The School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) is proud of the High Impact Practices (HIPs) that it has instituted and the positive impact that they have on our students day in and day out. While the Materials and Innovation Learning Laboratory (MILL) is our most visible HIP, MSE is just as focused on and proud of the less visible but just as integral HIPs, such as the connections we maintain with alumni and industry partners, as well as meaningful faculty interactions. These foundational and sometimes less visible HIPs are part of what makes MSE strong and help faculty and staff to focus on student development and excellence. 

From the moment students start their time with MSE, mentorship and career guidance are at the forefront of the HIPs that affect their education. Whether a student decides to pursue graduate school or not, the field of material sciences is heavily reliant on research. As such, MSE has a robust undergraduate research program to provide students the opportunity to not only gain crucial research skills, but to create connections with faculty mentors. The Research Scholars Program allows first-year MSE students to begin conducting research, with one quarter of MSE freshmen completing the training that allows them to begin researching in the second semester of their college careers. With this head start, many students end up in a full-time research position over the Summer, able to present their own research as a poster in the Fall. With 86% of MSE students engaging in research over the course of their time with us, our goal is for every student to have the opportunity to learn research skills and work closely with faculty Principal Investigators (PI). 

These meaningful faculty connections create a HIP that allows students to interact with professors beyond the experience of student and instructor. One of the most important ways this happens is through Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP). These multi-semester VIP courses allow for the creation of a purposeful web of mentorship in which upperclassmen mentor underclassmen, graduate students and postdocs mentor undergraduates, and the faculty mentor all students involved in the VIP. These VIP projects directly engage professional fields and allow students to gain skills and form connections, while the faculty benefit from the aid and experience of students in completing their projects. These meaningful faculty connections create a HIP, which allows students to interact with faculty beyond the experience of student and professor. Faculty are experienced experts and mentors to students who work towards accomplishments and understanding rather than simply a grade. During a student’s time at MSE, our goal is for them to have meaningful interactions and connections with faculty to help positively shape their education and future. 

In those crucial final semesters of college, students can cultivate experience with and an understanding of the industries a degree in MSE dovetails into. MSE has worked hard to cultivate connections not only to alumni in relevant industries but also to industry partners. This allows students not only to hear of the existence of career paths for themselves but also to interact with people who have walked those paths before them. At events like the career fair, MSE students have the opportunity to have mock interviews with professionals, gaining not only the feedback from these industry professionals but the experience of a mock interview that is going to directly mirror the interviews they will experience while on the job market. MSE’s industry partnerships continue beyond career fairs, too, with 48 capstone projects over the last five years being designated in partnership with industry sponsors. This allows the small groups of students working on each project to have direct contact with industry specialists, gaining knowledge and connections to help shape their future. 

HIPs are a part of the backbone of MSE because of the benefits they create for students. They are also crucial to the goals that MSE has for our students because of how it can transform the college experience, creating a sense of community and belonging across students and faculty in the entire school and laying the groundwork for a seamless transition from college to career. As we continue to strive for meaningful HIPs, we look forward to seeing the continued success of our students.