Materials Science and Engineering

(Discipline Code: 0805)

I. Discipline Overview

Relying on the College of Materials Science and Engineering, the Institute for Advanced Materials, the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and the Key Laboratory for Light-weight Materials, the first-level discipline of Materials Science and Engineering has five secondary disciplines: Materials Physics and Chemistry, Materials Science, Materials Processing Engineering, Optoelectronic Functional and Information Materials, and Physical Properties and Devices of Magneto-optical Materials and Devices. Mainly based on natural disciplines such as physics and chemistry, this discipline researches the four basic elements of material composition and structure, preparation and processing, properties and service performance and their interrelationships and constraint law, as well as the production and preparation technology and processing technology of materials and components, and the impact and protection of materials on and for the environment.

The discipline dates back around 100 years to the Department of Chemical Engineering of the National Central University(1928-1949), and has the first silicate speciality in China. It is an advantageous discipline of colleges and universities in Jiangsu, a cultivation and construction point of national first-level key disciplines in Jiangsu, a first-level key discipline of Jiangsu Province, a key discipline in materials physics and chemistry and materials science of Jiangsu, a pilot unit for comprehensive reform of full-time professional degree postgraduate education of the Ministry of Education in materials engineering, and an important supporting discipline of State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering and the Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials. The discipline has a number of discipline leaders and young backbone including academicians, Cheung Kong Scholar, national outstanding youth, national high-level talents, as well as strong faculty and advanced equipment.

II. Cultivation Goals

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the discipline comprehensively implements the CPC's education policy, takes establishing moral values and educating people as the fundamental, and the all-round moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetic development as the main line, and cultivates high-level talents with firm political stance, noble ideological character, rigorous academic attitude and innovative spirit.

Knowledge structure: Master the solid and broad basic theories and systematic and in-depth expertise in terms of materials synthesis, materials structural properties, materials preparation and processing, materials modification and application, etc. Ability structure: Master solid experimental skills and computational techniques, deeply understand the development direction of the discipline and the frontier of international academic research, master advanced methods of scientific research, be able to proficiently apply a foreign language for study and research, and have the ability to conduct academic research and international exchange by targeting the frontier of international academics. Have the ability to independently and creatively engage in teaching, scientific research and management in the field of materials science and interdisciplinary fields, to make creative achievements in materials science or specialized technology, to lead large-scale scientific research and technology development projects, and to solve and explore the problems in China's economic and social development. Quality structure: Have a correct outlook on life and values, systematically scientific and cultural knowledge and skills, robust physique and strong willpower, noble sentiments and correct aesthetics, correct labor concepts and good labor habits.

III. Cultivation Direction

The cultivation direction of doctor's degree program for the first-level discipline of materials science and engineering: 1. materials physics and chemistry; 2. materials science; 3. materials processing engineering; 4. physical properties and devices of magneto-optical materials; 5. optoelectronic functional and information materials. Specifically: Basic theory of materials physics and chemistry, microstructure analysis and physicochemical properties of materials, physical chemistry of functional materials, inorganic non-metallic materials, polymer materials, composite materials, metallic materials, material forming theory, new technology for thermal processing of materials, advanced manufacturing of materials, computer simulation and digital design of engineering, organic electronics, energy storage materials and devices, semiconductor photoelectric technology, organic photoelectric materials, bio-optical electronics, functional nanomaterials, photoelectric conversion materials, organic and inorganic hybrid materials, flexible electronics, space materials, etc.

IV. Study Period and Credits

The study period is generally 4 years for full-time doctoral students, and also 4 years for students in the full-time combined master and doctor degree program(doctoral level). The extension of study period shall be applied for by students themselves, agreed by the superior or supervisory group, reviewed by the college, and approved by the Graduate School. The maximum study period should be implemented in accordance with the Regulations on the Management of Academic Registration of Graduate Studies of Nanjing Tech University, and within the extended period, doctoral students should no longer enjoy relevant financial support from the state and the university.

The minimum total credits required for doctoral students is 12, including 6 credits for courses (4 credits for public degree courses and 2 credits for professional degree courses), 2 credits for attending academic report training (at least 4 times), 2 credits for academic lectures/reports (at least 15 times), and 2 credits for attending international academic conferences or overseas exchange visits.

After entering the doctoral stage, students in the full-time combined master and doctor degree program should make up their doctoral cultivation sessions based on the cultivation plan for master students.

V. Curriculum Setting

VI. Compulsory Links Management

1. Academic report training (2 credits)

Doctoral students must give thematic reports at the academic seminars as required. During the academic period, each doctoral student must make no less than 4 reports, and meet the needs of at least 4 reports in total to obtain 2 credits for academic report training.

2. Academic lectures/reports (2 credits)

Doctoral students are required to participate in experimental safety training, academic seminars and labor education activities during their studies. They are only allowed to enter the laboratory to carry out experiments after passing the experimental safety training; they must attend at least 15 academic seminars on and off campus (at least 5 academic seminars organized by the university and at least 2 lectures on the quality of humanities and aesthetics), and they must also participate in the sunshine run on campus, sports meeting, voluntary work and public welfare activities in order to obtain 2 credits for academic lectures/reports. The credits for academic lectures/reports for students in the full-time combined master and doctor degree program are calculated independently in the master's and doctoral stages.

3. Attending international academic conferences or overseas exchange visits (2 credits)

Doctoral students must attend one international (domestic) academic conference organized by authoritative academic institutions or overseas exchange visits for more than 3 months during their study period in order to obtain 2 credits for the session.

VII. Thesis

1. Basic requirements for thesis

The thesis work is an important part of the cultivation of doctoral students, and is a comprehensive training for doctoral students to conduct scientific research or undertake specialized technical work, reflecting that doctoral students have mastered broad basic theoretical knowledge and systematic professional knowledge and research methods of the discipline, have the ability to independently engage in scientific research work or technical research and development, and have certain innovative ability.

(1) Requirements for topic selection and literature review

The thesis topic should be chosen under the guidance of the supervisor, according to the development of science and technology and national needs, combined with personal knowledge background and research interests. The topic chosen for the thesis should address a specific research direction of the discipline and have theoretical significance and application prospects for the technological development or industrial progress in the corresponding field.

In the literature review, students should provide a systematic, comprehensive and objective description and comment on the research results, problems and new development trends of the issue under study in the recent past based on comprehensive collection and extensive reading of relevant research literature, and after inductive management and analysis and identification; it should reflect the development process of the research field and the current situation of domestic and foreign research, provide strong support and argumentation for the establishment of the thesis topic, and provide a theoretical basis for the top selection for scientific research. The literature review should reflect the basic literacy and competence of doctoral students in the discipline. A good literature review should be objective, accurate, well-thought-out, find the limitations of existing results and new research hotspots, and achieve reasonable importation into students' own research topic. The literature review should pay attention to the comprehensiveness and representativeness of the information. The omission and lack of representativeness of the literature will affect the accuracy of the selected topic.

The topic chosen in the proposal report should belong to the scope of the discipline and should include: the basis for choosing the thesis topic, including the significance of the topic and the analysis of the current situation of domestic and foreign researches; the research plan of the thesis, including the research objectives, the research contents and key problems to be solved, the research methods, technical route and experimental scheme to be adopted and their feasibility analysis, the possible innovations, etc.; the expected objectives and research results; the thesis work plan, etc.

The reviewer of the literature review and proposal report shall be organized and conducted publicly by the college or department or research institute, and doctoral supervisors of relevant disciplines shall be invited to participate in the selection of thesis topics of interdisciplinary disciplines. The members of the review panel should critically review the literature review and the proposal report of the reporter and write the review comments.

(2) Normative requirements

The doctor's thesis should conform to both the regulations of the Presentation of Theses and Dissertations (GB/T 7713.1-2006) and the relevant regulations of the cultivating unit. In addition, doctor's thesis in materials science and engineering disciplines should meet the following specifications:

1. It must indicate the specific chemical composition of the materials used, the state of the samples, etc.; and for the standard samples used in the material analysis and test, it must indicate the quality level of the standard samples;

2. It must describe the model of instrumentation used for material testing, the principle of the test method, the test conditions, etc.;

3. For the material preparation or test completed according to national standards or an industry standard, it must indicate the number of the standard as the basis.

4. It must indicate the source and purity of raw materials and chemical reagents used in the preparation and processing of materials.

5. The analytical data used must be retained to the lowest valid digit of the detection limit of the analytical method or instrument , and the analytical results are expressed as the positive and negative standard deviation of the mean value;

6. The abbreviations in the text must be given their full names when they first appear, except for those customarily used in the first-level disciplines; the full abbreviations should be listed separately, either before the text or after the references.

7. Each chapter of the thesis should be equipped with a number of diagrams, and the diagrams must be accompanied by the titles and descriptions in English and Chinese.

8. Doctor's thesis should avoid a simple listing of experimental results. It should deeply analyze and discuss various results, refine or condense them appropriately and scientifically, illustrate the scientific significance or findings of the research results, explore problem-oriented or clue-based information for further research, and provide reference for others.

   The basic requirements for thesis are detailed in the Basic Requirements for Doctoral and Master's Degrees in First-Level Disciplines (published by Higher Education Press, edited by the Sixth Discipline Review Group of Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council).

   2. Thesis proposal

   According to the "Requirements of Nanjing Tech University on the Proposal Report of Graduate Students", doctoral students of this discipline can only make the proposal report after submitting the "Safety Risk Assessment Report of the Experiment for the Opening Assessment of Graduate Students in the College of Materials Science and Engineering". The proposal report of thesis should be completed before the end of the third semester, and the time between the proposal report and the application for thesis defense is generally not less than 1.5 years. The numberof the proposal report words should be about 5000 ; more than 150 main references should be read, among which there should be at least 2/3 foreign references. The contents of the proposal report should include: (1) the research significance of the topic, the current situation at home and abroad; (2) the accumulation of work related to the topic and the existing research achievements; (3) the difficulties in the topic and the key problems to be solved; the proposed research methods, technical routes, experimental programs and their feasibility; (4) the planned progress and expected results.

   The proposal report conference should be held centrally and openly within the scope of the discipline, and the proposal report should be evaluated by an assessment panel consisting of three to five experts. The members of the review group are experts with senior titles in relevant disciplines, among which there should be at least 70% of doctoral supervisors, one to two enterprise experts (with senior titles) can be invited for major scientific research projects in cooperation with industrial and mining enterprises, and doctoral supervisors of relevant disciplines should be invited to participate in the selection of topic for interdisciplinary theses. For those who pass the assessment of proposal report, the revised proposal report and thesis work plan should be submitted to the college for record by the end of the third semester after being approved by the chairman of the Degree Evaluation Sub-Committee; for those who fail to pass the assessment of proposal report, the proposal report can be made up within 6 months, and for those who still fail, the college will set up an expert group to help rectify the proposal report until it passes the assessment. After the proposal report is approved, it is generally not allowed to change the topic at will. If there is a major change in the topic of the thesis, the graduate students must write a written report and reorganize the proposal report conference after the supervisor agrees, so as to ensure the frontier and innovation of the topic.

   3. Mid-term assessment

   The mid-term assessment of doctoral students is a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of their ideological and political performance, course study, scientific research progress and research ability since their enrollment, after their course study and proposal report are basically completed, to determine whether they are qualified to continue their doctoral studies. Those who do not attend the mid-term assessment for no reason may not apply for extension and will be treated as failing the mid-term assessment. For the mid-term assessment of doctoral students, doctoral students should firstly make personal summary and fill out the assessment form, and then the college will organize experts to conduct the assessment. The doctoral students with "excellent" or "qualified" results will pass the mid-term assessment and be allowed to enter the doctoral thesis stage and continue their doctoral studies according to the plan.

   Each doctoral student has two opportunities to be assessed. If the first assessment result is "unqualified", the doctoral students will be given a diversion warning and must attend the next mid-term assessment; if the second assessment is still unqualified, they are not suitable for further cultivation and will be disqualified from pursuing doctoral degree; among them, if students in the full-time combined master and doctor degree program are suitable for transferring to master students cultivation, they can pursue master's degree according to the requirements of master students cultivation upon their own application. The mid-term assessment of doctoral students is held at the end of the fourth semester or the beginning of the fifth semester, and they can only apply for the thesis defense one year after passing the mid-term assessment.

   The mid-term assessment of doctoral students is carried out in accordance with the Implementation Measures for Mid-term Assessment of Doctoral Students of Nanjing Tech University and the Implementation Plan for Mid-term Assessment of Doctoral Students in the College of Materials Science and Engineering.

   4. Pre-defense (pre-review)

   The pre-defense of doctoral students is openly conducted within the first-level discipline of materials science and engineering, and is reviewed by an assessment panel composed of five experts in the discipline or related disciplines. Doctoral students should submit the application for pre-defense of thesis to the graduate secretary before March 5/September 5 every year, and the graduate secretary will arrange the review experts, secretary and time for the pre-defense. After the pre-defense time is set, doctoral students should submit the first draft of the thesis to the pre-defense secretary before March 10/September 10, and the pre-defense secretary will send it to the review experts and post the pre-defense notice. Graduate students who have completed the pre-defense should revise the problems in the thesis writing according to the opinions put forward by the assessment team, and after the supervisor (team) confirms it, send the Registration Form of Pre-defense Situation to the chairman of the pre-defense for evaluation. Only after passing the evaluation, can the revised thesis be submitted for repetition rate check and blind review within the time specified by the university; if the revised thesis fails to pass the evaluation, graduate students cannot submit the thesis for repetition rate check and blind review within the time specified by the university, and they must make substantial adjustments and improvements according to the opinions put forward by the assessment team for the problems in the research work of the topic and the writing of the thesis under the guidance of the supervisor (team), and then submit the application for the pre-defense of the thesis again.

   The requirements for the pre-defense of doctoral students are detailed in the Implementation Measures of the College of Materials Science and Engineering on the Pre-Defense of Doctoral Theses.

   5. Thesis review and defense

   Doctoral students can apply for defense after completing all the links and credits stipulated in the cultivation plan.

   (1) Detection of academic misconduct in thesis

   After completing the thesis, doctoral students should upload the version for blind review of the thesis to the graduate system within the specified time. After the college has reviewed the credits and the supervisor has reviewed the thesis with qualified results, the Graduate School will arrange the detection of academic misconduct in the thesis. If the thesis passes the detection, the Graduate School will directly send three copies of the thesis to the external experts for review, and the supervisor will directly send two copies of the thesis to the peer experts for review. If there is academic misconduct as shown in the test results, serious treatment will be made according to the Implementation Measures for the Detection of Academic Misconduct in Theses of Graduate Students of Nanjing Tech University.

   (2) Thesis review by external experts

   For details, please refer to the Regulations on Blind Review of Theses of Graduate Students of Nanjing Tech University.

   (3) Thesis defense

   The doctoral thesis defense committee shall be composed of at least 5 experts from inside and outside the university with the title of professor (at least 1 member of the Degree Evaluation Sub-Committee of the discipline, and at least 2 experts from outside the university). The proportion of doctoral supervisors among the members of the defense committee shall be at least 50%, and the chairman of the defense committee shall be the doctoral supervisor, and there shall be a defense secretary. The instructor should not be a member of the defense committee, but should attend the defense meeting. The defense of doctoral thesis should be generally held in public and information of the defense should be uploaded to the graduate system one week before the defense; the doctoral thesis or abstract having passed defense should be published in public (except for confidential majors). Those who fail in the doctoral thesis defense may revise the thesis in two years and then participate in defense again with the consent of the thesis defense committee.

   If the doctoral thesis defense committee considers that the applicant's thesis has reached the academic level of master's degree although it has not reached the academic level of doctoral degree, and if the applicant has not received a master's degree in the discipline, it can make a resolution to award a master's degree and submit it to the Degree Evaluation Sub-Committee of graduate students.

   Secret-related theses are implemented with reference to the document "Regulations on the Management of Secret-related Graduate Students and Theses of Nanjing Tech University".

   The specific requirements for the thesis review and defense are detailed in the Detailed Rules for the Doctoral Thesis Defense and Review and Degree Application of Nanjing Tech University.

   6. Academic achievement requirements

   The academic achievements should be consistent with the direction of the thesis, and the requirements are detailed in the Requirements for Scientific Research Achievements of Academic Degree Doctor's Candidates in Materials Science and Engineering, etc.

   VIII. Criteria for Graduation and Degree Awarding

   The criteria for graduation and awarding degrees of doctoral students are in accordance with the relevant regulations of the university.