Course Listing

This list represents an extensive and broad offering of courses which will be used to create an individualized curriculum for the M.Eng., M.S., or Ph.D. in Acoustics. Courses may be selected from offerings directly in acoustics and vibration, including several courses in closely related areas which serve mostly as advanced prerequisites for other courses.

Use the following links to see which ACS courses will be offered next semester through:

Distance Education: Course Schedule, or

University Park: Office of Registrar Schedule of Courses

Departmental Abbreviations:

• ACS - Acoustics
• AE - Architectural Engineering
• AERSP - Aerospace Engineering
• BIOE - Bioengineering
• CMDIS - Communication Disorders
• EE - Electrical Engineering
• EMCH - Engineering Mechanics
• ESC - Engineering Science
• GEOSC - Geosciences
• ME - Mechanical Engineering
• METEO - Meteorology
• PHYS - Physics
• SPCOM - Speech Communication

Four to eight courses are offered during each fall and spring semester. Each semester is 15-weeks in length. For each course, the instructor at Penn State presents bi-weekly class lectures. Most DE classes are "blended" with both resident and DE students in the classroom. All lectures are archived to be viewed at the convenience of the student. To enroll and view the lectures, all students are required to have specific computer hardware and software systems.

Following are lists of courses currently offered through distance education. Core courses are marked with an asterisk (*). Unless otherwise noted each is a three credits course. Courses are available to registered students only when offered as part of the semester programming. Courses and course material are not available for individual purchase at any time.

• ACS 597A *Fundamentals of Acoustics (formerly ACS 501)
• ACS 597B *Introduction to Acoustics in Fluid Media (formerly ACS 502)
• ACS 505 Experimental Techniques in Acoustics
• ACS 511 Underwater Sound Propagation
• ACS 513 * Digital Signal Processing
• ACS 514 * Electroacoustic Transducers
• ACS 515 * Acoustics in Fluid Media
• ACS 516 * Acoustical Data Measurement and Analysis
• ACS 519 Sound Structure Interaction
• ACS 521 (E MCH 521) Stress Waves in Solids
• ACS 530 Flow Induced Noise
• ACS 537 Noise Control Engineering I
• ACS 573 Designing Quiet Structures
• ACS 590 Colloquium

Special Topic Courses (ACS 498, ACS 597 and ACS 598, each with an assigned suffix)

• ACS 498 Audio Engineering
• ACS 498 Sound Quality
• ACS 596 Individual Study (1-6 credits, available to degree students with Program approval)
• ACS 597 Acoustics of Musical Instruments
• ACS 597 Architectural Acoustics
• ACS 597 Computational Acoustics
• ACS 597 Marine Bioacoustics
• ACS 597 Nonlinear Acoustics
• ACS 597 Ocean Acoustics
• ACS 597 Outdoor Sound Propagation
• ACS 597 Research & Writing for Acousticians (2 credits)
• ACS 597 Virtual Acoustics
• ACS 598 Acoustic Imaging: Theory and Application
• ACS 598 Engineering Mathematics I
• ACS 598 Engineering Mathematics II
• ACS 598 Advanced Topics in Sonar Signal Processing: Signal Detection
• ACS 598 Applied Underwater Acoustics
• ACS 598 Shallow Water Acoustics
• ACS 598 Sonar Signal Processing

Individual Study

Individual courses on specific topics may, with Acoustics Program approval, be arranged with an Acoustics Program faculty member. Individual study courses range from 1 to 6 credits, with credit load based on the content and effort, and in negotiation between, student, instructor, and the Acoustics Program. Individual study courses are not to be confused with independent study. Individual study courses require a constant interaction between the student and instructor and active engagement of both with the content. Topics for these courses often focus on the subject of the master of engineering paper, which is the degree capstone. However, individual study courses may not be used to accumulate degree credit for writing the paper.

Non-Credit Courses

In addition to credit courses, the Acoustics Program's continuing education efforts include non-credit courses and seminars on Acoustics and related areas. These courses and seminars are often developed and provided in response to public and private sector inquiries to meet employee knowledge gaps or assist in pushing the frontier of knowledge.