Materials science a subject that you may not have heard of until researching university degrees. In this subject guide, Tom explains what Materials Science is, and how it is taught at Oxford!
What is Materials Science?
Materials Science is an interdisciplinary subject, spanning the physics and chemistry of matter, engineering applications and industrial manufacturing processes. Materials Scientists develop new materials and the processes for manufacturing them. It has been vital for developments in nanotechnology, quantum computing, batteries and nuclear fusion, as well as medical technologies such as bone replacement materials. I had always been keen on science and when it came to deciding what to study at University I chose Materials because of its mix of all sciences. I also felt that Materials Science would become more and more important in society as the need for advanced materials grew in applications such as lightweight composites for faster vehicles, optical fibres for telecommunications and silicon microchips for the information revolution.
What is a typical week like for a Teddy Hall Materials Student?
In the first 3 years, a Materials Scientist will generally have 2-3 lectures a day and 1-3 tutorials a week. On top of this in the first two years a Materials student will have labs on two afternoons every other week. Tutorials are incredibly useful to ask specific questions and have them explained to you - the tutors at Teddy Hall are all really good!
The first year content aims to provide you with the basics involving courses on the physical foundations of materials, the structure and mechanical properties of materials and transforming materials as well as the maths required for your degree. The first year will also teach you IT skills, coding and engineering drawing. These lectures will largely be held in the Hume Rothery and Banbury Road Lecture Theatres. The second year will involve delving much deeper into the subject of Materials as well as giving you the option to study supplementary subjects including foreign languages. The third year is the option subject year. You will choose 6 option subjects to study and completely tailor the year to you and to what you have enjoyed so far in your degree. This is certainly a fantastic opportunity that not many subjects offer. As well as the core lectures throughout your degree you will take part in an Entrepreneurship course, Team Design project and visit some of the leading institutions in the Materials Science industry as a part of the industrial visits. Your degree will conclude with a full time research project in your 4th year, either working with one of the world leading research groups at Oxford or elsewhere. Previous students have conducted projects at Cambridge, MIT etc.
If this sounds daunting do not worry. There is still plenty of time to take part in a range of extra-curricular activities at Teddy Hall or wider University level from sports to music and drama and everything in between.
Personal Statement
Materials Science, even now, is a fairly niche subject that not many people will have heard of. Therefore, I think it’s really important to demonstrate that you know just what Materials Science is and why you want to study the subject. It is helpful to look at the admissions criteria on the Oxford Materials website however do not regurgitate everything- make it sound personal.
When talking about relevant experiences you may have had make sure to describe and explain what skills you have learnt as a result of the experience. It shows you have though critically about the experience and in what way they have been useful to you as well as showing whoever is reading your statement just why they should pick you.
Make sure to write concisely. Shorter sentences and paragraphs make reading much easier as it gives the reader a break, allowing them to consider what they have just read. I am forever being told by my tutors not to waffle and to break down my sentences and paragraphs for this reason. I think it is especially important for scientists and will come in handy when you are writing up your 4th year project.
Above all else convey a passion for Materials Science. Tutors want to teach people that they feel are really excited to start learning more and would be grateful for the opportunity to do so. Highlight how you have furthered your knowledge of Materials as well as your A level subjects through books and other resources.
Newer books
Stuff Matters: The Strange Stories of the Marvellous Materials that Shape Our Man-made World, M. Miodownik
The New Science of Strong Materials or Why You Don’t Fall Through the Floor, J.E. Gordon
Bright Earth: The Invention of Colour, P. Ball
Made to Measure: New Materials for the 21st Century, P. Ball
Where Stuff Comes From, H. Molotch
The Material World, R. Cotterill,
Materials for Engineering, J.W. Martin
I would definitely recommend reading the first two. ‘Stuff Matters’ is a really great introduction into Materials Science and why we study it. If you enjoy Mark Miodownik I believe he did some Christmas lectures a few years back that you could try and find those to watch. Although ‘The New Science of Strong Materials or Why You Don’t Fall Through the Floor’ is fairly old now it was written by one of the founding fathers of modern Materials Science. In one of my interviews a question was even asked on a graph from the book!
Older books
(The examples in these books are not recent but the books still give a sense of certain key aspects of Materials Science)
Stuff: the materials the world is made of, I Amato
Tomorrow's Materials, K.E. Easterlin,
Materials & their Uses, W. Bolton
Structures - or why things don't fall down, J.E. Gordon
Websites
PAT
This is the Physics Aptitude Test that you will sit usually in early November. The questions are hard but they are hard for everyone. They are much different in style from anything you will have seen at GCSE and A-Level. As a result there is no better substitute for doing as many of the past papers as possible and as many other PAT style questions as you can find elsewhere. You can find these on the Oxford Physics website. I would also suggest trying some Physics Olympiad questions. They are equally or more hard and will help with the longer problem solving questions in the PAT. If you can, get a Physics teacher to spend 30-60 minutes a week going though papers with you, however I understand this may not be possible for everyone. One of the key things to remember is that they cannot test you on any physics more advanced than what you have already seen at GCSE and A-level. So although you will have to think outside the box you will know the physics behind the question. I’d suggest therefore you revise all your physics notes from GCSE onwards.
More than anything the examiners want to see your thought process and how clearly you articulate ideas when tackling a problem, because this forms the basis of science in the real world. Even if you can’t finish a question you shouldn’t worry because as long as you’ve had a stab at it and shown some working and ideas that is more than good enough on the PAT questions. They are designed to stretch you and not all be answered. You would have to be a wizard to answer them all fully.
As far as I am aware for Materials Science there is no cut off mark for the PAT test and so it is not the be all and end all. However it is still an important part of the application process.
Interviews
An Oxford interview aims to replicate a tutorial and is all about trying to work out how you think and perform under pressure in an environment such as Oxford’s. When a question is asked of you, talk the tutors through your thought process- what comes to mind, what you might need to answer the question and how you might go about answering it. The tutors are not expecting you to know the answers, they are there to guide you and to work together to an answer. The Teddy Hall tutors were incredibly nice and made me feel at ease- more than in my interview at another college.
Be enthusiastic about Materials! As I said in the personal statement section, tutors themselves are super passionate about their subjects and love talking about it. Be over the top with enthusiasm and treat the interview as a conversation rather than a one sided exercise. Ask questions and talk about your interests and how you came across Materials Science.
As far as I can remember interviews consist of a couple of maths estimation questions such as how much salt is in the sea as well as a couple of Materials based questions that will require you to draw on what you have learnt in GCSE and A level thus far. Typically a question is asked about a real life material sample that you will be able to handle and use your intuition to answer.
Remember not to stress about it. Tutors are lovely people and it is only 20-30 minutes of answering and thinking about interesting questions in a subject that you have a passion for.