What is Material Science and Engineering?: Course Fees 2025, Subjects, Top Colleges, Admissions

Materials Science is an interdisciplinary course that studies the properties of solid materials and how those determine a solid material’s composition and structure. The Materials Science curriculum includes subjects like Physics, Chemistry and Metallurgy.

The duration of the undergraduate Materials Science course is four years. On the other hand, the postgraduate Materials Science course duration is two years. For PhD courses, the time span is between 3 years and 6 years, depending on your chosen topic of research.

For bachelor's degree, completion of 10+2 education with a Science background (physics, chemistry, mathematics) is required with 50 to 60% marks. For master's, bachelor's degree in Material Science, Metallurgy, Physics, Chemistry, or related disciplines is needed with at least 55% marks.

For admission to Materials Science and Engg. courses, you should meet the minimum eligibility requirements. For UG courses, you should have at least 50 to 60% marks in the PCM subjects, while for PG courses, you should have a BTech degree in Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, or a relevant field with at least 55% marks.

Then, you need to give relevant entrance tests and get very good marks in the same to get a seat at a top college. You should also fill out the college application forms before the registration window gets closed.

After the exam results are out, you need to apply for the college counseling procedure that is meant for seat allotment on the basis of entrance exam scores. After getting the seat, you need to go to the allotted college and pay the Material Science and Engg. course fee after which you can start attending classes.

You can check the basic list of documents you should have with you during the Materials Science and Engg. admission procedure:
• PG Mark Sheet with at least 55% marks (For PhD)
• UG Mark Sheet with at least 55% marks (For M Tech)
• Class 12 Scorecard with 50 to 60% marks in PCM subjects
• Class 10 Mark Sheet (may be needed)
• Exam Scorecard and Admit Card
• A Valid ID Proof like Aadhar Card, Passport, PAN Card, etc.
• Reserved Category Certificate (if applicable)
• Migration and Character Certificates (may be needed)
• Recent Passport-Size Photos

Some of the top entrance exams for Materials Science admission are JEE Main, JEE Advanced, UPSEAT, UGC NET, GATE, among others.

GATE exam is conducted only once a year to offer admissions to master's and PhD programs at top institutions, such as IITs and NITs. Qualifying GATE exam also paves the way for technical jobs in in PSUs. This year, IIT Guwahati will conduct the GATE 2026 exam. The GATE 2026 exam dates are OUT. The GATE 2026 EXAM DATES are February 7, 8, 14, and 15. The GATE will be held on different dates in two shifts. Candidates are advised to keep checking the website for the GATE 2026 official notification. 

GATE qualifying cutoff is the institute eligibility cutoff, and on the other hand, the GATE admission cutoff ensures a call for admission at IITs, NITs, IITs, and CFTIs. Check below in detail:

GATE Qualifying Cutoff: It is the minimum mark a candidate must score so that he or she is eligible for admission. But this does not mean that a candidate is selected for admission. Actually, it is fixed before the announcement of GATE results. It is announced by the conducting IIT and available on GOAPS. It includes qualifying marks for each paper.

Admission GATE Cutoffs: It is the final opening and closing rank score fixed by the participating institutes for the selection of candidates. It is to be noted here that meeting the admission GATE cutoff does not mean that the candidates will be selected for admission. It is fixed after the GATE result date. It is declared by the individual participating institutes and available on their respective counselling portals (CCMT/ COAP).

JEE Main syllabus can be categorized as medium in difficulty level. The topics covered in JEE Mains syllabus are similar to CBSE class 11 and 12 syllabus. Students can prepare for JEE Mains exam using their NCERT textbooks to get a good score. Candidates aiming top colleges are however advised to refer additional books to score high marks in JEE Mains.

Qualifying marks for JEE Mains 2026, also called qualifying percentile for JEE Mains will be announced by the NTA along with the JEE Main 2026 session 2 result. Candidates must note that qualifying percentile for JEE Mains 2026 is the minimum percentile required to appear in JEE Advanced 2026. For admission to NIT or IIITs, there is no provision of qualifying marks in JEE Mains 2026 and admission is given based on All India Rank in JEE Mains exam. NTA will announce JEE Mains 2026 All India rank in April after session 2 exam results.

Some of the specialisations of Materials Science are Metallurgy, Chemical Science, Structural Materials, Nanoscale Engineering among others.

Some important subjects taught in the Material Science and Engg. courses that give a detailed understanding of the discipline are given below:

·       Physics and Chemistry of Materials

·       Structure of Materials

·       Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Machinery

·       Fundamentals of Nanomaterials

·       Ceramics and Glasses

·       Metallurgical Engineering

·       Composite Materials

·       Materials Characterization

·       Corrosion Science and Engineering

The Materials Science syllabus has some core subjects that are compulsory for you to study and some elective subject choices that you can pick according to your interests and convenience. Some of the popular electives offered in the Materials Engineering courses are given here:

·       Thermal Engineering

·       Polymer Materials

·       Rubber Technology

·       Plastic Processing

·       Genetic Engineering

·       Nanotechnology of Bioactives

·       Steel and Non-Ferrous Metallurgy

·       High Performance Materials

Some of the top colleges offering Materials Science courses include IITs,  NITs,  Jadavpur University,  UPES Dehradun,  Anna University,  IIEST Shibpur,  DTU, SASTRA University,  MNNIT University, to name a few. There are more than 100 Material Science and Engineering colleges in India, out of which 87 are government colleges and around 20 are private colleges.

 The average fee for Materials Science courses range from INR 40,000 to INR 8 lakh. The Material Science and Engg. course fee varies on the basis of a lot parameters like the college offering the course, whether it is private or owned by the government, college location, All India ranking, placement records, popularity among students, etc.

Apart from IITs, other top colleges offering Materials Science courses are NITs, Jadavpur University,  Institute of Chemical Technology Mumbai,  VNIT Nagpur, etc.

Yes, Materials Science has a good scope. Being an interdisciplinary course, it opens career opportunities in various industries such as Automobile, Manufacturing, Transport, Electronics, Healthcare, to name a few.

Some of the industry sectors that provide good career options for Materials Science graduates are automotive, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, ceramic/ glass companies, nuclear, defence, oil & gas, etc.

The average salary of Materials Science graduates range from INR 5 LPA to INR 20 LPA. The salary figure depends on the institute, recruiting companies, job role, experience among other factors. As you get some years of experience in this field and gain some skills, recruiters will pay you more.

Hello,

I think, you can go for same mechanical domain for Masters. I sincerely suggest you to appear in GATE and sure a decent rank in it that you could be admitted in NITs and IITs.

I hope this helps. Thanks. !!