SEJ201 - Structural Design

Unit details

Year

2026 unit information

Enrolment modes:Trimester 2: Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online
Credit point(s):2
Previously coded as:SEM201
EFTSL value:0.250
Unit Chair:Trimester 2: Bidur Kafle
Prerequisite:

Must have passed 1 unit in HSE104 or SIT199 and must have passed 1 unit in SEP101 or SEB101 and must have passed 2 credit points in SEJ103, SEE103, SEM111.

Corequisite:

STP010, and one unit from SEE010 or SEJ010

Incompatible with:

SEM222, SEM223 and SEM201

Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - on-campus unit enrolment:

1 x 2 hour seminar per week, 2 x 2 hour Practical experience (studio) per week.

Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - online unit enrolment:

Online independent and collaborative learning including 1 x 1.5 hour seminar per week, 1 x 2 hour Practical experience (studio) per week. Students are required to attend and participate in project oriented design-based activities linked to their design project assessment tasks at the Waurn Ponds (Geelong) Campus for the scheduled sessions during the trimester intensive activities as detailed in the unit site.

Typical study commitment:

Students will on average spend 300 hours over the teaching period undertaking the teaching, learning and assessment activities for this unit.

This will include educator guided online learning activities within the unit site.

Content

SEJ201 introduces and explores the fundamental concepts of mechanics of structures most relevant to Civil and Mechanical Engineering students. This unit builds on concepts introduced in Engineering Fundamentals, Physics and Materials in first year and prepares students to continue their studies into Advanced Stress and Structural Analysis. The unit will address concepts and skills in loading and force systems, section properties, shear force and bending moments, basic structural analysis and member selection with skills applied in a real world structural design project context.

Learning outcomes

ULO These are the Unit Learning Outcomes (ULOs) for this unit. At the completion of this unit, successful students can:

Alignment to Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLOs)

ULO1 Apply structural engineering fundamental knowledge in conjunction with appropriate tools and resources to analyse and design elements to satisfy user requirements.

GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities
GLO5: Problem solving

ULO2

Apply specialised structural knowledge, technical competence and open ended problem solving skills in finding appropriate creative and/or innovative engineering solutions.

GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities
GLO4: Critical thinking
GLO5: Problem solving

ULO3

Identify and characterise important issues, justify and apply appropriate simplifying assumptions and propose substantiated solutions.

GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities
GLO4: Critical thinking
GLO5: Problem solving

ULO4

Demonstrate transferrable employability skills by working collaboratively in an engineering team in an authentic real world structural design project and reflect on development of teamwork skills.

GLO6: Self-management
GLO7: Teamwork

ULO5

Communicate project outcomes through the use of oral written and graphical communication to professional and non-professional audiences.

GLO2: Communication

Assessment

Assessment Description Student output Grading and weighting
(% total mark for unit)
Indicative due week
Assessment 1
Quizzes
Two online quizzes 20% (2 x 10%) Weeks 6 and 10
Assessment 2
Project portfolio
Project progress portfolio 5% Weeks 3, 5, 8 and 10
Assessment 3
Project design brief (Group)
3,000 words collaborative written report, including drawings and calculations 20% Week 5
Assessment 4
Response to project constraints (Group and individual)
Workshop participation and two-pages written report 15% (7.5%, 7.5%)) (Group, individual) Week 7
Assessment 5
Final project report
Project report including calculations and drawings 40% Week 11

The assessment due weeks provided may change. The Unit Chair will clarify the exact assessment requirements, including the due date, at the start of the teaching period.

Hurdle requirement

To be eligible for a pass in this unit, students must achieve a minimum of 50% averaged over all Quizzes AT1 and a minimum of 50% in AT4 Response to project constraints and AT5 Final project report.

Learning resource

The texts and reading list for SEJ201 can be found via the University Library.

Note: Select the relevant trimester reading list. Please note that a future teaching period's reading list may not be available until a month prior to the start of that teaching period so you may wish to use the relevant trimester's prior year reading list as a guide only.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

To fully engage with Deakin's learning experiences, students must be able to access and use internet-connected devices as outlined in computing requirements at Deakin.

To support student success at Deakin, we have a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) learning environment that acknowledges that students and educators bring with them the digital tools they regularly use to complete academic tasks. These tools stay with you beyond the classroom, helping you to keep learning, explore ideas more deeply, and connect with knowledge in ways that matter to you.

Students requiring a loan device should visit our Loan Laptop webpage or students requiring longer-term assistance should visit our Student Financial Assistance webpage.

Unit Fee Information

Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study and their study discipline, and your study load.

Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.

Estimate your fees

For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current Students website.