Courses

As part of the four-year PhD training program offered by the Engineering Mechanics graduate school, a joint series of EM graduate courses is organized. PhD students of the EM Graduate School are required to obtain at least 8 credit points (EC) in EM courses (see EM certificate for details), which provides an opportunity to keep track of developments in the field outside of their own research focus.

The duration of a cycle in the EM course program is 2 years. The course program is closely aligned with the EM research themes and is composed of:

• Full courses (3EC): 6 day courses covering the wide scope of key areas in EM. Two such courses are organized every year. These courses include a rapid summary of basics followed by advanced topics that are beyond the MSc level.
• Topical courses (0.5 or 1EC): 1 or 2 day courses on specific subjects. These courses may either strengthen the generic basis or provide specific in depth knowledge. About 4 such courses are offered every year.

EM graduate courses follow a general framework, which consists of clusters of lecturing, alternated with (computer or lab) exercises to obtain hands-on experience. In principle, staff members of the participating universities lecture the courses, supported by invited (international) experts (acting as guest lecturers) where relevant.

Each EM course is closed with an assessment. The assessments are graded with pass or fail. Course participants have to pass the assessment to receive the credit points for that course. A resit opportunity is offered in the case that a course is failed. PhD students should consult their local graduate school to transfer their EM credits.

The EM courses are free of charge for EM students. Students from sister graduate schools like JMBC, DISC and GRASMECH may participate in the joint courses of the EM Graduate School, provided room for participants from the sister schools is left. Students from the EM Graduate School can participate in the courses of the sister graduate schools.

Upcoming courses