Princeton is launching a Ph.D. program in materials science and engineering, building on the University’s position as a leader in the study and design of advanced materials.

“Materials are foundational to all of today’s technological systems,” said Rick Register, Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and director of the Princeton Materials Institute, home to the new program. He said materials scientists and engineers draw on physics, chemistry, molecular biology, geoscience and the full range of engineering disciplines to uncover materials’ basic structures and properties. This approach has unlocked some of today’s most profound technologies — from artificial hips to high-density computer memory to lithium-ion batteries.

The new program will meet rapidly increasing interest in this field. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects growth of nearly 10,000 new jobs in materials science or materials engineering by 2033, surpassing overall growth in physical sciences and engineering jobs in that span.

Princeton’s role in advancing this field was solidified in 1990, when the materials institute was established. The number of faculty members affiliated with the institute has more than tripled since then. PMI now hosts nearly 100 associated faculty members from across more than a dozen disciplines.

“We are now able to offer the kind of program that is both appealing to students interested in materials and true to the University’s commitment to service to humanity,” said Mikko Haataja, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the program’s director of graduate studies. The new program also offers students the opportunity to work with Princeton faculty members at the leading edge of important research areas such as biomaterials and quantum materials, he said.

Interested students will be able to apply starting this fall. The first cohort will matriculate in the 2026–2027 academic year.