Online Courses
The College of Engineering offers fully online degrees and certificate programs through Penn State World Campus. To learn more about these programs and courses, visit our degree programs page.
Online classes are also offered outside of World Campus degree programs to meet the needs of resident students and students from other institutions. Students can consult the schedule of classes in LionPath for a full list of online courses.
If you are not sure when and how to register for classes, consult the Registration Timetable and Registration Instructions.
The classes listed below are those most commonly offered by the College of Engineering in the summer. Students from other institutions can use this list to provide course descriptions and syllabi if your institution requires it for transfer credit approval. If you are interested in taking a course that is not on the list below, contact the instructor listed in LionPath for more information.
Aerospace Engineering
AERSP 309: Astronautics
Introduction to space and space flight; laws of particle mechanics; orbits and trajectories; space vehicles and propulsion.
Description | Sample Syllabus
Architectural Engineering
AE 308: Introduction to Structural Analysis
Algebraic and graphical methods of analysis of determinate members, deflections; introduction to indeterminate analysis methods. Course includes practicums.
Description
AE 309: Fundamentals of Architectural Acoustics
This course introduces students to the acoustical analysis and design of buildings by having a fundamental understanding of the physics of sound including frequency, wavelength, sound pressure, and the human auditory system.
Description
AE 531: Legal Aspects of Engineering and Construction
Basic legal doctrines, contractual relationships between parties, analysis of construction contract clauses, contract performance, and professional practice problems.
Description
AE 579: Sustainable Building Project Leadership
Examines leadership skill sets, team competencies, and strategic methods for leading sustainable building construction projects and retrofits.
Description
Civil Engineering
CE 321: Highway Engineering
Highway engineering principles, vehicle and driver characteristics; geometric and pavement design; highway drainage; traffic engineering, capacity analysis, and signal timing.
Description | Sample Syllabus
CE 332: Professionalism, Economics & Construction Project Delivery
Introduction to engineering management process; economic analysis; pricing; contract documents; estimating; ethics; professional practice and engineering economy.
Description | Sample Syllabus
CE 335: Engineering Mechanics of Soils
Soil compositions, classification, subsurface exploration, ground water flow, stress analysis, compaction, soil behavior, bearing capacity, lateral earth pressure, slope stability.
Description
CE 336: Materials Science for Civil Engineers
Introduction to civil engineering materials; their structure and behavior: relationship between structure and behavior.
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CE 340: Structural Analysis
Analysis of statically determinate and indeterminate trusses, beams, and frames; reactions, axial forces, shears, moments, deflections. Introduction to influence lines.
Description | Sample Syllabus
CE 341: Design of Concrete Structures
Design of reinforced concrete beams, slabs, and columns, with emphasis on ultimate-strength methods; prestressed concrete; building and bridge applications.
Description | Sample Syllabus
CE 342: Design of Steel Structures
Design of steel tension members, beams, columns, beam-columns, and connections; elastic and plastic methods; design applications.
Description
CE 360: Fluid Mechanics
Mechanics of fluids; flow in conduits and around bodies, friction and energy loss, fluid measurements.
Description | Sample Syllabus
CE 370: Introduction to Environmental Engineering
Nature and scope of environmental issues; air, water, land impacts; fundamentals and processes of pollution control.
Description | Sample Syllabus
CE 476: Solid and Hazardous Wastes
With industrialization, humans have produced a variety of solid and hazardous wastes that have negatively impacted ecosystems and human health around the world.
Description
Chemical Engineering
CHE 220: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
This is the introductory course in chemical engineering thermodynamics and is normally scheduled in the sophomore year.
Description
CHE 320: Phase and Chemical Equilibria
This is the second course in chemical engineering thermodynamics and leads to the study of separations and reacting systems.
Description
CHE 450: Process Dynamics and Control
Analysis of time-dependent variables in chemical process plants; reactor design and control; computer applications.
Description | Sample Syllabus
Computer Engineering
CMPEN 270: Digital Design: Theory and Practice
Introduction to digital systems and their design. Topics include combinational and sequential devices and circuits, modern design tools and design practices.
Description
CMPEN 331: Computer Organization and Design
Introduction to major components of a computer system, how they function together in executing a program, and how they are designed.
Description | Sample Syllabus
CMPEN 454: Fundamentals of Computer Vision
Introduction to topics such as image formation, segmentation, feature extraction, matching, shape recovery, object recognition, and dynamic scene analysis.
Description | Sample Syllabus
Computer Science
CMPSC 101: Introduction to Programming
This course introduces the fundamental concepts and processes of solving computational problems through the design, implementation, testing, and evaluation of basic computer programs.
Description | Sample Syllabus
CMPSC 121: Introduction to Programming Techniques
Design and implementation of algorithms. Structured programming. Problem solving techniques. Introduction to a high-level language, including arrays, procedures, and recursion.
Description
CMPSC 122: Intermediate Programming
Object-oriented programming, recursion, fundamental data structures (including stacks, queues, linked lists, hash tables, trees, and graphs), the basics of algorithmic analysis, and an introduction to the principles of language translation.
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CMPSC 131: Programming and Computation I: Fundamentals
This course introduces the fundamental concepts and processes of solving computational problems through the design, implementation, testing and evaluation of efficient and robust computer programs.
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CMPSC 132: Programming and Computation II: Data Structures
This course builds upon the foundations of programming and computation by introducing and studying the data structures and programming language features that support the design and construction of large-scale software systems.
Description
CMPSC 200: Programming for Engineers with MATLAB
This course introduces basic programming concepts including algorithm development, simple data types, number representation, control structures, functions, plotting, and basic numerical analysis techniques, all in the context of science and engineering.
Description | Sample Syllabus (coming soon)
CMPSC 201: Programming for Engineers with C++
Development and implementation of algorithms in a procedure-oriented language, with emphasis on numerical methods for engineering problems.
Description
CMPSC 221: Object Oriented Programming with Web-Based Applications
The course covers advanced object-oriented principles and their application to web-based, net-centric computing.
Description
CMPSC 311: Introduction to Systems Programming
Unix system programming in C; organization of programs and data; program analysis and support tools; software standards; common system functions.
Description | Sample Syllabus (coming soon)
CMPSC 360: Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science
Discrete mathematics and foundations for modern computer science. Topics include sets, relations, logic, algorithms, graphs, finite state machines and regular expressions.
Description | Sample Syllabus
CMPSC 451: Numerical Computations
Algorithms for interpolation, approximation, integration, nonlinear equations, linear systems, fast Fourier transform, and differential equations emphasizing computational properties and implementation.
Description
CMPSC 465: Data Structures and Algorithms
Fundamental concepts of computer science: data structures, analysis of algorithms, recursion, trees, sets, graphs, sorting.
Description
CMPSC 473: Operating Systems Design & Construction
Design and implementation of computer operating systems; management of various system resources: processes, memory, processors, files, input/output devices.
Description | Sample Syllabus
Computer Science and Engineering
CSE 820: Software & Hardware Project Management
Students study the theory and practice of hardware and software project management.
Description | Sample Syllabus
Electrical Engineering
EE 210: Circuits and Devices
This course serves as the gateway course for all subsequent coursework in Electrical Engineering. It introduces engineering circuit analysis to students headed towards Electrical Engineering and related fields.
Description
EE 211: Electrical Circuits and Power Distribution
D.C. and A.C. circuits, transformers, single and three-phase distribution systems, A.C. motors and generators.
Description | Sample Syllabus
EE 212: Introduction to Electronic Measuring Systems
Electronic devices and characteristics, amplifiers and feedback, electronic instruments and recording systems. Designed for non-electrical engineering students.
Description | Sample Syllabus
EE 417: Digital Design Using Field Programmable Devices
Field programmable device architectures and technologies; rapid prototyping using top down design techniques; quick response systems.
Description
EE 454: Fundamentals of Computer Vision
Introduction to topics such as image formation, segmentation, feature extraction, matching, shape recovery, object recognition, and dynamic scene analysis.
Description | Sample Syllabus
EE 553: Topics in Digital Signal Processing
Parametric modeling, spectral estimation, efficient transforms and convolution algorithms, multirate processing, and selected applications involving non-linear and time-variant filters.
Description
EE 560: Probability, Random Variables, and Stochastic Processes
Review of probability theory and random variables; mathematical description of random signals; linear system response; Wiener, Kalman, and other filtering.
Description
Engineering
ENGR 111: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Communication for Engineers
Introduction to theoretical approaches and practical applications of intercultural communications for engineering students.
Description
ENGR 310: Entrepreneurial Leadership
This course develops leadership and entrepreneurial skills using collaborative, problem-based projects, with engineering and business students working in teams.
Description
ENGR 408: Leadership Principles
A project-based exploration of theories and principles of engineering leadership applicable to technical careers.
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ENGR 409: Leadership in Organizations
Development of leadership skills essential for engineers to guide colleagues or an organization in a productive direction.
Description
ENGR 411: Entrepreneurship Business Basics
Three critical entrepreneurship skills are covered for non-business majors: business finance, intellectual property, and marketing.
Description
ENGR 425: New Venture Creation
Via problem-based learning, students define new business ventures to meet current market needs, develop business models, and present to various stakeholders.
Description
Engineering Design
EDSGN 468: Engineering Design and Analysis with CAD
This course delivers methods and techniques necessary to become proficient in applying CAD as a design tool for engineering design and analysis.
Description
EDSGN 485: Engineering Design Portfolio
Students in this course will develop the skills needed to design a portfolio that represents the depth and breadth of their engineering design training.
Description
Engineering Mechanics
EMCH 211: Statics
Equilibrium of coplanar force systems; analysis of frames and trusses; noncoplanar force systems; friction; centroids and moments of inertia.
Description | Sample Syllabus
EMCH 212: Dynamics
Motion of a particle; relative motion; kinetics of translation, rotation, and plane motion; work-energy; impulse-momentum.
Description | Sample Syllabus
EMCH 213: Strength of Materials
Axial stress and strain; torsion; stresses in beams; elastic curves and deflection of beams; combined stress; columns.
Description | Sample Syllabus
EMCH 315: Mechanical Response of Engineering Materials
Mechanical response measures and design theories for engineering materials; elastic and plastic response as affected by stress, strain, time, temperature.
Description | Sample Syllabus
EMCH 524A: Mathematical Methods in Engineering
Special functions, boundary value problems, eigenfunctions and eigenvalue problems; applications to engineering systems in mechanics, vibrations, and other fields.
Description
Engineering Science
ESC 410H: Senior Research and Design Project I
Design and synthesis in the context of a specific design project undertaken during the senior year.
Description
ESC 411: Senior Research and Design Project II
Design and synthesis in the context of a specific design project undertaken during the senior year.
Description
Entrepreneurship
ENTR 320: Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation
Explores the process for starting and growing a new venture including the development of a business plan.
Description
Industrial Engineering
IE 302: Engineering Economy
Principles and methods for analyzing the economic feasibility of technical alternatives leading to a decision or recommendation.
Description
IE 305: Product Design, Specification and Measurement
Principles of product design and specifications and methods for product verification.
Description | Sample Syllabus
IE 307: Additive Manufacturing Process and Reverse Engineering
The study and application of rapid prototyping technologies in design and manufacturing.
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IE 323: Statistical Methods in Industrial Engineering
The study and application of statistics in the solution of engineering problems.
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IE 327: Introduction to Work Design
Job analysis, cognitive and physical considerations in design of work, work measurement.
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IE 408: Cognitive Work Design
Design and evaluation of cognitive work, including the human/computer interface, visual displays, software design, and automated system monitoring, with emphasis on human performance.
Description
IE 419: Work Design - Productivity and Safety
Methods improvement, physical work design, productivity, work measurement; principles and practice of safety.
Description | Sample Syllabus
IE 424: Process Quality Engineering
Statistical methods for engineering process characterization and improvement. For non-Industrial Engineering majors.
Description | Sample Syllabus
IE 425: Stochastic Models in Operations Research
This course will be an introduction to the modeling of stochastic systems.
Description | Sample Syllabus
IE 433: Regression Analysis and Design of Experiments
Theory and Application of Regression Analysis and Design of Experiments to build models and optimize process and product parameters.
Description | Sample Syllabus
IE 552: Mechanics of the Musculosketetal System
Structure and biomechanics of bone, cartilage, and skeletal muscle; dynamics and control of musculoskeletal system models.
Description
IE 575: Foundations of Predictive Analytics
Survey course on the key topics in predictive analytics.
Description
Mechanical Engineering
ME 201: Introduction to Thermal Science
Application of the basic concepts of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer to the solution of engineering problems.
Description | Sample Syllabus
ME 300: Engineering Thermodynamics I
Basic thermodynamics concepts, properties of pure substances, first and second law analysis of systems and control volumes.
Description | Sample Syllabus
ME 320: Fluid Flow
This course is an introduction to fluid mechanics, and emphasizes fundamental concepts and problem-solving techniques.
Description | Sample Syllabus
ME 360: Mechanical Design
Specification of components such as shafts, bearings, and power transformers; optimal designs for operational, environmental, and manufacturing requirements.
Description | Sample Syllabus
ME 370: Vibration of Mechanical Systems
Modeling and analysis of vibration characteristics of mechanical systems with single degree and multiple degrees of freedom. Vibration control by isolation, absorption and balancing.
Description | Sample Syllabus
ME 410: Heat Transfer
Thermal energy transfer mechanisms: conduction (steady, transient), convection (internal, external), radiation; lumped parameter method; heat exchangers; introduction to numerical methods.
Description | Sample Syllabus
ME 423: Introduction to Numerical Methods in Fluid Dynamics
This course provides an introduction to the important and growing field of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).
Description | Sample Syllabus
ME 450: Modeling of Dynamic Systems
Modeling and analysis of dynamic interactions in engineering systems. Classical and state variable methods; digital simulation; stability and dynamic response.
Description | Sample Syllabus
ME 461: Finite Elements in Engineering
Computer modeling and fundamental analysis of solid, fluid, and heat flow problems using existing computer codes.
Description | Sample Syllabus
ME 564: Elastic and Dynamic Stability of Structures
An introduction to the concept and analysis methods of structural stability; structures under static/dynamic loading and high speed conditions.
Description
Science, Technology, and Society
STS 589: Ethics and Values in Science and Technology
Study interrelationships of 20th century technological change and human values with emphasis on social and ethical aspects of technological progress.
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