<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am a senior undergraduate student in civil engineering. I am thinking of taking a course called Finite Element Method. I have heard this course is a necessary course for graduate students in structural engineering so I though I might as well try it out. However, I looked over some of the material online and the topics look VERY dense. </p>
<p>My question is: How difficult is an FEM course reletive to other structural engineering courses??</p>
<p>Is this a course limited to very talented students?</p>
<p>Did you look at the course material, or other material on the subject?</p>
<p>I took a FEM course as a senior mechanical engineer and most of the difficulty for me was just a product of not caring as much as I should have. I was more focused on my fluids courses at the time. Other than that, it wasn’t too bad.</p>
<p>Besides, based on your post you presumably want to go to grad school, and if “dense” courses scare you, then you are out of luck. Grad courses are generally absolutely beastly compared to undergrad courses in both breadth and depth.</p>
<p>^ I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion yet. I’m wondering if he read mathematician level literature on the subject and freaked out. Most engineering students in graduate schools would freak out too.</p>
<p>^ I never said he was doomed. I just said there is no avoiding “dense” courses if you do graduate school. That is a fact. I know when I started grad school the change in the depth and breadth of classes, particularly mathematically, took some major adjustment. Actually, if this guy is interested in grad school, I would encourage him to take this class if it looks that challenging to him. Grad school, in my opinion, is all about challenging yourself.</p>
<p>^ I’m wondering if he read material harder than what the course teaches. Most engineering graduate students don’t have the training to be able to read advanced math texts.</p>
<p>He very well might, have. Still, I know my FEM class was more involved that I expected and was one of the closest classes I had in format to those I have taken as a grad student.</p>
<p>I agree that grad programs are more mathematically involved than the vast majority of undergrad courses (undergrads - take note!!), and that the FEM can appear quite difficult if you are not up to the task mathematically.</p>
<p>Personally, I would say that FEM is not MUCH more difficult than the mathematics of the underlying problem. I have only used FEM for electromagnetics modeling, and if you can understand the math of electromagnetics and can program, then you should be fine doing E&M FEM.</p>
<p>Hey thanks for all the help. Turns out part of my research was looking at the pure mathmatics of FEM. Nonetheless, it looks hard no matter what applications you are using it for. I think I’m going to go ahead a take the course though. The math is hard but I guess it will give me a taste of graduate school curriculum</p>
“I’m wondering if he read material harder than what the course teaches. Most engineering graduate students don’t have the training to be able to read advanced math texts.” —That is entirely not true, if you actually went to a decent school. FEM is no joke, but if you have taken a linear algebra course you have all the tools you need to make it through a basic undergraduate level course.
Hard or easy - take this class. If you want to be a competitive structural engineer in buildings, planes, pipes, etc it is now expected that you understand finite element theory and software.
Take that class.
Let me state it more simply. Take that class.
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