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Coursework

Mechanical Engineering

UC Santa Barbara's mechanical engineering program is among some of the most prestigious programs in the world. The last NRC ranking placed it at number 7. All of the professors place an emphasis on practicality over theory and encourage us to build simple models of a system to quickly iterate upon. The coursework covers a wide range of different subjects as mechanical engineering really is a jack-of-all trades type of degree. 

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My mechanical engineering coursework has so far included:

  • Drawing, design and CAD

  • Machining

  • Statics

  • Materials

  • Dynamics

  • Multiple MATLAB classes including data analysis and simulation

  • Circuit analysis, design and testing with lab

  • Full year of thermodynamics

  • Full year of fluid mechanics

  • Production processes

  • LabVIEW for data acquisition and system control

  • Computer manufacturing robotics

  • Professional communications

  • Vibrations

  • Wind and tidal energy extraction

  • Aerodynamics and aerospace engineering

  • Engineering lab (thermo, fluids, vibrations and materials)

Physics

I have a deep interest in the physical laws that govern the universe, so upon entering college I thought I wanted to seek a career in physics. Even though that same intrigue and fire still burns in me, during my freshman year I realized that an engineering degree would offer me many more career opportunities and allow me to be more hands on and applied. Because it takes some time to actually switch majors, I ended up staying in physics courses for my first two years of college and I completed the entire lower division physics curriculum for physics majors. This series of physics courses is routinely called one of the most difficult set of classes offered by the school, which is why UCSB's physics program is usually compared to that of Harvard, Princeton and MIT. From this demanding physics coursework, I have gained a much deeper physical intuition of governing laws and equations than many of my mechanical engineering colleagues. The program also drastically improved my mathematical skills as I would regularly need to teach myself new math topics to complete physics problems which were far ahead of the math courses I was in at the time.

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My physics coursework so far has included:

  • Dynamics and forces

  • Simple harmonic motion and waves

  • Fluid mechanics

  • Thermodynamics

  • Statistical mechanics

  • Optics

  • Electromagnetism

  • Special relativity

  • Quantum mechanics and nuclear physics

  • A full year of physics labs, including a quarter with an experiment of my own design

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