Courses at UT Austin
CE381P: Computer Methods in Structural Analysis
Offered: Usually in Fall.
This graduate-level course focuses on the computational modeling and analysis of structural systems undergoing large deformations. Emphasis is placed on geometrically nonlinear behavior in truss, beam, and frame structures, including those with complex or nonstandard material properties. Topics include stiffness and flexibility methods, derivation of stiffness matrices using the principle of virtual displacements (PVD), Euler–Bernoulli beams, Hermite finite elements, and structural stability analysis.
Course book
CE311K: Introduction to Computer Methods
Offered: Usually in Spring.
This undergraduate course introduces core concepts in scientific computing and programming for engineering analysis. Students learn to design and implement numerical algorithms using conditional logic, control structures, and function-based programming, while addressing floating-point arithmetic and error propagation. Topics include root-finding methods (bisection, Newton-Raphson), numerical differentiation, and solution of linear systems (Ax = b). The course also covers matrix operations, data fitting, and basic modeling of physical systems. MATLAB is used to develop and test numerical methods in practical engineering contexts.
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CE329: Structural Analysis
Offered: Usually in Spring.
This undergraduate course introduces fundamental principles of structural mechanics and classical methods of analysis for both statically determinate and indeterminate systems. Students develop the ability to evaluate internal forces, support reactions, and deflections in trusses, beams, and frames. The course emphasizes idealized structural models and equips students with analytical tools essential for further study in structural and architectural engineering.