Materials engineering is a branch of engineering that is based on property-structure relationships and designs or projects the structure of a material to achieve a predetermined set of properties. This engineering is closely related to mechanics and manufacturing.

The objectives of the materials engineer are to master at the highest level the advanced production and transformation techniques of materials and to be able to contribute to the development of new materials and new production processes. In the changing world of new technologies of the century, the Materials Engineer will be an essential agent in the selection of materials for all areas of engineering and particularly in the world of design.

Materials engineering is a globally recognized academic degree dedicated to the design, manufacturing and behavior of all types of components and structures, using both traditional and newly designed materials. Cars, clothing and footwear, sports equipment, computers or prostheses and biomedical devices are made with increasingly modern materials, including those based on nanotechnology. In these fields, as in many others, a new material has been the key that has allowed the development of new products and applications. This has happened with composite materials in aeronautics and high-competition sports.

Materials engineering is the basis of the technological advances that have transformed our society, making the materials engineer one of the most in-demand profiles worldwide for research, development and innovation, being a professional for the future in the industry. Taken together, materials engineering is one of the new engineerings of the century that is designed to achieve a more sustainable and efficient well-being society.

In Spain, the Materials Engineering degree was introduced by the Polytechnic University of Madrid after its approval in the BOE, on September 6, 1994, thanks above all to the work and dedication of its main promoter, the engineer and physicist Manuel Elices. This course, fundamentally oriented towards structural materials, is taught in 14 other Spanish universities. In Spain there are several university degrees: