To develop consistent expectations regarding the educational background of Acoustics graduates, all Master's degree students are required to have successfully completed the following Acoustics core courses or to have demonstrated equivalent competency by transferring course credits from other institutions with the approval of the Program Chair.

ACS 501 Fundamentals of Acoustics I
ACS 502 Fundamentals of Acoustics II
ACS 505 Experimental Techniques in Acoustics
ACS 514 Electroacoustic Transducers
ACS 515 Acoustics in Fluid Media
ACS 590 Colloquium

Master's degree students are also required to complete at least one (and preferably both) of the following courses:

ACS 513 Digital Signal Processing
ACS 516 Acoustical Data Measurement and Analysis

A minimum of 30 credits must be earned for a Master's degree of which 16 credits must be in the core courses.

To maintain their assistantships, M.S. students on assistantships or fellowships are required to add enough ACS 600 credits each fall and spring semester to bring their total credit load within the range specified by the Graduate School; all but six credits of ACS 600 will be graded with an R for M.S. students.

All resident students must register for the graduate seminar (ACS 590) at least one time in their graduate career. In addition, students are encouraged to attend as many seminars as possible. These seminars can help students learn about research being conducted in the Program and help them to find thesis topics. Moreover, attendance at these and other seminars may help students in learning how to present their research in an organized, concise, coherent manner.

Normally most students on an assistantship do not register for courses in the summer and are placed on a stipend only assistantship (no tuition) equivalent to a half-time assistantship. However, each June, some courses are offered during a special summer program. Students should consult their advisors to see if they should register for any summer courses and remain on a tuition bearing assistantship.

 

 

 

Graduate Program in Acoustics, The Pennsylvania State University