Materials are used everywhere and have driven almost every technological leap through history – from the Stone Age through the Industrial Revolution to today’s connected society. New materials for more efficient solar cells and environmentally friendly batteries, for example, are crucial for creating a sustainable future.
Linköping University is a leading player in materials science. Two of the most important international university rankings – the Shanghai Ranking and the QS World University Rankings – place LiU among the top 100 in the field. LiU is also home to the Swedish Government’s strategic investment in advanced functional materials and Sweden’s largest investment in materials science to date, the Wallenberg Initiative Materials Science for Sustainability (WISE).
Prominent research environments
Both of the new master’s programmes are taught in English and are integrated into internationally prominent research environments. The Materials Physics and Nanoscience programme will be offered in Linköping, at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM). The department conducts world-leading research on advanced semiconductor technology, organic solar cells and new multifunctional materials.
The Science and Engineering of Soft Materials programme will be given in Norrköping, at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics (LOE). The researchers are at the forefront internationally and were the first in the world to grow electrodes in the brain and develop liquid batteries that can take any shape.
A favourable labour market
Both programmes provide very good opportunities in the labour market, whether students are aiming for a research career or a future in industry.
The master’s programmes are two-year programmes. In the second year, students have great opportunities to form their own profile. The degree project can span one or two terms and be done in a research group or in collaboration with industry. Both research environments have very good contacts with large companies as well as start-up spinoff companies.
Interdisciplinary with different specialisations
The Materials Physics and Nanoscience programme is broadly oriented toward many different types of materials – especially nanomaterials – and is aimed at those who have an undergraduate degree in physics or materials science. Soft Materials is a cutting-edge programme in soft organic materials such as polymers and biomaterials. It is more focused on chemistry, and both physicists and chemists can apply.
“Materials science is a very interdisciplinary research area. Those with a background in chemistry will take an introductory course in physics and vice versa,” says Igor Zozoulenko about the Soft Materials programme.
Students on the Materials Physics and Nanoscience programme also take introductory courses that overlap chemistry, along with the existing Chemistry master’s programme. But it’s basically a physics-oriented programme, according to Docent Fredrik Eriksson, programme director.
“You become a material-oriented physicist. It’s about moving from atomic understanding to designing and evaluating materials for real-world applications,” he says.
Applications for international master’s programmes will open on 16 October 2025 and close on 15 January 2026. LiU welcomes applicants from all over the world. The new programmes will start in the autumn of 2026.
