Online Timber Building Design Certificate

Earn Your Graduate Certificate in Timber Building Design at One of the Best Structural Engineering Schools in the Nation.

Sustainable construction is the use of renewable and recyclable materials in small- and large-scale building projects to minimize energy consumption and waste. As the world looks for and transitions to more environmentally friendly ways to construct buildings, timber building design, has risen to the top of structural engineering and architecture. Mass timber, comprised of multiple solid wood panels nailed or glued together, is a strong, low-carbon alternative to concrete and steel, a more sustainable material.

Structural engineers with timber building and design experience not only ensure that timber and mass timber materials are used for the correct structures and their components, but also keep up with regulations for mass timber design. 

Explore the many uses of timber in sustainable construction with an Online Graduate Certificate in Timber Building Design from Michigan Technological University—one of the leading engineering colleges in the nation.

Take Fundamental Structural Engineering Courses.

The highly interactive courses at the heart of our structural engineering certificate in timber analysis will provide you with versatile training and tools. 

Every student earning their structural engineering certificate in timber analysis will take the same core courses: Structural Timber Design and Advanced Structural Timber Design. These courses provide a strong foundation as you progress through the program.

Each student will then choose one of the following courses to tailor their educational journey to their career goals: Finite Element Analysis, Structural Dynamics, or Probabilistic Analysis and Reliability.

Dive Deeper Into the Curriculum

Required Courses

Electives

Build a Strong Foundation for a Future Graduate Degree.

The worlds of structural engineering and designing timber structures are constantly evolving. That’s why our online graduate certificate in timber building design allows qualified engineering professionals like you to get a head start on graduate studies, so you be on top of the latest theories and methods in sustainable construction.

But you can also continue learning, using this certificate to launch into graduate studies. That is, you can stack this certificate with other structural engineering ones to build a customizable master's degree. You graduate not only with a master's degree, but also with three focused credentials.

For instance, the chart below demonstrates how you can build your advanced degree from one required course and three structural engineering certificates: Advanced Analysis, Building Design, and Timber Design. This combination of certificates would be ideal if you wanted to focus on analyzing, designing, and building advanced timber structures. Mass timber construction, in fact, has recently grown in popularity as people have become more interested in sustainable buildings with lower carbon footprints.

Alternatively, you could combine your timber building design certificate with another two certificates; there are four from which you can choose.

This is a chart that deminstrates how people can build their master's in Civil Engineering degree from three stackable certificates.

Learn more about the modality of the courses, the program, and the instructors at the CEGE page for the certificate.

Timber Building Design

Why Earn Your Structural Engineering Certificate in Timber Analysis at MTU?

At Michigan Tech, we prepare students for the future of engineering by focusing on sustainable development, mastering the technology and tools used by professionals, and exploring tangible ways that sustainable construction can benefit both the society and the world.

With a structural engineering certificate in timber building design from MTU, you’ll gain foundational expertise and experience in designing timber structures at the component and system levels. 

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Versatile, Rigorous Curriculum

You will take engaging online courses that inspire your imagination and challenge you in rewarding ways as you master designing and building timber structures. Most of these courses are offered several times a year.

Experienced Faculty

While pursuing this certificate, you will work with faculty mentors who bring their years of practical industry experience into the classroom to help prepare you for a career as a structural engineer in sustainable construction and timber building design. You’ll join an active community of researchers and professionals with years of experience designing sophisticated timber structures.

Flexibility and Freedom

By earning your timber building design graduate certificate online from MTU, you’ll enjoy the opportunity to earn a highly respected degree without sacrificing personal or professional time.

What Can You Do With This Timber Building Design Certificate?

With a structural engineering certificate from MTU, you’ll have unique skills sets that will help you stand out. You’ll learn how to analyze axial and flexural loads, shear, bearing, and combined loading on members.

You’ll develop expertise in connection design, shear walls and diaphragms, arches and tapered beams, modeling, and loading. With these skills, you can enter many exciting careers in timber structures and sustainable construction.

Close up of a modern building made with mass timber materials.

Possible Careers

  • Mass timber specialist
  • Structural engineer
  • Prefabrication technician
  • Research and development engineer
  • Construction project manager
  • Director of Design and Engineering

Get Started on Your Online Timber Building Design Certificate.

Want to learn how your courses will help you design and improve advanced timber structures throughout the world? We are here to answer your questions and to help you succeed in your online program.