The study of ceramics has a long and distinguished history at Penn State. In 1923 the Department of Ceramics was established in the School of Mineral Industries. Since that time "ceramics" has evolved into its current state as a specialization option within the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.

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Ceramic Science and Engineering Introduction

If the first thing you think of when you hear the word "ceramic" is a coffee cup--you're right. Coffee cups are very traditional ceramic products. Other traditional ceramics include construction materials
like concrete, bricks, or glass.

But ceramic materials are also the stuff that is enabling the Information Age, improving your golf game, and taking us into space. The same types of materials that have been used for decades to build buildings and roads, and make our dinner plates, are now being used in high-tech applications. Designer ceramics include engine parts that enhance performance, fiber optics for high speed communications, bioceramics for medical implants, ceramic elements for integrated electronics, and heat resistant tiles for the space shuttle.

One key to the widespread use of ceramics is the abundance of inexpensive raw materials--like sand--that are used to make this class of nonmetallic, inorganic materials. Penn State's ceramics program has evolved over the years to become a scientifically oriented engineering program that prepares students for a wide range of careers. They learn the techniques that allow them to investigate materials properties, synthesize new materials, or design materials structure at the microscopic and atomic scale, or develop new applications for ceramics.

Ceramic scientists and engineers hold jobs in all sectors of the economy. From traditional fields to cutting edge technologies associated with electronics, biomaterials, energy and storage devices, nuclear materials, and renewable energy devices, our graduates are actively recruited by companies and universities across the country.

Undergraduate Ceramic Science and Engineering Option

The undergraduate specialization in Ceramic Science and Engineering covers the manufacture and use of inorganic materials. The program prepares students for operating, research and development positions, and graduate study. Many of the graduates find employment in fields that depend on ceramic materials including the iron and steel, electronic and communications, energy generation, aerospace and automotive industries.

The program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). During the junior and senior years, students interact daily in small courses with faculty who are internationally recognized as experts in the ceramic field.

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