Welcome to Structural Engineering!

We invite incoming students to learn more about our program by watching the following videos as well as reading our website including the Explore the SE Student Experience, Career Opportunities, Undergraduate Labs, and our Student Organizations.

The SE New Student Orientation will take place on September 24, 2025 from 9 AM - 12 PM. The New Student Orientation is mandatory and will take place in-person.

During New Student Orientation, students will have a chance to learn more about SE, specific SE requirements and policies as well meet current student leaders and faculty.

New admitted students will receive more detailed information this summer.

Videos:

Resources:

Explore the four focus sequences: The structural engineering major includes four focus sequences: civil structures, aerospace structures, geotechnical engineering, and structural health monitoring. Students choose one focus sequence to complete and gain additional knowledge through completing technical electives.

Civil Engineering Structures and Infrastructure Focus Sequence (Link to YouTube video)
Safety in buildings and built infrastructure, bridges, ports, and tunnels among various others, is of paramount importance in a community. Such structures have to resist extreme loads arising from wind and earthquakes, besides several occupancy, traffic loads, and self-weight. Students taking the Civil Infrastructure Focus Sequence will become acquainted with the latest tools to design buildings and bridges. A 2-course capstone sequence will provide students with methods for the design and testing of steel and reinforced concrete structures, leading to exciting professional job opportunities.
Aerospace Structures Focus Sequence (Link to YouTube video)
Students in the Aerospace Structures Focus Sequence learn about key topics which are directly applicable to future employment in companies interested in high-performance structures; for example aerospace, automotive, transportation, and wind turbine/power generation. Course topics of aircraft structure design and analysis, composite materials, and joining of composites, are all applied in an intense senior capstone design 2-course sequence in which students design, analyze, build, and test an unmanned aircraft wing structure.
Geotechnical Engineering Focus Sequence (Link to YouTube video)
The geotechnical focus sequence provides students with an introduction to soil mechanics and its application to the design of underground structures like foundations, retaining walls, tunnels, landfills, bridge abutments, and pavements. Students will be able to sample and classify soils and then perform experiments and analyses to interpret the compressibility, hydraulic conductivity, and shear strength of soils, all of which are needed to write and interpret a geotechnical report. Design topics include shallow and deep foundations, slopes, and retaining walls. Students will learn to apply techniques to improve and reinforce soils.
Structural Health Monitoring/Nondestructive Evaluation Focus Sequence (Link to YouTube video)
The Structural Health Monitoring/Nondestructive Evaluation focus sequence introduces students to a broadly interdisciplinary paradigm that integrates sensing and data acquisition, signal processing and information analytics, and risk-informed decision-making for the purpose of performing monitoring of structures for optimal life cycle performance. Students engaged in this focus sequence will take courses in nondestructive testing techniques, sensor and data acquisition principles, damage detection/localization strategies, advanced modeling model/test correlation, and a capstone experience in the context of a small-team consultancy project. Students with this introductory background can enter multiple sectors including aerospace companies, civil design/retrofit firms, engineering service/consultancy companies, and US government laboratories, to just name just a few.

Jacobs School of Engineering

The Structural Engineering department is one of the six departments in the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego.

Welcome Message from the Jacobs School of Engineering

Jacobs School of Engineering 2022 Student Highlights

What to explore more? Check out our YouTube channel including our playlists which link to other videos related to our program.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to our student affairs department.