NSU’s School of Science and Technology to Add New Doctoral Program in Materials Science and Engineering     

Norfolk, Va.—Beginning Fall 2007, NSU’s School of Science and Technology will offer a new doctoral program in materials science and engineering that will be an interdisciplinary effort between the departments of Chemistry, Engineering, and Physics.   

The doctoral program is the second Ph.D. level program that the university has been approved to offer.  Currently, the university offers a Ph.D. program in social work and a joint Psy.D. program in clinical psychology that is administered through the Virginia Consortium.  

The new program addresses the critical technical needs of industry, academia and government laboratories in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation for scientific and engineering leadership in the area of advanced nano-structured materials and engineering for the next-generation photonic and quantum based materials and devices.  As a result of its unique focus on photonic and quantum based materials, the program is substantially different from the other two materials science programs in the Commonwealth, which are housed at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.  This innovative program will address unique technical issues associated with advanced materials as well as prepare students with the knowledge necessary to employ these materials and derived devices in commercial applications.   

“The launch of this program marks a significant milestone for the university and the School of Science and Technology,” said Sandra J. DeLoatch, dean of the School of Science of Technology. “This program will have a dramatic positive impact and make a significant contribution in increasing the number of materials science professionals, especially from the minority sector.”

 Students in the program, which is designed to be completed within a four-year period, will be required to complete a minimum of 75 graduate credit hours that comprise at least 39 credit hours of coursework and 36 hours of research-based courses including 27 hours of Ph.D. research and 9 hours for a doctoral dissertation.  

Students holding bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry, physics, materials science, electrical or optical engineering, or related disciplines are eligible for admission to the Ph.D. program.  They also must satisfy pre-requisite coursework in general chemistry, university physics and differential equations.   

For more information about the program, call the School of Science and Technology at 823-8180 or 823-2820.