Integration Of Analysis And Design In The Structural Engineering Curriculum

In the Civil Engineering curriculum, coursework tends to be compartmentalized with the result that students often find it difficult to understand the relationships among concepts covered in different courses. Even within individual courses, students sometimes have difficulty tying together material from different parts of the course. In an attempt to overcome these shortcomings a project is underway at Penn State University to integrate coursework in the areas of structural analysis, structural design, geotechnical engineering, and engineering materials. The general approach is to develop a theme project for which different aspects are covered in several related courses. This paper describes the activities underway to integrate material in our structural analysis and structural design courses, as well as a plan to assess the impact of the approach.