Education
Professor of Materials Science
Last updated
Professors of Materials Science teach undergraduate and graduate courses in materials structure, processing, characterization, and properties while maintaining an active research program that advances the field. At research universities, they lead funded labs, mentor doctoral students, and publish in peer-reviewed journals. At teaching-focused institutions, instruction carries greater weight, but research expectations rarely disappear entirely.
Role at a glance
- Typical education
- PhD in Materials Science, Metallurgy, or related Engineering/Physics field
- Typical experience
- 2-4 years postdoctoral research experience
- Key certifications
- None typically required
- Top employer types
- R1 research universities, R2 institutions, polytechnic institutions, teaching-focused colleges
- Growth outlook
- Stable demand driven by CHIPS Act and energy transition investments
- AI impact (through 2030)
- Augmentation — AI and machine learning are expanding the scope of research through computational materials science and property prediction, creating new demand for expertise in data-driven discovery.
Duties and responsibilities
- Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in thermodynamics of materials, phase transformations, mechanical behavior, and characterization techniques
- Develop and update course syllabi, laboratory modules, and problem sets aligned with ABET accreditation standards
- Supervise doctoral dissertations and master's theses, providing weekly guidance on experimental design and data interpretation
- Write and submit federal grant proposals to NSF, DOE, DOD, and DARPA to secure external funding for research programs
- Conduct original research in specialization areas such as thin films, biomaterials, energy storage materials, or composites
- Publish findings in peer-reviewed journals including Acta Materialia, Nature Materials, and Journal of Materials Science
- Advise undergraduate students on coursework, research opportunities, graduate school applications, and career paths
- Serve on departmental and university committees including curriculum, graduate admissions, and faculty searches
- Collaborate with industry partners on sponsored research agreements, licensing discussions, and co-op program development
- Present research at professional conferences including TMS Annual Meeting, MRS Spring/Fall Meeting, and AVS International Symposium
Overview
A Professor of Materials Science occupies one of the more genuinely varied roles in higher education. On any given week, they might be running an X-ray diffraction session with a first-year PhD student in the morning, teaching a 200-student lecture on dislocations and plastic deformation in the afternoon, and editing a grant proposal to the Department of Energy before dinner. The job is structured around three pillars — teaching, research, and service — but at research universities the weight of the research pillar is substantial and never really stops.
On the teaching side, materials science professors typically cover core courses in the undergraduate curriculum: thermodynamics, phase diagrams, mechanical behavior, materials characterization, and often a lab sequence. At the graduate level, courses become more specialized — thin film deposition, electrochemical materials, polymer physics — and the line between teaching and mentoring blurs. A professor who runs a group of six doctoral students is managing six parallel research projects simultaneously, each at a different stage of experimental progress, each requiring different kinds of guidance.
The research program is the engine of a faculty career at most institutions. It requires continuous grant writing: proposals to NSF's Division of Materials Research, DOE's Basic Energy Sciences, DARPA's material science programs, or the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. A single funded NSF grant pays for a graduate student stipend, supplies, and partial salary — a professor running a productive lab typically holds two to four active grants at any given time. Winning an NSF CAREER Award in the first five years of the tenure track is a milestone that most departments watch closely.
Service rounds out the formal responsibilities: sitting on the graduate admissions committee, reviewing tenure cases for colleagues, participating in ABET accreditation visits, and taking on occasional department chair or associate dean responsibilities for senior faculty. At the highest ranks, editorial positions at journals like Acta Materialia or Journal of Applied Physics become part of the professional identity.
The role rewards people who genuinely want to do all three things — not just tolerate teaching while running a lab, or just lecture without caring about research. The professors who build long, satisfying careers in materials science are usually the ones who find the combination energizing rather than exhausting.
Qualifications
Education:
- PhD in materials science and engineering, metallurgy, ceramics, polymer science, chemical engineering, or physics with a materials focus
- Two to four years of postdoctoral research experience is effectively required at R1 and R2 institutions; competitive candidates at top programs hold multiple postdoc publications and have submitted at least one independent grant proposal
- Teaching experience — as a graduate instructor, postdoc lecturer, or visiting assistant professor — is expected and strengthens applications at all institution types
Research specialization areas in high demand:
- Energy storage and conversion: battery electrode materials, solid-state electrolytes, photovoltaics
- Electronic and quantum materials: 2D materials, perovskites, wide-bandgap semiconductors
- Biomaterials and tissue engineering: scaffolds, drug delivery matrices, orthopedic implants
- Structural and lightweight materials: high-entropy alloys, ceramic matrix composites, additive manufacturing
- Computational and data-driven materials: DFT, molecular dynamics, machine learning for property prediction
Grant and funding literacy:
- NSF proposal structure (Project Description, Broader Impacts, Data Management Plan)
- DOE Office of Science and ARPA-E proposal formats
- Industry-sponsored research agreement (SRA) negotiation basics
- Indirect cost recovery and budget justification
Technical skills and instrumentation:
- Characterization: SEM/EDS, TEM, XRD, AFM, XPS, Raman spectroscopy — operation and data interpretation
- Fabrication: thin film deposition (PVD, CVD), electrochemical synthesis, powder processing, AM platforms
- Computational: VASP, LAMMPS, COMSOL, Python-based data analysis
- Lab management: equipment maintenance scheduling, safety protocols (OSHA, lab chemical hygiene), student training programs
Professional standing:
- Active membership in TMS (The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society) and/or MRS (Materials Research Society)
- Publication record appropriate to career stage — hiring committees at R1s typically expect 8–15 first/co-author papers for assistant professor candidates
- Evidence of independent research identity, not just productivity as a postdoc in a large group
Career outlook
The academic job market in materials science is competitive but measurably better than in many humanities and social science fields. Engineering and applied science departments have maintained or modestly grown faculty headcount relative to enrollment, and several factors are creating new positions that didn't exist five years ago.
Semiconductor and microelectronics investment: The CHIPS and Science Act directed roughly $11 billion toward NSF and DOE programs supporting semiconductor research and workforce development. Universities have responded by launching or expanding programs in semiconductor materials, thin film processing, and advanced packaging — and hiring faculty to staff them. Candidates with backgrounds in wide-bandgap semiconductors, 2D materials, or semiconductor device-materials interfaces are fielding multiple offers.
Battery and energy storage: The electrification of transportation and grid storage has created sustained demand for battery materials research. Faculty positions in solid-state electrolytes, lithium and sodium-ion electrode materials, and battery failure analysis have been consistently open at institutions from MIT to regional engineering schools.
Additive manufacturing: Defense and aerospace investment in metal AM has translated into faculty lines at both research universities and polytechnic institutions, particularly for candidates who understand the microstructural consequences of rapid solidification and powder feedstock variability.
Tenure-track vs. non-tenure-track reality: The growth in positions has not fully offset a broader trend toward teaching-focused, contract-based faculty roles at some institution types. Candidates targeting tenure-track research appointments should enter the market with a realistic sense of how many positions open per year in their specialization — TMS and MRS job boards post 80–150 tenure-track openings nationally in a typical year, with the most competitive candidates applying to 30–50 positions.
For those who build strong grant records and maintain productive research groups, the career trajectory is stable and the compensation competitive with government research positions. Full professors at R1 engineering schools with active funded programs rarely face involuntary career disruption, and the combination of academic freedom, student mentorship, and intellectual scope keeps retention high among faculty who achieve tenure.
The path from assistant professor to full professor typically spans 10–14 years, with tenure coming at year six and promotion to full professor following an additional promotion review. Department chairs and deans are drawn from the full professor ranks, offering administrative career paths for faculty interested in institutional leadership.
Sample cover letter
Dear Search Committee,
I am applying for the Assistant Professor position in Materials Science and Engineering at [University]. I completed my PhD at [University] under Professor [Name] in 2021, studying defect chemistry in solid-state electrolytes for lithium metal batteries, and I am currently finishing a postdoctoral appointment at [Institution] focused on in situ TEM characterization of battery-electrode interfaces during cycling.
My research program centers on understanding how local chemistry and microstructure at electrode-electrolyte interfaces govern degradation mechanisms in solid-state batteries. Over the past three years I have developed a platform for correlating electrochemical impedance data with atomic-resolution STEM imaging of cycled interfaces — an approach that has produced four first-author papers in journals including Nature Energy and Acta Materialia, with two additional manuscripts under review. I have designed my postdoc work specifically to build an independent research identity that extends beyond my doctoral group, and I am prepared to submit a full NSF CAREER proposal in my first eligible cycle.
On the teaching side, I have designed and taught a two-week module on electrochemical characterization methods for a graduate course at [Institution], and I have mentored three undergraduate researchers through thesis projects. I have thought carefully about how to teach phase diagrams to undergraduates who find the subject abstract — I use battery phase behavior as the running application throughout, and the approach has worked well at making thermodynamics feel consequential.
Your department's investment in energy materials research and its proximity to the [regional battery industry cluster] make it an environment where I believe my program would grow quickly. I would welcome the opportunity to visit and present my research to the department.
Thank you for your consideration.
[Your Name]
Frequently asked questions
- What degree do you need to become a Professor of Materials Science?
- A PhD in materials science and engineering — or a closely related field such as metallurgy, ceramics, polymer science, or chemical engineering — is universally required for tenure-track faculty positions. A postdoctoral appointment of two to four years is now effectively a prerequisite at research universities, where hiring committees expect candidates to arrive with a publication record, grant-writing experience, and a demonstrated research identity independent of their doctoral advisor.
- How important is grant funding compared to teaching and publication?
- At R1 and R2 research universities, external grant funding is central to tenure and promotion decisions — not only because it finances the research but because it signals national-level recognition of the work. NSF CAREER awards carry particular weight for junior faculty. At primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs), teaching evaluations and course development carry more weight, though funded undergraduate research activity is increasingly expected even there.
- What is the tenure process like for materials science faculty?
- The tenure clock is typically six years from the date of hire at the assistant professor rank. During that period, the candidate builds a publication record, establishes a funded research program, earns satisfactory teaching evaluations, and takes on appropriate service. External letters from senior scholars in the field are solicited, and a departmental and university review committee votes on whether the candidate has met the bar for indefinite appointment. The process is transparent at most institutions but genuinely competitive — denial rates at top-20 engineering programs run between 15% and 30%.
- How is AI and computational materials science changing this role?
- Machine learning-accelerated materials discovery — using tools like AFLOW, the Materials Project, and custom neural network interatomic potentials — has become a standard part of the field's toolkit. Experimental faculty are increasingly expected to integrate computational collaboration or develop in-house simulation capability. Graduate students who can pair synthesis and characterization work with DFT calculations or high-throughput screening are highly competitive, and departments are actively hiring at the computational-experimental interface.
- What does the industry job market look like for materials scientists who leave academia?
- Materials science PhDs have strong non-academic options in semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace, automotive electrification, battery development, and defense. A faculty member who leaves before tenure — or who chooses industry from the start — can expect roles as a senior researcher, principal scientist, or R&D manager at companies like Applied Materials, Tesla, Lockheed, or 3M. Industry salaries often exceed academic salaries at comparable career stages, particularly in Silicon Valley and defense corridors.
More in Education
See all Education jobs →- Professor of Marketing Research$85K–$145K
Professors of Marketing Research teach graduate and undergraduate courses in research methodology, consumer behavior analytics, and quantitative market analysis while maintaining an active scholarly agenda. They design and publish original research, supervise doctoral candidates, secure external grant funding, and serve on departmental and college committees — balancing teaching, research productivity, and service obligations across the academic year.
- Professor of Mechanical Engineering$95K–$175K
Professors of Mechanical Engineering teach undergraduate and graduate courses, conduct original research, advise students, and secure external funding through grants. They work at research universities, teaching-focused colleges, and polytechnic institutions, and are responsible for advancing the field through publications, patents, and industry partnerships while preparing the next generation of engineers for practice or doctoral study.
- Professor of Marine Science$72K–$135K
Professors of Marine Science teach undergraduate and graduate courses in oceanography, marine biology, coastal ecology, and related disciplines while maintaining an active research program funded by external grants. They mentor graduate students, publish peer-reviewed findings, and often collaborate with federal agencies such as NOAA, NSF, and USGS on field-based and laboratory investigations of ocean systems.
- Professor of Media Production$62K–$115K
Professors of Media Production teach undergraduate and graduate courses in film, video, audio, digital media, and emerging production platforms at colleges and universities. They balance studio instruction with scholarly or creative research, advise student production projects, maintain active professional practice in the field, and contribute to curriculum development and departmental governance.
- Ethics Professor$68K–$125K
Ethics Professors teach undergraduate and graduate courses in moral philosophy, applied ethics, and normative theory while conducting original research in areas ranging from metaethics to bioethics to political philosophy. They work primarily in philosophy departments but are also employed by professional schools — medical, law, and business — where applied ethics instruction is built into degree programs.
- Professor of Geophysics$85K–$165K
Professors of Geophysics teach undergraduate and graduate courses in seismology, geodynamics, Earth structure, and related subjects while maintaining active research programs funded through federal agencies and private grants. They supervise graduate students, publish in peer-reviewed journals, and contribute to department service and professional organizations. The role blends deep technical expertise with mentorship, grant writing, and scientific communication at the intersection of academia and applied Earth science.