My degree is in Materials Science and Engineering. Is that Category A?

The combined title is not printed in the bulletin, but both of its halves are listed subjects. OED confirms equivalence from the transcript, so include course descriptions with your application.

Which USPTO Technology Center examines materials patents?

Mostly Technology Center 1700 (Chemical and Materials Engineering). Claims to semiconductor and electrical devices go to Technology Center 2800.

Patent bar eligibility by degree

Materials Engineering and the Patent Bar

Four materials subjects are on the USPTO Category A list: Materials Engineering, Materials Science (both since 2021), Metallurgical Engineering and Ceramic Engineering. A bachelor's, master's or Ph.D. in any of them qualifies you to apply for the patent bar.

Check your eligibility Full eligibility guide

At a glance

USPTO category: Category A
Listed subjects: Materials Engineering, Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, Ceramic Engineering
Degree levels: Bachelor's, master's or Ph.D.
Main Technology Centers: TC 1700, TC 2800

Checked against the August 2026 bulletin

Eligibility

Does a Materials Engineering degree qualify?

Yes. The USPTO General Requirements Bulletin (August 2026 edition) lists Materials Engineering, Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, Ceramic Engineering in Category A, the degree-based route to the registration exam. An applicant with a bachelor's, master's or Doctor of Philosophy degree in a listed subject from an accredited U.S. college or university, or the foreign equivalent, meets the scientific and technical requirement without a course-by-course review.

Many universities award a degree in "Materials Science and Engineering". Both halves of that title are listed subjects, but the combined name is not printed in the bulletin, so OED confirms equivalence from your transcript.

Your OED application

Exactly what to submit

An official transcript from the college or university that shows the degree was awarded. A transcript issued to you is accepted if it carries the school's stamp or seal.
Not a diploma or a letter. A diploma, a copy of a transcript or a registrar's letter naming your degree does not meet the requirement.
Course descriptions if the title isn't an exact match. If your degree title differs from the listed subject, OED checks equivalence; the OED FAQ suggests sending course descriptions with the first application to avoid delay.
Foreign degrees: objective evidence of U.S. equivalence, such as an evaluation from a foreign-credential evaluation service, alongside the transcript.

The rest of the application (forms, fees and the moral-character questions) is covered step by step in the OED application guide.

Practice

Patent work for materials engineering graduates

Registered practitioners usually draft and prosecute applications in the technology they trained in. In this field that means work such as:

Technology area	Example inventions
Alloys and heat treatment	High-strength aluminum tempers, high-entropy alloys, corrosion-resistant steels.
Ceramics and glass	Chemically strengthened cover glass, refractory ceramics.
Polymers and composites	Fibre-reinforced laminates, recyclable thermosets.
Coatings and thin films	Thermal barrier coatings, barrier films for packaging.
Energy and electronic materials	Battery cathode materials, semiconductor substrates.

USPTO

Which Technology Centers examine this work

The USPTO routes each application to one of its Technology Centers by its classification. For materials engineering subject matter, these are the ones you will deal with most:

Technology Center	Why it applies
TC 1700 Chemical and Materials Engineering	The main home for alloys, coatings, glass, composites and battery materials.
TC 2800 Semiconductors, Electrical and Optical Systems and Components	When the claim is to a semiconductor or electrical device built from the material.

Routing follows each application's classification, so a single application can land outside these centers.

Patent law

Ranges and inherent properties

Materials claims are written as composition ranges and properties. The exam's range rules apply directly: anticipation by a prior-art range (MPEP 2131.03), obviousness of overlapping ranges (MPEP 2144.05), and inherency when a prior-art material must have the claimed property (MPEP 2112).

The registration exam itself tests patent law and USPTO procedure from the MPEP, not your technical field. See the patent bar exam overview for format and scoring.

Pay data

What the occupation pays

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $112,860 for materials engineers as of May 2025 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).

That figure is for the engineering or science occupation itself, not for patent agents or attorneys.

Other routes

If your degree title differs

Category A is matched on the subject your transcript names. Titles close to materials engineering are handled like this:

Materials Science and Engineering: Reviewed against the listed Materials Science and Materials Engineering subjects. Include course descriptions to avoid delay.
Polymer Science or Plastics Engineering: Not printed in Category A. OED decides equivalence, or the coursework is reviewed under Category B.
Welding or Metallurgical Engineering Technology: Not on the Category A list. Category B or Category C (the FE exam) would apply.

If you don't qualify under Category A, Category B counts science and engineering coursework (courses for science or engineering majors, grade C- or better):

Option 1: 24 semester hours in physics (physics courses for physics majors).
Option 2: 32 semester hours: 8 in chemistry or physics plus 24 in biology, botany, microbiology or molecular biology.
Option 3: 30 semester hours in chemistry (chemistry courses for chemistry majors).
Option 4: 40 semester hours: 8 in chemistry or physics plus 32 in other listed science and engineering subjects.

Category C is for applicants with a bachelor's degree who pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. Run your transcript through Do I Qualify? for a quick check, then read the full eligibility guide.

FAQ