as well as undergraduate students in a formal curriculum.