<p>Hi there,</p>
<p>So, I'm a physics major interested in taking some lower-division engineering courses on the side. The idea here is to learn the (very) basics of engineering.</p>
<p>I've visited the College of Engineering website, and I've noticed that many departments require their students to take the same courses. Most of these are already covered in the physics major - Math 1A-1B, 53, 54, Physics 7A-7B-7C - but some, like E7, E10, and E45 are not.</p>
<p>I'll probably end up taking E7 because a solid grasp of computer science is "highly recommended" for physics. I know little about E45 and even less about E10.</p>
<p>I'm curious if you found either of these courses interesting or particularly useful. Of course, I am open to other suggestions too.</p>
<p>E7 is a course on MATLAB. It’s not exactly what you would take if you want a “solid grasp of computer science,” but it’s probably good enough for a physics major since a lot of research labs like using MATLAB. If you really want that “solid grasp of computer science,” I’d suggest taking CS 61A-61B-61C. </p>
<p>E10 is well…It’s a course that introduces you to a variety of engineering topics while giving you a taste of what an engineering work environment is like. The class is divided into two parts. The first part of class has speakers come and introduce what engineering is and the second part is where you get to do projects on 2 certain engineering topics. Basically you have modules in different engineering topics where you work in a small group to design a certain project regarding the engineering topic. It’s gives you a good taste of what engineering is about, what types of engineering are out there, and offers a glimpse of what your future as an engineer is gonna be like.</p>
<p>E45 is a basic/intro materials science course. You learn why certain materials have particular properties from a chemical/physical standpoint. This is a lab based class (like chem classes) where you will spend a significant amount of time testing material properties and writing lab reports.</p>
<p>dill_scout’s description of E10 is spot-on. Personally, I didn’t find it especially useful, but it did help me realize that I didn’t want to do IEOR or Materials Science as my engineering major (the two modules that I chose). If you’re considering switching your major to engineering at some point in the future and you’ve got room in your schedule for E10, I suggest that you take it so that you can explore what being an engineer actually means.</p>
<p>One tip though: try not to buy the textbook for E10 if you can help it. We used it only for the first two HW assignments at the very beginning of the semester, and never touched it for the rest of the class. I remember it was very expensive ($50+ for a very thin textbook). Try to borrow a classmate’s text instead.</p>