Structural Engineering
STUDENT AFFAIRS: 349 Science and Engineering Research Facility (SERF),
University Center
http://www.structures.ucsd.edu
Professors
Courses
Structural Engineering is the branch of engineering concerned
with the design and analysis of civil, mechanical, aerospace, marine,
naval and offshore structures. It requires knowledge and competence
in the areas of materials, response of individual structural components
and the behavior of entire structural systems.
Department Focus
The instructional and research programs of the department are grouped
into four programmatic focus areas: civil structures, aerospace and
composite structures, renewal of structures, and earthquake engineering.
Both the undergraduate and graduate programs are characterized by strong
interdisciplinary relationships with the Departments of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Bioengineering, Chemistry,
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering,
the Materials Science Program, and associated campus institutes such
as the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Institute for
Pure and Applied Physical Sciences, Institute for Biomedical Engineering,
Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials, California Space Institute,
Cal(IT)2, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The programs and curricula of the Department of Structural Engineering
will educate and train engineers in a holistic approach to structural
systems engineering by emphasizing and building on the commonality of
engineering structures in materials, mechanics, analysis and design
across the engineering disciplines of civil, aerospace, marine and mechanical
engineering.
Although structural engineering is traditionally viewed as an activity
within civil engineering, in actuality many other engineering disciplines
such as aerospace, marine (naval, offshore), and mechanical engineering
contain well established discipline-specific structural systems and
components. In all of the various engineering disciplines there exists
a large commonality in the structural materials used, in the general
principles of structural mechanics, in the overall design philosophy
and criteria, and in the modeling and analysis tools employed for the
numerical quantification and visualization of structural response. Particularly,
small disciplinary differences in materials and computational tools
are rapidly disappearing with the civil engineering community opening
up to new structural materials developed and used to date primarily
in the aerospace industry, and with computational developments which
are less product specific but more geared towards a holistic structural
systems design approach with interactive graphics, object-oriented database
management and concurrent visualization and data processing. Developments
in overall structural systems design are increasingly cross-disciplinary
over many traditional engineering areas.
The Undergraduate Program
Degree and Program Options
The Department of Structural Engineering offers an unique engineering
program leading to the B.S. degree in structural engineering which is
accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation
Board for Engineering and Technology (EAC/ABET). The Department of Structural
Engineering also offers a nonaccredited B.S. Degree in engineering sciences.
The B.S. programs require a minimum of 148 units, plus college requirements
in humanities and social sciences.
All Structural Engineering programs of study have strong components
in laboratory experimentation, numerical computation, and engineering
design. Design is emphasized throughout the curricula by open-ended
homework problems, by laboratory and computer courses which include
student-initiated projects, and finally, by senior design project courses
which involve teams of students working to solve engineering design
problems brought in from industry. The Structural Engineering programs
are designed to prepare students receiving bachelors degrees for
professional careers or for graduate education in their area of specialization.
In addition, the programs can also be taken by students who intend to
use their undergraduate engineering education as preparation for postgraduate
professional training in non-technical fields such as business administration,
law or medicine.
Structural Engineering is concerned with the design and analysis
of civil, mechanical, aerospace, marine, naval, and offshore structures.
Examples include bridges, dams, buildings, aircraft, spacecraft, ships,
oil platforms, automobiles, and other transportation vehicles. This
field requires a thorough knowledge of the behavior of solids (concrete,
soils, rock, metals, plastics, and composite materials), fluid mechanics
as it relates to structural loads, dynamics as it relates to structural
response, mathematics for the generation of theoretical structural models
and numerical analysis, and computer science for simulation purposes
associated with computer-aided design, response analyses, and data acquisition.
Basic understanding of materials behavior and structural performance
is enhanced by laboratory courses involving static and dynamic stress
failure tests of structural models, and response of structural systems.
Within this area, students can specialize in (a) civil structures, (b)
aerospace structures, (c) renewal of structures, or (d) earthquake engineering.
The engineering sciences program follows the overall Structural
Engineering program except that the number of required design courses
are reduced. In addition to core courses in dynamics, vibrations, structures,
fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and laboratory experimentation,
a large number of technical electives are scheduled. This aspect of
the curriculum allows flexibility by permitting specialization and in-depth
study in one area of the engineering sciences or through a sequence
of courses on various emerging technologies. Students must consult their
advisers to develop a sound course of study to fulfill the technical
elective requirements of this program.
Major Requirements
Specific course requirements for the major are outlined in a table
herein. In addition to the required technical courses specifically indicated,
a suggested scheduling of humanities and social science courses (HSS)
are distributed in the curricula for students to use to meet college
general-education requirements. To graduate, students must maintain
an overall GPA of at least 2.0, and the department requires at least
a C grade in each course required for the major.
Deviations from the program of study must be approved by the Undergraduate
Affairs Committee prior to taking alternative courses. In cases where
a student needs to take a course outside UCSD, prior departmental approval
is essential. In addition, technical elective (TE) course selections
must have departmental approval prior to taking the courses. In the
accredited program, TE courses are restricted to meet ABET standards.
Courses such as SE 195, SE 197 and SE 198 are not allowed as technical
electives in meeting the upper-division major requirements. SE 199 can
be used as a technical elective only under restrictive conditions. Policies
regarding these conditions may be obtained from the departments
Student Affairs Office. Graduate level courses may be petitioned for
technical elective credit.
Students with different academic preparations may vary the scheduling
of lower-division courses such as math, physics and chemistry, but should
consult the department prior to doing so. Deviations in scheduling lower-division
Structural Engineering courses are discouraged due to scheduling constraints.
A tentative schedule of course offerings is available from the department
each spring quarter for the following academic year.
General-Education/College Requirement
For graduation, each student must satisfy general-education course
requirements determined by the students college, as well as the
major requirements determined by the department. The six colleges at
UCSD require widely different general-education courses, and the number
of such courses differs from one college to another. Each student should
choose his or her college carefully, considering the special nature
of the college and the breadth of general education.
The Structural Engineering program allows for twelve humanities and
social science (HSS) courses so that students can fulfill their college
requirements. In the ABET accredited programs, students must develop
a program that includes a total of at least twenty-four units in the
arts, humanities, and social sciences, not including subjects such as
accounting, industrial management, finance, or personnel administration.
It should be noted, however, that some colleges may require more than
twelve HSS courses indicated in the curriculum tables. Accordingly,
students in these colleges may take longer to graduate than the indicated
four-year schedule. Students must consult with their college to determine
which HSS courses to take.
Professional Licensing
All students are encouraged to take the Engineering-in-Training (EIT)
examination as the first step in becoming licensed as a professional
engineer (PE). Students graduating from an accredited program can take
the PE examination after EIT certification and two years of work experience;
students graduating from a nonaccredited program can take the PE examination
after EIT certification and four years of work experience.
For further information please contact the Student Affairs Office or
your local Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land
Surveyors.
Structural Engineering (ABET Accredited Program)
Mission Statement
To provide a comprehensive education and training to engineers using
a holistic approach to structural systems engineering by emphasizing
and building on the commonality of engineering structures at the levels
of materials, mechanics, analysis, and design.
GOALS
- To provide our students with a strong technical education that will
prepare students receiving Bachelors degrees for professional
careers in industry, or for continued graduate education in their
area of specialization.
- To provide our students with cross-disciplinary technical education
to adequately prepare them for a rapidly changing technological world
based on the commonality of knowledge across structural engineering
disciplines thereby ensuring that they are able to continuously meet
professional objectives throughout their careers.
- To provide our students with a firm foundation for professional
advancement not just through technical expertise, but also through
communication skills, team and group activities, and ethical/professional
responsibility as designers and engineers.
OBJECTIVES
- To provide a sound basis in the general sciences and mathematics
that underlie the cross- disciplinary field of structural engineering.
- To provide a thorough training in the design principles and structural
action as related to components and systems over a broad range of
application areas.
- To provide a thorough training in the methods of analysis, including
problem formulation and the use of current mathematical and computational
tools.
- To provide an understanding of structural action at the component
and systems level through design, analysis, and experimentation.
- To provide through structure and flexibility in the curriculum
the opportunity for students to have both specialization (through
focus sequences) and breadth (through technical electives) in the
area of structural engineering.
- To instill in students the ability of critical and innovative thinking,
and ability to formulate solutions based on sound principles of structural
mechanics and materials.
- To teach students techniques of experimentation and data analysis,
including the use of statistics and reliability methods required for
structural applications.
- To teach the fundamentals of the design process initiating in conceptual
design and culminating in final design including the use of appropriate
codes of practice.
- To prepare students in the skills needs for successful professional
practice as related to team participation, and effective verbal and
written communication.
- To instill in our students an understanding and acceptance of their
professional and ethical responsibilities.
FALL
|
WINTER
|
SPRING
|
|
FRESHMAN YEAR
|
|
|
Math. 20A
|
Math. 20B
|
Math. 20C
|
SE 1
|
MAE 9
|
SE 2
|
Chem. 6A
|
Phys. 2A
|
Phys. 2B/2BL
|
HSS1
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
|
SOPHOMORE YEAR
|
|
Math. 20D
|
Math. 20F
|
Math. 20E
|
Phys. 2C/2CL
|
SE 102
|
SE 103
|
SE 101A
|
SE 101B
|
SE 110A
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
|
JUNIOR YEAR
|
|
|
SE 121
|
SE 120
|
MAE 170
|
SE 125
|
MAE 101A
|
TE2
|
SE 110B
|
SE 130A
|
SE 130B
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
|
SENIOR YEAR
|
|
|
SE 101C
|
SE 131
|
SE 140
|
TE
|
TE
|
FS
|
FS3
|
FS
|
FS
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
|
1 In fulfilling the humanities and social science requirements
(HSS), students must take a total of at least twenty-four units in the
arts, humanities, and social sciences, not including subjects such as
accounting, industrial management, finance, or personnel administration.
Twelve HSS courses are listed here; individual college requirements
may be higher.
2 Technical elective (TE) course must be an upper-division
or graduate course in the engineering sciences, natural sciences or
mathematics, selected with prior approval of the department to meet
ABET standards.
3 Students must take one full focus sequence (FS) in either
(a) Civil Structures (SE 150, SE 151A, SE 151B, SE 181), or (b) Aerospace
Structures (SE 160A, SE 160B, SE 142, SE 163), or (c) Renewal of Structures
(SE 170, SE 171, SE 142, SE 163), or (e) Earthquake Engineering (SE
180, SE 181, SE 182, SE 152). Students should note that not all focus
sequence classes will be offered every year.
Engineering Sciences (Non-Accredited Program)
FALL
|
WINTER
|
SPRING
|
|
FRESHMAN YEAR
|
|
|
Math. 20A
|
Math. 20B
|
Math. 20C
|
SE 1
|
MAE 9
|
SE 2
|
Chem. 6A
|
Phys. 2A
|
Phys. 2B/2BL
|
HSS1
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
|
SOPHOMORE YEAR
|
|
Math. 20D
|
Math. 20F
|
Math. 20E
|
Phys. 2C/2CL
|
SE 102
|
SE 103
|
SE 101A
|
SE 101B
|
SE 110A
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
|
JUNIOR YEAR
|
|
|
SE 121
|
SE 120
|
MAE 170
|
SE 125
|
MAE 101A
|
TE2
|
SE 110B
|
SE 130A
|
SE 130B
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
|
SENIOR YEAR
|
|
|
SE 101C
|
SE 131
|
SE 140
|
TE
|
TE
|
TE
|
TE
|
TE
|
TE
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
HSS
|
|
1 In fulfilling the humanities and social science requirements
(HSS), students must take a total of at least twenty-four units in the
arts, humanities, and social sciences, not including subjects such as
accounting, industrial management, finance, or personnel administration.
Ten HSS courses are listed here; individual college requirements may
be higher.
2 Technical elective (TE) course must be an upper-division
or graduate course in the engineering sciences, natural sciences or
mathematics, selected with prior approval of the department to meet
ABET standards.
Policies and Procedures for Structural Engineering Undergraduate Students
Admission to the Major
Admission to the department as a Structural Engineering major, or to
fulfill a major in another department which requires Structural Engineering
courses, is in accordance with the general requirements established
by the School of Engineering. The admission requirements and procedures
are described in detail in the section on Admission to the School
of Engineering in this catalog. All students are expected to complete
lower- and upper-division courses, as suggested in the curriculum tables,
in a timely fashion in the sequences outlined.
Transfer Students
Requirements for admission as a Structural Engineering major, or into
Structural Engineering courses, are the same for transfer students as
they are for continuing students (see section on Admission to
the School of Engineering in this general catalog). Accordingly,
when planning their program, transfer students should be mindful of
lower-division prerequisite course requirements, as well as for meeting
collegiate requirements.
Students who have taken equivalent courses elsewhere may request to
have transfer credits apply toward the departments major requirements.
This is accomplished by submitting a petition for transfer credits together
with a transcript and catalog course description from the institution
where the course(s) were taken. These documents are reviewed for approval
by the Structural Engineering Undergraduate Affairs Committee. No transfer
credit will be given for courses similar to SE 1 and SE 2. SE 1 and
SE 2 must be taken by all students majoring in Structural Engineering.
Transfer petitions are available from the Structural Engineering Student
Affairs Office.
Academic Advising
Upon arrival, students must make an appointment with the undergraduate
adviser in the Structural Engineering Student Affairs Office to plan
a program of study. The program plan may be revised in subsequent years,
but revisions involving curricular requirements require approval by
the undergraduate adviser or the Undergraduate Affairs Committee. Because
some courses and/or curricular changes may be made every year, it is
imperative that students consult with the departments undergraduate
adviser and their assigned faculty adviser on an annual basis.
Many Structural Engineering courses are offered only once a year and
therefore should be taken in the recommended sequence. If courses are
taken out of sequence, it may not always be possible to enroll in subsequent
courses as desired or needed. If this occurs, students should seek immediate
department advice. When a student deviates from the sequence of courses
specified for the curriculum in this catalog, it may be impossible to
complete the Structural Engineering major within the normal four-year
period. Structural Engineering advisers will be monitoring the progress
of students in order for them to remain on track.
In addition to the advise available through the Structural Engineering
Student Affairs Office, programmatic or technical advice may be obtained
from Structural Engineering faculty members. A specific Structural Engineering
faculty adviser is assigned to each Structural Engineering student.
All Structural Engineering students are required to meet with their
faculty adviser at least once a year, preferably before the beginning
of fall quarter.
Program Alterations/Exceptions to Requirements
Variations from, or exceptions to, any program or course requirements
are possible only if a petition is approved by the Structural Engineering
Undergraduate Affairs Committee before the courses in question are taken.
Petition forms may be obtained from the Structural Engineering Student
Affairs Office and must be processed through this office.
Independent Study
Structural Engineering students may take SE 199, Independent Study
for Undergraduates, under the guidance of a Structural Engineering faculty
member. Normally, this course is taken as an elective on a P/NP basis.
Under very restrictive conditions, however, it may be used to satisfy
upper-division technical elective course requirements for the major.
Students interested in this alternative must identify a faculty member
with whom they wish to work and propose a two-quarter research or study
topic. After obtaining the faculty members concurrence on the
topic and scope of the study, the student must submit a Special Studies
Course form (each quarter) and the SE 199 as Technical Elective
Contract form to the Structural Engineering Undergraduate Affairs
Committee. These forms must be completed, approved, and processed prior
to the beginning of the quarter in which the course is to be taken.
This should not be done during the add/drop period. Detailed policy
in this regard and the requisite forms may be obtained from the Student
Affairs Office.
Teaching
Students interested in participating in the instructional activities
of the department may take SE 195, Undergraduate Teaching. Policy in
this regard and the appropriate forms may be obtained from the Structural
Engineering Student Affairs Office.
Bachelors/Masters Program
The department offers a bachelors/masters degree program
to enable students to complete both the B.S. and M.S. degrees in an
accelerated timeframe. Undergraduate students in the Department of Structural
Engineering who have at least 148 quarter units with a cumulative 3.5
M.W. GPA are eligible to apply. Admission to the bachelors/masters
degree program is not automatic. Student applications are reviewed and
the final decision is made by the Department of Structural Engineering.
Acceptance into this program is an honor which carries with it practical
benefitsthe graduate application process is simplified (no GREs
required) and advanced students are given access to graduate level courses.
Upon acceptance as an undergraduate into the program, a faculty member
will be assigned who will serve as the students adviser. Interested
students should contact the Structural Engineering Student Affairs Office.
Students must fulfill all requirements for the B.S. degree prior to
being formally admitted to graduate status.
The Graduate Program
The Department of Structural Engineering offers instruction leading
to the degrees of Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy
(Ph.D.) in Structural Engineering (SE). The graduate program is aimed
at training a select number of highly skilled professionals in structural
engineering with the academic and engineering credentials to assume
leadership roles in industry and academia.
The M.S. degree program is intended to provide students with additional
fundamental knowledge as well as specialized advanced knowledge in selected
structural engineering aspects over and above the undergraduate degree
course work.
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree program is intended to prepare
students for careers in teaching, research, and/or in their chosen professional
specialties. The Ph.D. program requires a departmental comprehensive
examination, a Ph.D. candidacy examination, a Ph.D. dissertation based
on new and unique research, and a dissertation defense.
Both degrees offer opportunities for training in one or more of the
three research focus areas of the SE department which are in (1) Earthquake
Engineering, (2) Advanced Composites and Aerospace Structural Systems,
and (3) Renewal Engineering.
Admission to the UCSD graduate division requires at least a B.S. degree
in engineering, physical sciences, or mathematics with an overall upper-division
GPA of 3.0. Applicants must provide three letters of recommendation
and recent GRE general test scores. A minimum TOEFL score of 550 (213
computer-based) is required from international applicants whose native
language is not English. Based on the candidates background, qualifications,
and career objectives, admission to the program is in one of two categories:
M.S., or Ph.D.
Applicants seeking enrollment in SE courses via UC Extensions
concurrent registration program are advised to refer to the Graduate
Studies Transferring Credit section of the UCSD Catalog for
clarification.
Masters Degree Program
The M.S. degree program is intended to provide the student with additional
fundamental knowledge as well as specialized advanced knowledge in selected
structural engineering aspects over and above the undergraduate degree
course work. Two plans, the M.S. Thesis Plan and the M.S. Comprehensive
Examination Plan, are offered. The M.S. Thesis Plan is designed for
those students with an interest in research prior to entering the structural
engineering profession or prior to entering a doctoral degree program.
The M.S. Thesis Plan involves course work and research culminating with
the preparation and defense of a Masters thesis. The M.S. Comprehensive
Examination Plan involves course work and culminates with a public oral
presentation related to the courses the student has taken. The topic
is selected by the students adviser. This presentation is evaluated
by a committee of three faculty and must take place in the final quarter
of courses.
M.S. students must complete forty-eight units of credit for graduation.
For the M.S. Comprehensive Examination Plan all forty-eight units of
credit must consist of regular courses (twelve courses). For the M.S.
Thesis Plan, 36 units (nine courses) from regular courses are required,
in addition to 12 units of graduate research for the Masters Thesis.
For both M.S. plans, students are required to complete a minimum of
two sequences from the following focus areas:
- Structural Analysis
- Structural Design
- Earthquake Engineering
- Advanced Composites
- Solid Mechanics
A sequence is composed of three regular courses from the same focus
area. The courses comprising the focus sequences are listed in the table
in this section. To meet the specific needs of some students, other
focus areas may be developed by a student in consultation with their
adviser, but these must be approved by the SE Graduate Affairs Committee.
To allow for greater flexibility in the program, the remaining credits
required from courses may be earned by completing additional focus sequences,
parts of focus sequences, graduate seminars, or other appropriate courses.
Students may elect to take other appropriate technical electives (with
the approval of their adviser and the SE Graduate Affairs Committee).
Up to twelve units of upper division undergraduate (100-level) courses
will be allowed in the M.S. program.
The department also offers two seminar courses each quarter dealing
with current research topics in Earthquake Engineering (SE 290) and
Advanced Composites (SE 291). All Masters students are required
to take one of these two seminar courses each quarter they are registered.
Focus Sequences
FOCUS SEQUENCE
|
COURSES
|
|
Structural Analysis
|
Advanced Structural Analysis
|
|
Structural Stability
|
|
Dynamics of Structure
|
|
Structural Design
|
Advanced RC/PC Design
|
|
Advanced Structural Steel Design
|
|
Bridge Design
|
|
Earthquake Engineering
|
Structural Dynamics
|
|
Earthquake Engineering
|
|
Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering
|
|
Advanced Seismic Design of Structures
|
|
Advanced Composites
|
Design of Composite Structures
|
|
Processing Science of Composites
|
|
Experimental Mechanics and NDE
|
|
Mechanics of Laminated Composite Structures
|
|
Solid Mechanics
|
Solid Mechanics for Structural and Aerospace Engineering
|
|
Theory of Elasticity
|
|
Theory of Plasticity and Viscoelasticity
|
|
Experimental Mechanics and Non-destructive Evaluation
|
|
The thesis defense is the final examination for students enrolled in
the M.S. thesis plan and must be conducted after completion of all course
work. Upon completion of the research project, the student writes a
thesis that must be successfully defended in an oral examination and
public presentation conducted by a committee composed of three faculty.
A complete copy of the students thesis must be submitted to each
member of the M.S. thesis committee (comprised of a minimum of three
faculty) at least two weeks before the defense.
Doctoral Degree Program
The Ph.D. program is intended to prepare students for a variety of
careers in research, teaching and advanced professional practice in
the broad sense of structural engineering, encompassing civil and aerospace
structures, earthquake and geotechnical engineering, composites, and
engineering mechanics. Depending on the student's background and ability,
research is initiated as soon as possible. All students, in consultation
with their advisers, develop course programs that will prepare them
for the Departmental Comprehensive Examination and for their dissertation
research. However, these programs of study and research must be planned
to meet the time limits established to advance to candidacy and to complete
the requirements for the degree. Doctoral students who have passed the
Departmental Comprehensive Examination may take any course for an S/U
grade, with the exception of any course that the student's Departmental
Comprehensive or Ph.D. Candidacy Examination Committee stipulates must
be taken in order to remove a deficiency. It is strongly recommended
that all Structural Engineering graduate students take a minimum of
two courses (other than research) per academic year after passing the
Departmental Comprehensive Examination.
The department also offers two seminar courses each quarter dealing
with current research topics in Earthquake Engineering (SE 290) and
in Advanced Composite Materials (SE 291). All Ph.D. students are required
to take one of these two seminar courses each quarter they are registered.
Doctoral Examinations: A Structural Engineering Ph.D. student
is required to pass three examinations. The first is a Departmental
Comprehensive Examination which should be taken within three to
six quarters of full-time graduate study and requires a 3.5 GPA. This
examination is intended to determine the students ability to successfully
pursue a research project at a level appropriate for the doctoral degree.
It is administered by at least four faculty, three of whom must be in
Structural Engineering. The student is responsible for material pertaining
to four focus areas. In order to insure appropriate breadth, the focus
areas should consist of the following: (a) two focus areas within Structural
Engineering which are closely related to the student's research interests,
(b) one focus area within Structural Engineering that is not directly
related to the students area of research, and (c) one minor focus
area outside the Department of Structural Engineering. Minor areas too
closely related to the major areas will not be approved by the SE Graduate
Affairs Committee. The Solid Mechanics Focus Sequence, which is jointly
taught by Structural Engineering and the Department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering, cannot be used to satisfy the outside Structural
Engineering requirement. Since the examination areas must be approved
by the SE Graduate Affairs Committee, students are advised to seek such
approval well before their expected examination date, preferably while
planning their graduate studies. Although students are not required
to take particular courses in preparation for the departmental comprehensive
examination, the scope of the examination in each area is associated
with a set of three graduate courses, generally focus sequences offered
or approved by the department. A candidate can develop a sense of the
level of knowledge expected to be demonstrated during the examination
by studying the appropriate syllabi and/or discussing the course content
with faculty experienced in teaching the courses involved. The Departmental
Comprehensive Examination may be a written or an oral examination, at
the discretion of the committee.
Teaching Experience is required of all Structural Engineering
Ph.D. students prior to taking the Ph.D. Candidacy Examination. Teaching
experience is defined as lecturing one hour per week in either a problem-solving
section or laboratory session, for one quarter in an undergraduate course
designated by the department. The requirement can be fulfilled by service
as a teaching assistant or taken as a course for academic credit. Students
must contact the Student Affairs Office to plan for completion of this
requirement.
The Ph.D. Candidacy Examination is the second examination required
of Structural Engineering doctoral students. In preparation for the
Ph.D. Candidacy Examination, students must have completed the Departmental
Comprehensive Examination and the Departmental Teaching Experience requirement,
obtained a faculty research adviser, have identified a topic for their
dissertation research, and have made initial progress in that research.
At the time of application for advancement to candidacy, a doctoral
committee responsible for the remainder of the student's graduate program
is appointed by the Graduate Council. In accordance with Academic Senate
Regulations 715(D): A doctoral committee of five or more members
shall be appointed by the dean of Graduate Studies under the authority
of the Graduate Council. The committee members shall be chosen from
at least two departments, and at least two members shall represent academic
specialties that differ from the students chosen specialty. In
all cases, each committee must include one tenured UCSD faculty member
from outside the students major department. The committee
conducts the Ph.D. Candidacy Examination, during which students must
demonstrate the ability to engage in dissertation research. This involves
the presentation of a plan for the dissertation research project. A
short written document describing the research plan must be submitted
to each member of the committee at least two weeks before the Ph.D.
Candidacy Examination. The committee may ask questions directly or indirectly
related to the research project and general questions that it determines
to be relevant. Upon successful completion of this examination, students
are advanced to candidacy and are awarded the Candidate in Philosophy
degree. The Ph.D. Candidacy Examination is an oral examination.
The Dissertation Defense is the final Ph.D. examination. Upon
completion of the dissertation research project, the student writes
a dissertation that must then be successfully defended in an oral examination
and public presentation conducted by the doctoral committee. A complete
copy of the student's dissertation must be submitted to each member
of the doctoral committee at least four weeks before the defense. While
the copy of the dissertation handed to the committee is expected to
be complete and in final form, it should be noted that students are
expected to make changes in the text per direction of the committee
as a result of the defense. This examination cannot be conducted earlier
than three quarters after the date of advancement to doctoral candidacy.
Acceptance of the dissertation by the Office of Graduate Studies and
Research and the university librarian represents the final step in completion
of all requirements for the Ph.D.
Ph.D. Time Limit Policy. Pre-candidacy status is limited to
four years. Doctoral students are eligible for university support for
six years. The defense and submission of the doctoral dissertation must
be within seven years.
Evaluations. In the spring of each year, the faculty evaluate
each doctoral student's overall performance in course work, research,
and prospects for financial support for future years. A written assessment
is given to the student after the evaluation. If a student's work is
found to be inadequate, the faculty may determine that the student cannot
continue in the graduate program.
Structural Engineering
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