selection of graduate courses 3

[Lion06]

I am starting a MS program this fall. I have to take (10) classes. I am listing the ones that I intend to take and some others that I might take or am curious about. I would appreciate input from others as to what classes you found most useful in a MS program or suggestions from the "maybe" list.
Definitely taking:
Advanced Concrete
Advanced Steel
Wood and Masonry Design
Connections
Structural dynamics
Advanced Mechanics of Materials


Considering:
Finite element analysis
fracture mechanics
Advanced Structural Mechanics
Advanced Structural Analysis
Intro Finite Element Analysis
Elasticity & Stress Analysis
Advanced foundations
forensics
pre-stressed concrete

 

[Noway2]

This would be a good discussion to have with your adviser.

If you haven't already, put some serious effort into that. finding the right adviser will have a huge impact on your academic endeavor.

 

[ash060]

Courses depend alot on the professor teaching the course. I would definitely recommend taking a prestressed concrete course. I would recommend also taking an advance analysis course that is the hard stuff, design is easy.

As Noway2 said you should speak with your advisor most Universities require that you take certain courses as part of your degree.

What is the difference between Mechanics of Materials and Structural Mechanics?

 

[COEngineeer]

From all the classes you listed I must say the most important one to take is advance strutural analysis! It will help you a lot as a structural eng especially for the PE exam. I took prestressed, structural dynamic, structural matrix analysis, advance concrete, bridge design.

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[Lion06]

I already had an advanced structural analysis in undergrad (1 structural analysis, and 1 advanced). It was energy methods, integration methods, and matrix methods.
I definitely will take another, though.

 

[271828]

All of your "definitely taking" are good.

Of the others:

Finite element analysis--good to know what the black box is doing.

fracture mechanics--not worth it.

Advanced Structural Mechanics--yes, if it includes stability and virtual work beyond PpL/AE.

Advanced Structural Analysis--yes, if it includes second-order effects or stability. No if it's more classical deflections, etc.

Intro Finite Element Analysis--a prereq for the other FE class?

Elasticity & Stress Analysis--not even worth it for a strl PhD student, IMO.

Advanced foundations--depends, is it from a strl point of view or a geotech?

forensics--donno

pre-stressed concrete--take it or leave it. this stuff can be learned OTJ.

 

[Lion06]

Advanced Structural Mechanics - Continuously supported rods and beams; stability analysis and the buckling of columns and frames; applied fracture mechanics.

Advanced Structural Analysis - Advanced structural theory and analysis. Beams, frames, and beam-columns; multistory structures; non-prismatic sections; curved members; thin plates and shells.

Advanced Foundations - Deep foundations, bulkheads, soil-structure interaction and advanced topics in soil behavior and stability. Prerequisite: Undergraduate Soil Mechanics

Advance Mechanics of Materials - Elastic curve for flexure, integration method, effects of shear and axial force on bending; unsymmetric and inelastic bending; energy methods; analysis of stress and strain; beams on elastic foundations; curved beams.

 

[271828]

Just my opinions:

Adv. Strl Mech. -- sounds good. Frame stability is obviously a big topic nowadays as it's been for years.

Adv. Strl Analysis -- sounds good. Still not sure if second-order stuff is included. An intro to plates & shells is useful. Curved members might be useful.

Adv. Fdns -- sounds ok/good.

Adv. Mech. of Matls -- sounds good if you want to understand shear deformations and thin walled open section torsion. Other topics are marginal. For example, the energy methods will use real work instead of virtual work--blah. Curved beams are more like crane hooks than what you'd think of as a curved beam.

General: the more vibrations and dynamics, the better. Most folks I know don't really get it after a single strl dynamics class. The topic is just too hard for one class, other than to get a VERY superficial knowledge. A first grad level ME or ESM vibe class would be a good choice.

 

[Lion06]

271828-
I appreciate the input. The structural dynamics class is required. There is a vibrations class offered, but it requires a prerequisite that won't count toward the degree. I am not completely opposed to that, but at (1) class per semester, that is an extra (5) months. I will definitely look at that a little more closely, based on your recommendation.

 

[271828]

Good luck dude. I think you'll enjoy the experience.

In grad school, we often ignore prereqs. After strl dynamics, you should be in great shape for a grad level ME or ESM vibe class. The first month or so of the semesters will be very similar--SDOF and MDOF discrete systems. The ME classes diverge from the CE classes in that they don't go into EQ stuff at that point. They go into cables, beams, etc., and approximate methods like Rayleigh Ritz. It's good to have been exposed to all that stuff.

 

[AllStructure]

I just finished my masters, and to tell you the truth it is a lot of pain. Good luck with it.
Some of the classes that i would suggests in addition to "definetely take category" are:

Advanced Structural Analysis
Structural Dynamics
Into to Finite Element Analysis
Prestresed concrete
Advanced foundation design

Although i said it is a lot of pain, if you complete your masters it will make you a better engineer and you'll have good understanding of the technical issues. Specially if you work at the same time, you will be able to apply it to your everyday job. Go for it.

Good luck.

 

[DaveVikingPE]

Personally, I'd feel much better about myself had I taken the advanced math route. We had a series of three graduate math courses that essentially brought the civils/et al's up to the math level that the ME's had (i.e., Boundary Value Problems, Special Functions, etc.). I'd like to be able to hit the Theory of Elasticity full on.

 

[Lion06]

DaveViking-
How often do you actually use all of that advanced math? What advanced math are we talking about?

 

[HgTX]

I seem to recall that even seismic design only required one differential equation.

I second whoever said to take the prestress class. Very useful, and something they really ought to cover in undergrad programs. OTJ you learn how to punch numbers into a design program. In school you learn what that program does.

Hg

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[COEngineeer]

Is this Masters of Engineering or Science? If it is M.S. then I think you need to write a thesis and it is not fun especially if you have work to do. Good luck with that . Pick a professor you like the most and ask him to give you ideas what class to take and what research you need to do for your thesis. The reason you need to pick someone you like is because you will be doing research close to him/her so youll spend a lot of time together. The difference between Graduate and Undergraduate i think it is easier to get good grade in graduate school lol. I took advance mech. of material and I was lost 75% of the time. I did all the HW, ask questions, come to his office a lot and I got an A eventhough I probably deserve B- or even a C.

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[Lion06]

COEngineer-
It is a M.S. program, but there is a non-thesis option. The thesis option requires (7) classes and a thesis. The non-thesis option requires (10) classes. I will definitely be going the non-thesis route.
I hope it is easier to get a good grade in grad school. I did very well in undergrad (3.86 overall), so I don't take any classes lightly. Additionally, my employer will be paying 100% if I get an A.

HgTX-
I had a class in undergrad that was split between prestressed concrete and steel connections. That being said, I will probably take the prestressed class.

General-

 

[DaveVikingPE]

How often do I/would I use the advanced math?

For me, advanced math is stuff like Green's Functions, boundary value problems (as an undergrad, we didn't have to go past differential equations), etc. I don't consider linear algebra advanced math.

How often to use it... Good point. About as much as I use Roark and Young - which is to say every now and then. For me, I'd just feel comfortable with a formal class(es) in heavy math under my belt.

 

[Lion06]

DaveViking-
Point well taken. I will consider it, but it is not a requirement (or even an elective) to that would just be adding classes to the program.

COEngineer-
How much do you feel like you got out of a class like the ADV Mech Materials when you feel like you were lost 75% of the time? Not that I want a bad grade, but I would probably rather a "B" and really understand the material then get an "A" and not. I appreciate the input.

 

[271828]

Most design engineers won't ever use math past trigonometry in their design work. I think I used calculus once in 9 years, for example.

On the other hand, if you want to be your office's technical guru, you will sometimes want to read journal papers. Without math knowledge a little beyond the typical, it won't even be possible to follow lots of these.

As for my comment about prestressed concrete and OJT, I had a prstressed class. I worked in a very large engineering office and was the only guy who had such a class. The topics in prestressed are such that it didn't amount to any kind of advantage. If you understand the concept, the material properties, My/I, and strain compatibility, you're most of the way there wrt prestressed concrete. You can sit down with a prestressed book and understand the rest pretty fast. I AM NOT talking about really advanced stuff here--just typical PT slab and beam design in buildings.

 

[COEngineeer]

I think adv. mech. of material is better suited for mech. eng. Personally I really dont care about the elongation of a X-section and how much smaller the diameter after it is loaded. Plus it is made out of half steel and half aluminum. And the temparature goes from 100 F to 200 F LOL. I just feel like I will never have that calc in real life and basic mech. of material will just be enough for me.

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