The School of Materials Science and Engineering at Beihang University traces its origins to the Department of Aeronautical Metallurgy established in 1954, with its current academic structure formally established in 2001. The School's main facility, Building No. 1 at Shahe Campus, covers an area of approximately 15,000 square meters. The School is composed of the Department of Materials Science, Department of Materials Physics, Department of Materials Chemistry, Department of Polymer and Composite Materials, Department of Materials Processing, Advanced Materials Research Center, Additive Manufacturing Center, and the National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for Materials Science and Engineering. It holds a first-tier discipline doctoral program in Materials Science and Engineering, which was designated as one of China's inaugural first-tier key disciplines. In 2017 and 2022, the discipline was consecutively selected for the national "Double First-Class" initiative and consistently received A+ ratings in the Ministry of Education's discipline evaluations. The discipline achieved global recognition in 2019 by entering the top 1‰ in the ESI international rankings. Both the "Materials Science and Engineering" and "Nanomaterials and Technology" programs have been accredited as national first-class undergraduate major construction sites.

The School's academic excellence is anchored by its distinguished faculty team, adhering to the principle that talent constitutes the primary resource. Its faculty roster includes six academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, 18 national leading talents, and 25 national young talents. The current academic staff comprises 71 professors (research fellows) and 71 associate professors (associate research fellows), supported by 82 doctoral supervisors. The institution has cultivated several elite research collectives: the "Metal Smart Materials for Extreme Service Environments" and "Novel Magnetic Functional Materials" NSFC Innovative Research Groups; the "High-performance Non-equilibrium Materials Science and Technology" and "Laser Processing and Forming of High-performance Metallic Materials" MOE Innovation Teams; the "Advanced High-temperature Materials and Coating Technologies" National Defense Technology Innovation Team; and the "Additive Manufacturing" MOST Key Area Innovation Team.