<p>Hi! I was wondering what is the difference between chemical and materials engineering. I would like to create new materials, whether they be plant based, biology-based, or polymer-based, and feel like both majors could allow me to do so. Which major should I look more into, especially since they are in different colleges at UC Berkeley. Would the SAT II score in Chemistry matter equally to both majors?</p>
<p>Thank you!!</p>
<p>i dunno about what berkeley wants for the Chem SATII, but chemical engineering and materials science differ based on that chemical engineering focuses more upon liquid and gaseous states, while materials science is more upon solid state (like semiconductors and similar stuff).</p>
<p>IMO I think materials science is more fun, but that's because I did research in microelectronics engineering (both electrical engineering and materials science disciples).</p>
<p>but in any case, if you plan on moving into grad school, i think it doesn't really matter between the two.</p>
<p>Thanks!! If I wanted to make new materials like plastics or even tissue engineering would I consider materials engineering?</p>
<p>If you mean tissue as in biological tissue, you should actually consider BioE. Plastics is what materials science does though.</p>
<p>great! Thanks! :D</p>
<p>do chemical engineering. You can easily do material engineering stuff. Materials engineers can't necessarily perform chemE stuff.</p>
<p>most chemE and materials engineering departments are the same department.</p>
<p>Do chemE for undergrad and do materials for grad. That's the best way for broadened exposure</p>
<p>I would choose ChemE over MatSci and certainly over BioE, at least for undergrad. The fact is, these three majors overlap heavily such that there will be little difference amongst them in terms of helping the OP get the job he mentioned he wants. What will really matter is getting proper internship or research experience. Nobody is going to say 'I see you have excellent internship experience in tissue or polymer engineering, but because you didn't actually major in Mat Sci, we're not going to hire you.' Never happen. </p>
<p>I would pick ChemE because it is a more flexible major, particularly when it comes to salary negotiation. Let's be honest. Employers are not your friends. They want to pay you as little as they think they can get away with. With a ChemE degree, you really can reasonably threaten to take a high paying job with the petrochemical industry, and employers will know that. That gives you negotiating leverage. But with a bioE, or to a lesser extent MatSci degree, you have less leverage because there are fewer high-paying industries you could work for, and employers know that. BioE in particular seems to acutely suffer from this problem of lack of negotiating alternatives.</p>
<p>Wow thanks so much for all your responses. I've done a lot of thinking, and agree that chemical engineering would be best. </p>
<p>I was also wondering what the difference between a chemistry major and a chemical engineering major is. I am looking into Duke, however, they do not have an engineering department, but do in fact have a chemistry department. Is it advisable that I should look somewhere else, as Duke doesn't have the major I'm looking for, or will a major in chemistry allow me to pursue creating new materials as well?</p>
<p>Whoa. Chemistry and chemical engineering are WAY different. Two separate fields entirely. Chemistry is a <em>science</em> concerned with understanding the composition, structure and properties of matter. ChemE is a branch of <em>engineering</em> concerned with converting materials into more useful/valuable forms.</p>
<p>Thanks! I really appreciate it. :D</p>