Distance Education Course Schedule
Spring 2026 Distance Education Course Schedule
Preregistration and registration information is available on the Distance Education Course Registration page.
Class Dates:
January 12 – May 8
- All classes video streamed and archived for review
- All courses available for credit or audit
Tuition Fee: Credit or Audit
Tuition (including IT fee) is $3,111.00 for a 3-credit course.
To guarantee fall course enrollment:
- All new non-degree student applications and application fees or Resume Study non-degree student requests must be completed with the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School no later than 5:00 p.m. (ET), Friday, January 2.
- All resume study degree student requests must be completed with the Fox Graduate School no later than 5:00 p.m. (ET), Monday, January 5.
Spring 2026 Distance Education Courses
- ACS 514: Electroacoustic Transducers
- ACS 515: Acoustics in Fluid Media
- ACS 523: Signal Analysis for Acoustics and Vibration
- ACS 519: Sound Structure Interaction
- ACS 540: Nonlinear Acoustics
ACS 514: Electroacoustic Transducers
Instructor: Dr. Robert Smith
Class Time: Tuesday and Thursday, 9:05–10:20 AM ET
Credits: 3
Tuition: $3,111.
Prerequisite: Undergraduate physics, basic linear circuit theory, differential equations, linear algebra, and complex numbers. Must have working knowledge of required software. Familiarity with acoustics and simple mechanical dynamical systems is helpful, but not essential; students without this background may need to supplement their studies beyond the class notes with reference materials.
Course Material: This course covers derivation and discussion of the fundamental operating characteristics of transducers for acoustics and for vibration. Acoustic transducers will include microphones, loudspeakers, and underwater hydrophones and projectors.
Text: Instructor Notes
Reference Texts: Understanding Acoustics, Steven L. Garrett. [Free download available through the Penn State Library] Acoustics: Sound Fields, Transducers and Vibration, Beranek and Mellow. [Free download available through the Penn State Library]
Software: Matlab or Matlab Student Version, available at weblabs.psu.edu, Octave, Python, MathCad, or Mathematica (student versions acceptable for all packages). Student must have a working knowledge of one of these software tools prior to taking this course.
ACS 515: Acoustics in Fluid Media
Instructor: Dr. Yun Jing
Class Time: Monday and Wednesday, 2:30–3:45 AM ET
Credits: 3
Tuition: $3,111.
Recommended Prerequisite: ACS 502, Elements of Sound Waves in Fluids
Course Material: This course focuses on acoustic radiation and scattering. Finite sources, superposition of simple sources, free space Green's functions, dipoles and quadrupoles, multipole expansion, Kirchhoff-Helmholtz integral theorem, Rayleigh integral, radiation and scattering from cylinders and spheres, diffraction, sound sources in ducts, cavities, and rooms, and reciprocity.
Texts: Acoustics: An Introduction to its Physical Principles and Applications, 3rd Ed., Allan D. Pierce, ASA Press/Springer, 2019. [Free download available through the Penn State Library or E-textbook available through major booksellers]
Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics, Blackstock, David T., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2000.
Software: MatLab recommended but not required. Student versions acceptable.
ACS 519: Sounds-Structure Interaction
Instructor: Dr. Dan Russell
Credits: 3
Class Time: Tuesday and Thursday 10:35 AM – 11:50 AM EST
Tuition: $3,111.
Prerequisite: ACS 501, Elements of Acoustics and Vibration, and ACS 502, Elements of Sound Waves in Fluids.
Course Material: An advanced course in structural acoustics and vibration, covering the vibration of plate and shell structures surrounded by a fluid (gas or liquid) with consideration of the effects of the surrounding fluid on the vibroacoustic behavior of the structure. Topics will include: flexural waves in beams, plates, and cylindrical shells; forced response, resonance, impedance, and mobility; sound radiation from vibrating structures; wavenumber transforms and the Rayleigh Integral; structural vibration induced by impinging sound waves; sound transmission loss through panels; coupled behavior of structures and enclosed acoustic volumes; and numerical methods for vibroacoustics (Finite Element Analysis, Boundary Element Analysis, Statistical Energy Analysis).
Text TBA
ACS 523: Advanced Signal Analysis II
Instructor: Dr. Tyler Dare and Dr. Sean Collier
Class Time: Monday and Wednesday, 8:30–9:45 AM ET
Credits: 3
Tuition: $3,111.
Prerequisite: ACS 503 Signal Analysis for Acoustics and Vibrations.
Course Material: This course is concerned with the time and frequency-domain analysis of discrete-time signals and discrete-time linear systems, with an emphasis on developing and applying analysis techniques with applications in acoustics and vibrations. Topics covered include: a review of time and frequency-domain representations of systems; the analysis and design of IIR and FIR digital filters; time-frequency analysis; signal detection and classification; signal modulation; and use of AI/ML for acoustics and vibrations problems. Possible application topics include vibration and modal analysis, machinery and structural health and condition monitoring, and source classification.
Text: Instructor Notes
Software: MatLab and MatLab Signal Processing Toolbox (Matlab or Matlab Student Version, available at weblabs.psu.edu ) or Octave. Student versions acceptable.
ACS 540: Nonlinear Acoustics in Fluids
Instructor: Dr. Victor W. Sparrow
Tentative Class Time: Tu/Th 1:35 PM – 2:50 PM ET
Credits: 3
Tuition: $3,111.
Prerequisite: ACS 502, Elements of Sound Waves in Fluids, or instructor approval
Course Material: Review of thermoviscous linear sound; nonlinear equations of acoustics; steepening and harmonic generation; weak shocks and N-waves; Burger’s equation; sonic booms; acoustic saturation; radiation pressure; acoustic levitation; nonlinear reflections and standing waves; biomedical harmonic imaging; streaming; cavitation and sonoluminescence; parametric arrays and the “audio spotlight”; scattering of sound by sound; computational nonlinear acoustics.
Text: Nonlinear Acoustics, 3rd. Ed., M. F. Hamilton and D. T. Blackstock, 2024 (open access, Kindle Edition available)
Fall 2026 Distance Education Course Schedule
Class Dates: August 24 – December 18
Tentative Course Offering
(Course suggestions may be sent to acousticsde@psu.edu .)
ACS 501: Elements of Acoustics and Vibration
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Undergraduate physics, differential equations and complex numbers
ACS 502: Elements of Sound Waves in Fluids
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Undergraduate physics and differential equations
ACS 503: Signal Analysis for Acoustics and Vibration
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Undergraduate physics, differential equations and complex numbers
ACS 537: Noise Control I
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Undergraduate physics, differential equations, and complex numbers
ACS 542/EMCH 542: Physical Principles in Biomedical Ultrasonics
Credits: 3
Recommended Prerequisite: ACS 502, Elements of Sound Waves in Fluids
ACS 597: Sonar Engineering
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: TBD
