Noise Control and Building Acoustics Graduate Credit Certificate Program

The Graduate Program in Acoustics Noise Control and Building Acoustics Certificate provides working professionals as well as resident students specific noise control and building acoustics knowledge or an additional breadth of noise control and building acoustics knowledge that can support career goals or needs. Specifically, students will be exposed to vibrations such as mass spring systems, membrane vibrations, and waves in rods and noise control engineering topics like source-path-receiver models, human response to noise and vibrations and acoustics standards related to noise and vibration control. Students will have the option of more in-depth exploration in structural vibrations in beams, plates, and cylindrical shells, structural damping, and propagation of sound near the ground including atmospheric turbulence and temperature gradients. This certificate provides flexibility for students to choose online or in-person electives that best suit their needs beyond the required courses. Nine (9) acoustics course credit hours with a "C" or better are required. All completed acoustics certificate courses with a "B" or better can be applied to the Acoustics M.Eng, M.S., or Ph.D. degree programs subject to restrictions outlined in GCAC-309 Transfer Credit. Certificate students who wish to have certificate courses applied towards a degree in Acoustics must apply and be admitted to that degree program. Admission to an acoustics graduate degree program is a separate step and is not guaranteed. Completion of the three certificates and the M.Eng Capstone Course with a minimum of a 3.0 GPA could earn the M.Eng degree. Acoustics elective subjects include vibrations, fluids, signals, outdoor sound, oceans, and stress waves.

Effective Semester: Fall 2025
Expiration Semester: Spring 2030

Admission Requirements

Applicants apply for admission to the program via the Graduate School application for admission. Requirements listed here are in addition to Graduate Council policies listed under GCAC-300 Admissions Policies. International applicants may be required to satisfy an English proficiency requirement; see GCAC-305 Admission Requirements for International Students for more information.

Entering students should hold a bachelor's degree in physics, engineering, mathematics, or a closely related field that would provide substantial preparation in mathematics ( a minimum of two semesters of calculus-based physics and mathematics to include complex variables and differential equations). In addition, an undergraduate knowledge of statics and dynamics, linear algebra, and electronic circuit analysis, and the ability to use mathematical analysis software is expected. Students with a 3.00 junior/senior average (on a 4.00 scale), appropriate course backgrounds, and a B+ or better average in mathematics, physical science, and engineering courses will be considered for admission. The best qualified applicants will be accepted up to the number of spaces that are available for new students. And individual with nontechnical background may also apply, but acceptance into the program will depend significantly on the applicant's undergraduate background and motives to pursue advanced study in acoustics. Exceptions to the minimum 3.00 grade-point average may be made for students with special backgrounds and abilities. 

Certificate Requirements

Requirements listed here are in addition to requirements listed in Graduate Council policy GCAC-212 Postbaccalaureate Credit Certificate Programs.

Minimum credits is nine (9). Minimum overall GPA is 2.0. Time limitation is five (5) years. 

There are 3 certificates sponsored through the Graduate Program in Acoustics, and courses cannot be double counted towards multiple certificates.

Two courses are required for this certificate. Choose one course from the list of additional courses to complete the certificate. 

Courses

Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 699 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

Learning Outcomes

1. Knowledge: Graduates will demonstrate knowledge of noise control and building acoustics such as sound structure interaction, noise control standards, and outdoor sound propagation.
2. Apply/Create: Graduates will be able to apply advanced knowledge, skills, and use software simulation to solve noise control and building acoustics problems as they relate to mitigation of noise.
3. Professionalism: Graduates will be able to demonstrate professionalism, including the accomplishment of timely assignments and professional communication.
4. Critical Thinking: Graduates will be able to conceptualize, evaluate and formulate noise and building acoustics problems such as measurement methods and machine noise control including systems such as gears, pulleys, fans, HVAC systems, muffler systems and rotating machinery, and statistical energy analysis.
5. Communicate: Graduates will be able to effectively communicate, using Penn State online learning resources, their solutions to noise control and building acoustics problems, including the use of software simulation tools such as MATLAB.