Abstract
The evolution that has taken place in the teaching of metallurgy and material science in the UK is traced from the 1930s to the present day. The golden age of physical metallurgy was the 1950s and the following decade concentrated on the more broadly based materials science. Since that time there has been a move towards bringing together materials science and engineering. Despite the much discussed demographic down-turn, there appears to be a healthy increase in the number of young people seeking higher education and there is a greater awareness in the schools of the importance of materials. Future trends in the teaching of materials science are identified, including the desire to move towards four year courses. Our greater involvement with Europe will bring with it additional challenges. Radical changes in funding are in the pipeline and some of the implications of this are discussed.
MST/1311
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