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Advanced Materials Science (Sustainability) MSc

London, Stratford (UCL East)

As climate change continues to affect our lives, the link to the continuous production and consumption of goods is clear. Sustainable materials is an evolving concept required across all disciplines, with innovative science urgently needed to contribute towards initiatives, such as net-zero emission targets announced by governments around the world, including the UK. Our MSc Advanced Materials Science (Sustainability) will prepare you as a new materials scientist to support this agenda. You will learn to promote research and come up with new, more sustainable ways to manage critical resources related to commodity materials.

UK students International students

Study mode

Full-time

UK tuition fees (2026/27)

£16,800

Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)

£42,700

Duration

1 calendar year

Programme starts

September 2026

Applications accepted

Applicants who require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 26 Jun 2026

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 28 Aug 2026

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of a second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

The English language level for this course is: Level 1

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

If you are intending to apply for a time-limited visa to complete your UCL studies (e.g. Student visa, Skilled worker visa, PBS dependant visa etc.) you may be required to obtain ATAS clearance. This will be confirmed to you if you obtain an offer of a place. Please note that ATAS processing times can take up to six months, so we recommend you consider these timelines when submitting your application to UCL.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

The Advanced Materials Science MSc (Sustainability) relates scientific theories to research and applications of advanced materials, encourages original and creative thinking, and contextualises scientific innovation within the global market and entrepreneurship. The programme delivers innovative teaching; from the group design projects where you are challenged to design the next advanced material to learning how to apply research in the commercial world.

This programme equips you with a solid foundation in materials sciences and related technologies, so you can confidently play your part in developing new materials that are good for industry and better for the planet.

We will explore the structure, properties and applications of the main groups of materials, delivered through seven core disciplines.

Research is interwoven through almost every aspect of the course, and you will build your own scientific research skills, working on a programme-specific literature project and six-month research project.

Studying at UCL, alongside globally renowned academics, means you’ll have the chance to participate in projects that can have a global impact on society today.

By the end of your time with us, you will be set up with the skills needed to design new, more advanced materials – materials that will play an important role in helping organisations to reduce their environmental impact, while also enhancing the durability of their goods.

Who this course is for

This programme is for students with a background in materials sciences, physics, chemistry, polymers, engineering or biotechnology. You will have a strong basis for a career discovering and designing materials that can be used for sustainable developments which will shape the future of our world.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

The programme is delivered by UCL’s Institute for Materials Discovery (UCL IMD) within the Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences. It will give you:

A solid ground in the scientific theories underpinning the research and applications of advanced materials.

A mix of innovative teaching methods including the chance to work on group design projects, where you’ll be challenged to design the next advanced materials.

Programme-specific modules (‘Advanced Materials for Sustainable Energy Technologies’, and ‘Advanced Topics in Materials Sciences for Sustainable Developments’), where you’ll learn important concepts for achieving a sustainable future, and unpick the issues that led us to this point in time.

Students on this interdisciplinary programme benefit from UCL's emphasis on enterprise and research-led teaching informed by current research input from departments across UCL.

In addition to the specific skills and knowledge students acquire by taking this programme, they also develop managerial and entrepreneurship skills, as well as transferable skills in areas including literature survey, design of experiments, materials research, critical data analysis, teamwork and effective communication skills using real-life case scenarios and student-led group projects.

You will be mainly based at UCL East campus, in the heart of East London, with easy access to all the cultural, entertainment and academic resources across the capital. Some core module will also be delivered at UCL Bloomsbury in central London.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

On successful completion of this course, you will be in a strong position to go into a career as a materials scientist or engineer in academia or industry, or to work as an entrepreneur.

Graduates from this programme progress into a wide range of sectors, including aerospace, biomedical research, advanced manufacturing and other multidisciplinary industries. For national statistics on graduate destinations, including for UCL, please see the HESA Graduate Outcomes data.

Employer examples (illustrative): alumni have taken roles at companies such as Shell, Johnson Matthey, Rolls-Royce, Merck, Oxford Instruments, Huawei, Bytedance, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola. These employer examples are illustrative and drawn from a internal records, alumni feedback and the Graduate Outcomes Survey carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), looking at the destinations of UK and EU graduates in the 2017 - 2022 cohorts.

The programme also provides an excellent foundation for further academic study. Past graduates have progressed to another postgraduate degree or doctoral research, some of whom have been awarded full PhD studentships. They have gone on to study at institutions including Purdue University in the USA, Universities of Oxford, Bristol, Queen Mary, Nottingham, Bath, St Andrews, Imperial College London, and UCL in the UK, as well as other top universities in Australia and Hong Kong.

Find out more about which sectors / job roles our graduates are working in 15 months after they leave UCL on our find out what graduates do page to learn more about the broad range of potential options open to you.

Employability

As well as developing your skills and knowledge in materials science, you will go away with transferable skills in areas such as literature survey, designing experiments, materials research, critical data analysis, teamwork and effective communication, using real-life case scenarios and student-led group projects.

Many of the skills you gain will be highly valued by employers and beneficial to further academic study or research, such as analytical thinking and innovation, active learning and learning strategies, complex problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, originality, taking initiative, leadership and social influence.

Networking

Staff at UCL IMD have extensive professional networks and often organize research seminar talks given by internal and external academic and industrial speakers . Students are strongly encouraged to participate in these scientific seminars. In addition, students are also encouraged to organise their own academic, social and alumni events with staff supports to enhance their sense of belonging.

UCL Careers also offers a range of services, providing access to skills development, recruitment and networking events.

Teaching and learning

The programme introduces you to the area of advanced material science through a blended mixture of lectures, in-person and online, case-study workshops, individual and group activities, and lab practices. You will be expected to supplement material provided by lecturers with your own independent-learning and research, by reading around the subject and by engaging with wider activities in advanced materials science, for example by attending seminars.

The compulsory curriculum is assessed by a combination of different methods that typically include individual coursework, a group project and/or a written examination, individual research projects with associated presentations, dissertation reports and viva voce. You are also given time to revise and work through your assessed work with opportunities for individual and group feedback.

Assessment methods vary according to modules and are designed to enable students to demonstrate learning over time.

Each taught module is normally lectured for 30 hours with around 20 hours tutorials and/or tutor-lead lab practices. The student is expected to spend around 100 hours on self-directed study for each taught module.

For full-time students, typical contact hours are around 12 hours per week. Outside of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, full-time students typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using their remaining time for self-directed study and completing coursework assignments.

In Terms 1 and 2 full-time students can typically expect between 10 and 12 contact hours per teaching week through a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, and tutorials. In term 3 and the summer period students will be completing their own research project, keeping regular contact with their research supervisors.

Modules

You will take modules to value of 60 credits per term. In Term 1 you will study compulsory modules relating to the Microstructural Control in Advanced Materials, Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing, and you will be exposed to the concepts of research design and research methods, thus gaining the necessary knowledge to develop your research project during the year. You will also study compulsory, route-specific module Advanced Materials for Sustainable Energy Technologies.

In Term 2 you will further develop the skills gained in Term 1, where you go on to undertake compulsory modules in Advanced Materials Characterisation, Material Design, Selection and Discovery as well as starting your six-month independent research project on cutting-edge topics regarding sustainable materials, sustainable manufacturing and production, and sustainable energy technologies. You will also study compulsory route-specific module Advanced Topics of Materials Science for Sustainable Development.

In Term 3 and over the summer you will continue to engage in your research project, supported by your project supervisor. This will culminate in you presenting your research progresses and findings to your contemporaries in both written and oral presentation formats.

Compulsory modules

Research Methodology

Materials Design, Selection and Discovery

Advanced Materials Characterisation

Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing

Literature Project

Research Project

Microstructural Control in Advanced Materials

Advanced Materials for Sustainable Energy Technologies

Advanced Topics of Materials Science for Sustainable Development

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Advanced Materials Science (Sustainability).

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£16,800
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£42,700

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a fee deposit will be charged at 2.5% of the first year fee.

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

There are no programme-specific costs.

For in-person teaching, UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

: Bseisu-UCL Scholarship

NOW CLOSED FOR 2026/27 ENTRY

Value: Fees plus stipend (1 year)

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: EU, Overseas

UCL East London Scholarship

Deadline: 25 June 2026

Value: Tuition fees plus £17,096 stipend ()

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: UK

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this course of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

You are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we access your application we would like to learn:

why you want to study Advanced Materials Science at graduate level
why you want to study Advanced Materials Science at UCL
what particularly attracts you to the chosen programme
how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging programme
where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver. Applicants who have a portfolio are strongly recommended to submit it when they apply.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate courses (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This course requires two references. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.