Graduate Studies in Structures and Mechanics

GENERAL INFORMATION ON GRADUATE DEGREES GRANTED

Graduate students in the Structures, Mechanics and Materials (SMM) area tend to break down into those that eventually plan to practice as structural engineers, and those that plan to eventually pursue research careers. For the former, courses more directly relevant to analysis and design of structural systems are prescribed, while for the latter, more general courses related to solid mechanics and materials are taken. A more detailed description of the suggested courses for both M.S. and Ph.D. students in SMM can be found below.

MASTERS PROGRAMS IN STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

The Masters degree in Structural Engineering typically takes from one to two academic years to complete, and is designed for students seeking to develop a firm foundation in methods of structural analysis and design optimization. The material taught in this program applies to civil engineering structures as well as structural/mechanical systems encountered in the fields of mechanical, aerospace, and biomedical engineering. With the Master of Engineering option, thirty credit hours from the courses listed below are required. With the Master of Science option, a thesis is required, and only twenty-four course credit hours are required. In both options, fifteen (15) credit hours must come from the M.S./M.Eng. Core.

M.S./M.ENG CORE COURSES	When Taught	Faculty
Either 53:111 or 53:113	Every Fall	Marshall/Xiao
53:132 Fund. of Vibrations	Every Spring	Bhatti/Han
53:133 Finite Element techniques I	Every	Bhatti/Xiao
53:140 Int. Mech. Deform. Bodies	Fall, every year	Rahman
53:235 Applied Optimal Design	Fall, even years	J.S. Arora

M.S. PROGRAM IN STRUCTURAL MECHANICS

The Masters degree in Structural Mechanics typically takes from two to four academic semesters to complete. Graduates of this program often pursue further study beyond the M.S. degree, but some also accept jobs in a wide range of engineering positions requiring a solid background in structural mechanics. A thesis is required in this program in addition to twenty-four (24) credit hours of course work, twelve (12) of which must come from the M.S. Core. The remaining credit hours may be selected either from the Structures and Mechanics course pool below, or from other relevant offerings at University of Iowa, selected in consultation with one’s advisor.

M.S. Core Courses	When Taught	Faculty
53:113 Math. Meth. in Engineering	Every Fall	Marshall/Xiao
53:141 Continuum Mech. & Elast.	Every Fall	H.C. Wu
53:133 Finite Element Techniques I	Every Semester	Bhatti/Lu
53:235 Applied Optimal Design	Fall, even years	J.S. Arora

Ph.D. PROGRAM IN STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

The Ph.D degree option prepares students for academic, research, and software design careers in advanced structural analysis and design optimization techniques. Fifty-four (54) hours of course work are required, of which up twenty-four (24) can possibly be transferred in from preceding M.S. programs. Of the fifty-four (54) required course hours, twenty-one (30) must come from the Ph.D Core listed below. Remaining courses must come from the Structural Mechanics course pool listed below, or additional courses offer at University of Iowa, selected in consultation with one’s academic adviser.

PH.D CORE COURSES	When Taught	Faculty
Core for M.S. Option (15 hours)
53:211 Adv. Math. Meth. in Engrg.	Spring, every year	Choi/Xiao
53:141 Continuum Mech. & Elast.	Fall, every year	H.C. Wu
Any two of 53:233, 53:243, 53:255	yearly	Bhatti/Swan/Lu
53:236 Opt. of Structural Systems	Fall, even years	C.C. Swan

Ph.D. PROGRAM IN STRUCTURAL MECHANICS

The Ph.D degree typically takes from three to four academic years to complete, and prepares graduates for a wide range of careers spanning a number of disciplines. A total of fifty-four (54) course credit hours are required for the Ph.D degree, of which up to twenty-four (24) can possibly be transferred in from a preceding M.S. program. Of the fifty-four (54) course credit hours, twenty-one (27) must come from the Ph.D Core course requirements listed below.

PH.D Core Courses	When Taught	Faculty
Courses for M.S. Option (12 hours)
53:140 Int. Mech. Deform. Bodies	Fall, every year	Rahman
53:214 Analytical Methods in Mech. Systems	Every Spring	Choi
Any two of 53:233, 53:243, 53:255		Bhatti/Swan/Lu/Xiao
53:248 Elastic Waves in Solids	Spring, even years	L. Sun

Course Pool

Course Number, Title	When Taught	Faculty
Computational Mechanics
53:113 Finite Element Techniques I	Every Semester	Bhatti/Lu
52:233 Finite Elements II	Spring, Even Years	M.A. Bhatti
53:243 Computational Inelasticity	Fall, Odd Years	C.C. Swan
53:255 Computational Solid Mechanics	Every Spring	Lu/Xiao
Design Optimization
53:235 Applied Optimal Design	Fall, Even Years	J.S. Arora
53:236 Opt. of Structural Systems	Fall, Even Years	C.C. Swan
58:259 Mechanical Design in Structures	Fall, Even Years	K.K. Choi
Dynamics
53:132 Fundamentals of Vibrations	Every Spring	Bhatti/Han
58:155 Intermediate Dynamics	Every Fall	Malek
53:248 Waves in Continuous Media	Spring, Even Years	L. Sun
Mathematics
53: 111 Numerical Calculations	Yearly	Staff
53:113 Math. Meth. in Engineering	Every Fall	Xiao/Lu
53:214 Analyt. Meth. in Mech. Systems	Fall, Even Years	K.K. Choi
Solid Mechanics and Materials
53:140 Int. Mech. Deform. Bodies	Fall, Every Year	Rahman
53:141 Continuum Mech. & Elast.	Fall, Every Year	H.C. Wu
53:149 Fracture Mechanics	Spring, Odd Years	Stephens/Rahman
53:170 Composite Materials		Staff
53:244 Energy Princ. Struct. Mech.	Fall, Odd Years	J.S. Arora
53:245 Micromechanics of Solids	Fall, Even Years	L. Sun
53:246 Continuum Mech. & Plast.	Spring, Odd Years	H.C. Wu
53:247 Theory of Viscoelasticity	Fall, Even Years	BME Faculty
53:248 Elastic Waves in Solids	Fall, Odd Years	L. Sun
58:290 Advanced Continuum Mechanics		Lu/Marshall
58:295 Advanced Fracture Mechanics		Rahman
Structural Design
53:115 Computer-Aided Engineering	Fall, Even Years	S. Rahman
53:139 Foundations of Structures	Spring, Odd Years	C.C. Swan
53:148 Fatigue Durability in Design	Spring, Even Years	R.I. Stephens
58:257 Probabilistic Mechanics & Reliability	Fall, Odd Years	S. Rahman