About us

This website provides background information on the research opportunities and teaching programmes that are available to you in Metallurgy and Materials at the University of Birmingham.  We hope that you will find these pages helpful in providing background information on the wide range of opportunities for both research and undergraduate studies within our department.  Please feel free to contact us if you would like any further information, and we will do our best to help in whatever way we can.
Professor Alessandro Mottura, Head of School

Mission Statement

To maintain Metallurgy and Materials Science at the University of Birmingham as world class teaching and research activities, to develop interdisciplinarity with engineering and science and to further the aim of Sustainable Development.

Undergraduate Studies

100%

Employability
2019/2020 Graduate Outcomes Survey

Top 100

QS World University Ranking 2023 - Materials Sciences

7th

for Materials Technology. The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.

Our distinguished research culture feeds into our range of undergraduate degree programmes. Scholarships are available, often in collaboration with industry.

We offer courses in Materials Science and Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Nuclear Engineering and Nuclear Science.
Further details about our courses.

We consider highlights of the undergraduate degrees to include the industrial placements (during vacations) and the high content of experimentally-based laboratory studies embedded in our programmes.

This culminates in a large-scale (six-month) final year project (three-year programmes) and a six-month industrial project (four-year MEng programme).  Throughout our courses we place emphasis on communication skills, and feedback from employers indicates that this ability to communicate well is a feature of our graduates.  The use of case studies is also now a major part of several of our programmes.

Postgraduate studies and research

The School of Metallurgy and Materials is very pleased to have achieved an excellent performance in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 – the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.

Top 10

in the UK for 4* Engineering research (REF 2021)

Top 10

in the UK for for Engineering research GPA (REF 2021)

Top 100

in the world for Materials Science - QS World University Ranking 2023

 

At postgraduate level, we have a comprehensive choice of masters level taught and research degrees: MRes , PhD and EngD, with a wide range of generous scholarships available in all research areas.  These research programmes are supported by outstanding academic staff, and a superb range of equipment and facilities. Most projects receive industrial support.

Research

In research we are proud to encompass a wide range of interests in the processing, characterisation, assessment and modelling of materials. We are also considered to be the leading school for many areas of metallurgical research.  Research is currently organised within three independent Research Centres integrated under the Department.  Our numerous interactions with industry span agreements lasting between three months and twelve years.

Our History

Metallurgical studies at Birmingham date back to 1881 when the first students were registered for an option in Chemistry in the Mason Science College in the City. Read more...