UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKERLEY - STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
Minor
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
The Minor in Structural Engineering is designed primarily for students in the College of Environmental Design to experience the engineering approach to the solution of design problems, but it is available to students from any department who meet the prerequisites to apply.
- Understanding of material behavior for structural response and ability to describe such behavior with simple models
- Understanding of structures and methods of analysis
- Design of structures made of steel, concrete or timber
These basic foundations are complemented by additional courses in materials and construction and analysis.
The Minor offers to students of the College of Environmental Design access to the joint graduate Masters in Science-Masters in Architecture (MS-MArch) degree from the two departments, one of very few such degrees in the entire United States. With it comes the ability to practice either as architect or as structural engineer with a very thorough knowledge of each field. Whereas engineering focuses on analytical methods for the solution to problems, the visual, socio-economical approach of architecture courses is an indispensable complement. The same is true the other way.
Employment opportunities exist in major architectural-engineering companies that appreciate the holistic approach to design: Ove Arup, Skidmore, Owings and Merill, Buro Happold, Calatrava, Schlaich-Bergerman, etc. However, graduates of the joint degree are also employed with smaller companies emphasizing either architectural design or engineering.