Materials Science or Chemical Engineering at Cal?? lots of questions about the program haha.

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>Hi! so I'm coming for sure next year :D. I'm currently in the College of Chemistry as a ChemE major. (yeah, i know its killer haha). </p>

<p>So, the questions: is matsci engineering possibly an easier major? I doubt any engineering at cal is easy, but chemE has a scary reputation. </p>

<p>I'm also not just considering it because it may be easier. I do think I'm more interested in the semiconductor/nano science aspect of materials rather than process engineering that comes with cheme. my favorite aspects of hs chem was atom structure/ bonding stuff like that, and i find nano-science fascinating. Are those topics more ChemE or MatSci based? </p>

<p>How about the 5 yr program? That sounds pretty interesting to me, does anyone know how hard it may be to get in?
And as for job prospects straight after graduation with a BS, are those pretty good for Matsci majors? What about graduate degree enrollment into other schools? </p>

<p>Haha so many questions but I'm curious about the program here and what's offered. Since I am considering switching to Matsci, I have to plan my schedule for this year accordingly and hope CoE isn't too nasty about letting me in. :P</p>

<p>Thanks, and Go bears! </p>

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<p>If you want a little of both, there is also the joint major:
<a href=“Chemical Engineering Joint Majors | College of Chemistry”>Chemical Engineering Joint Majors | College of Chemistry;
<a href=“http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/student_info/undergrad_info/degree_programs/docs/joint-majors.pdf”>http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/student_info/undergrad_info/degree_programs/docs/joint-majors.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thanks, I’ve taken a look at it. But I’m also just wondering about what is the difference between those majors exactly. haha looking at course descriptions can only do so much </p>

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<p>My roommate is doing that joint major. It seems like what you want to do (nanoscience/semiconductors) is really geared towards grad school. There are some companies who do things similar to those subjects, but the field is really new and unexplored, so grad school will probably be best for u if you are passionate about those subjects. For nanoscience, MSE is perfect, semiconductors may require some EE (electrical engineering) as well. MSE and ChemE are both hard majors, but I feel ChemE is harder. There are so many joint majors for MSE as it is interdisciplinary, so MSE has more breadth of feel while ChemE has more depth. Hope this helped!</p>

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<p>Thanks! it seems like MSE is more my style. obvs I wont know until I get there but I’m pretty set on switching now. </p>

<p>Do you think, if i were to get into the 5 yr program, that any company would be willing to “fund” my master’s. this isn’t trying to get ahead of myself, but I know that I don’t want to pay for grad school, and I have no idea how that company funding stuff works. What do they look for? research, internships? both? </p>