Materials Science and Engineering
Our highly rated materials courses offer a great mix of science, engineering, design, and hands-on practical experience, leading to high demand for our graduates from employers.
*based on data from the National Student Survey 2025. All underpinning survey responses that contribute to this can be found on the OfS website.
Material Science and Engineering at Loughborough
Materials Science is the study of what things are made of, how they are structured and why they have the properties that they do. Materials engineering makes use of this knowledge and applies it to discover new and improve existing materials.
Our courses cover the fundamental and practical skills required to understand how materials’ structure, properties and performance are intertwined, and how to manufacture, characterise and develop advanced materials to meet society's needs. You will learn about a range of materials used in everyday fast-moving consumer goods and packaging to more advanced products such as fuel cells, novel batteries, electric vehicles and biomedical devices and implants. Sustainability is embedded within our courses as materials play an important role in achieving key sustainability targets like Net Zero and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Materials science and engineering has been a core strength at Loughborough for over 50 years and we are one of just a few dedicated Materials departments in the UK. We are an open and friendly department with a high staff-to-student ratio, allowing us to support our students strongly during their degrees.
Our courses
Links with industry
All of our courses offer the option to complete a salaried year in industry, where students can gain an extra qualification (Diploma in Industrial Studies). We provide support when searching for, securing and during the placement year and there is also the opportunity to undertake a work placement overseas or participate in a study exchange at one of our European or international partner universities.
Our students have secured placements at a variety of companies including Airbus, Babcock International, BAE Systems, Bentley Motors, Bosch, Caterpillar, CERN, Good Hair Days, GSK, Jaguar Land Rover, Johnson & Johnson, Johnson Matthey, Next, Pirelli Tyres, Red Bull Racing, Renishaw, Rolls Royce, Tata Steel, Tate & Lyle and Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited.
The department has strong links with industry, collaborating with industrial partners in many research projects. This extends to industry-sponsored student projects which add real world relevance for our students. We have an Industrial Advisory Board which meets regularly and provides important input to our programmes, ensuring our students graduate with the excellent employability skills. These industrial contacts not only provide potential employment for our students, as well as internships and placement year opportunities, but also bring invaluable experience from within industry which is reflected in our teaching.
Facilities
The Materials Department is well-equipped with extensive laboratories containing state-of-the-art equipment in materials processing, testing, analysis, simulations and characterisation, electron microscopy, x-ray, thermal and surface analysis.
Our newly refurbished building houses an extensive array of industrial and pilot-scale materials processing machines and equipment for preparation, formulation and testing. Our computer laboratories offer IT, CAD, modelling, materials selection and process simulation applications.
Accreditation
Our Materials BEng and MEng programmes are Engineering Council accredited degrees, accredited by the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IOM3). This accreditation supports our graduates to gain Chartered Engineer status.
We fund membership of the IOM3 for our undergraduate students which covers the duration of the course, and for 18 months after the completion of studies. IOM3 student membership benefits include access to Materials World (online or in print), local society meetings and discounts on events and training courses.
Career opportunities
Materials graduates are in high demand since the subject covers a wide breadth of engineering and manufacturing activity across many sectors.
Our degrees prepare our students for careers in a wide range of sectors, including aerospace, automotive, biomedical, energy and sustainability, consumer goods, sports, and defence. Our graduates go on to work in large and small companies in the UK and internationally. Some remain in the Higher Education sector to study for research degrees.
Our Materials graduates and post-graduates go on to establish themselves in careers in companies such as National Composite Centre, GE Aerospace, Airbus, Bentley, Bombardier, Bosch, Caterpillar, Dyson, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls Royce, Williams Racing, BASF, Glaxo Smith Kline, Johnson Matthey and Manufacturing Technology Centre.
The average starting salary for our graduates is £33,500 (Graduate Outcomes Survey, 2021-22 graduates - average salary 15 months post-graduation – UK domiciled).
Our students
Student experience
We pride ourselves in ensuring our students have an unforgettable experience while they are with us and the stats speak for themselves.
We are in the Top 5 UK universities for Materials Technology in The Times UK University Rankings 2025 league table, who have also ranked Loughborough 5th for Graduate prospects (Materials Technology), 2nd for Teaching Quality (Materials Technology) and 3rd for student experience.
By studying Materials Science and Engineering with us at Loughborough University, you'll be joining a highly regarded Department where you'll thrive in our vibrant community of students, academics and support staff.