Major: Bachelor of Science

The Materials Science and Engineering Honors Program offers an opportunity for undergraduate Materials Science and Engineering majors with a GPA of 3.7 or higher to pursue independent research at an advanced level, supported by a faculty advisor and graduate student mentors. The main requirements are as follows:

• Application to the Honors Program (must be pre-approved by the faculty advisor)

• Enrollment in MATSCI150 Undergraduate Research and participation in an independent research project over three full quarters

• Completion of a faculty-approved thesis

• Participation in the MSE Research Symposium in Spring quarter, or a poster or oral presentation of thesis work at a Stanford Symposium/event or, at your faculty advisor’s discretion, in a comparable public event. 

Since this requires three full quarters of research and a final written thesis and presentation following completion of the work, students must apply to the program no less than four quarters before their planned graduation date. Materials Science and Engineering majors pursuing a typical four-year graduation timeline should meet with an MSE Advisor no later than winter quarter of their junior year to receive information on the application process.

All requirements for the Honors Program are in addition to the standard undergraduate program requirements.

• Application deadlines and additional information can be found here opens in a new tab. 

  • Have an overall GPA of 3.700 or higher (as listed at the end of the unofficial transcript) at the time of application.

  • Have taken ENGR 50 and at least six MATSCI courses.

  • Seek out a Faculty Research Advisor and agree on a proposed research topic.

  • Complete and submit an Honors Program application package, which includes the following three documents:

    • MSE Honors Application form 

    • Summary of the proposed research (300–500 words)

    • Unofficial transcript

• Overall GPA of 3.7 or higher at the end of the quarter prior to degree conferral (calculated on the unofficial transcript).

• Complete at least three-quarters of research with a minimum of 9 units of MATSCI 150 (students may petition out-of-unit requirement with Faculty Advisor approval). All quarters must focus on the same topic. Maintain the same faculty advisor throughout, if possible.

• For detailed requirements see the MatSci Honors Program Guidelines opens in a new tab.

• Present a poster presentation of thesis work at the MSE Research Symposium, or at a comparable public event. The Faculty Advisor needs to sign off on this requirement.

• Submit final drafts of an Honors thesis to two faculty readers (one must be your research advisor, and one must be an MSE faculty member/SoE Academic Council member) at least one month before graduation. Both must approve the thesis by completing the signature page.

• Submit to the MATSCI Student Services Office (Durand 104) and MSE UG Advising one copy of the Honors thesis and the signed signature page in electronic form at least one month before graduation.