Preparing Graduates to be Effective Contributors in a Structural Engineering Office

In the field of structural engineering, the Master of Science (MS) degree or equivalent is becoming the entry-level academic qualification. This has already taken place in the hiring practice of firms that perform leading edge engineering on complex structural systems and is in the process of being mandated through the implementation of ASCE 465. It is expected that a large majority of the students seeking the MS will not be interested in using the degree as a step to the doctorate and will not have a deep interest in research. Many graduate programs however are designed as preparation for Ph.D. students and coincide with the interests of faculty members who are highly research oriented and may have minimal interest in practice. The authors see a need for professionally oriented courses in masters programs that can add value to the entry-level structural engineer and one such course is described here as an example.