structural engineering grad school: which courses? 1

[mikhelson]

I'll be going to a Master's program in structural engineering with the intent of joining a practice in a year. I'd like to seek your advice as to which courses are most helpful for someone like me who hasn't yet decided between highrise building design and infrastructure (bridges, tunnels).

The program I'll be going to (UC Berkeley) offers a wealth of courses and only requires structural dynamics, earthquake resistant design, and analysis courses (aside from the sheer number of required credits). In addition, I'll certainly take advanced steel and concrete design. This leaves me with another 3 courses or so of my choosing.

Which courses do you wish you'd taken when you were in grad school? Or what do you find most helpful in your day to day practice? For example, should I take finite element methods, or advanced mechanics of materials, or materials course, or a geotech course?

Thanks

 

[B16A2]

Ph.D. will pigen hole you into a certain niche and makes you less marketable in the general profession. I wouldn't recommend it unless you're really sure you know what you want to do. I only say this because I know several guys who went the Ph.D route thinking it would put them above the rest and are surprised to find most structural firms prefer MS over Ph.D.


IMHO, learning design methods from those who built the code has been much better than those who just know how to follow it.

 

[Gumpmaster]

My favorite classes were the foundational ones rather than the ones with a direct application.

Specifically, I enjoyed FEM, Stress analysis, and Fracture & Fatigue (none of which were computer analysis based). They were all mechanical classes, but provided the basis for understanding what I do on a daily basis.

Design classes are nice and will give you a leg up when you get into practice, but you can always pick up design practices on the job. The more esoteric items you can probably only learn in grad school.

 

[swivel63]

i took prestress, advanced concrete, steel, plastic, dynamics, mechanics, matrices (which is an undergrad course) some others i can't remember. also took a concrete chemistry course.

i didn't take FEM. was in it for two weeks and just didn't feel like it anymore. i wish i would have.

mine was 10 courses as well.

if you're going to TA, make sure you TA basic mechanics. you'll use it everyday.

IMO, anyway.

 

[civilperson]

Are there any courses in codes and plan review? Most of the exam for Professional Registration seems to emphasize the rules rather than first principles.

 

[mikhelson]

civilperson:

No, no courses specifically on codes are part of the grad program, although they're probably reviewed to some extent in advanced design classes.

My understanding is that it's quite common for employers to pay for their employees' PE/SE preparation classes if they pass the test.