Concepts were interesting, but the work was wayyyy too much. Using the remote desktop was a pain and sometimes it would fail to let you in and troubleshooting that was annoying. The professor was also not a vibe and not super understanding. Regardless of this, with some work, you can still get an A. I literally never went to class then binge watched the lectures in two days to answer the final questions and it was fine.

Alright, only take this class if you fit one of the two categories:
1. You enjoy learning about FEM or consider this a future career path
2. You want a class that can give you an A by putting in a lot of work.

It by no means is an "easy A" as there is a ton of work to be done, but it is a grindable A. The professor himself is also really reasonable. If you go in and do the required work (take notes on lecture videos and go to discussions) you should get an A no problem. But pls, go to discussions, they're worth the time you invest in to it.

Side note: The professor says there will be future "extra credit" assignments early on in the class. But do note, they're MUCH harder than the HWs / PROJs. So don't count on it if you're struggling with the current assignments. Just do the easy ones that are on the excel file he gives you and participate in class to get more low hanging fruit :)

By far the best professor in the department. Professor Goyal is funny and laid back. He truly cares about his students learning and makes time for his students. His class is very well orchestrated and clear. The content is difficult by nature, but I have never had a professor teach so well. Additionally, he offers tons of extra credit. Getting an A is very reasonable. I've had two courses with professor Goyal, 156A and M168, and both were some of my favorite. Additionally, he comes from industry, so he gives a lot of practical knowledge about industry which is great since most students plan on moving to industry rather than academia. You learn more from him than in any other course, and I would highly recommend taking this class!

Professor Goyal is far the Best Professor in MAE Department.

He is tough but cares about student learning.

His courses are a lot of work but they are perfectly structured and he himself puts a lot of thought, work, and detail in lecture preparation and assignments.

He has boundless theoretical knowledge and engineering practical knowledge unlike some others.

Professor Goyal cares about his students.

It has been a pleasure and fun to take his course.

This course is very challenging. The course offered either zoom, in-person or pre-recorded lectures. The course is math intensive and the homeworks are very challenging. The professor could not attend class in-person many times, but it was conducted at least through zoom or the TA was able to replace him. The course is well structured and it was really neat to solve real time problems using Abaqus and apply what was learned in class. Great professor. The use of piazza was very useful and it allowed us to collaborate when questions came up.

Excellent course. Vinay Goyal has extensive background in finite element methods in the aerospace industry and is probably the best person imaginable to teach the course. He is able to teach the material in a very practical way through many Abaqus tutorials while still getting you knowledge of all the theory. He is an engaging lecturer. For anyone desiring to work as a mechanical engineer in the aerospace industry, or as a stress analyst, this class is a must take. The workload can be a bit more than average, but there is a ton of extra credit offered and it isn't difficult to get an A.

Definitely the best mechE class I’ve taken at UCLA so far. Professor Goyal is extremely knowledgeable on the topic and I think the fact that he is still working in the industry means that he has interesting and applicable examples for all the concepts that he teaches. I think the class is structured in a way that you are constantly being refreshed on past concepts. Additionally, the projects are long and tedious but they really make you understand the concepts behind your FEM algorithms. He also records all his lectures and they’re posted on YouTube, which is nice because you can reference them in the future as well. He is very understanding of student circumstances, and the quarter I took it he gave us extra credit for watching inspirational videos and writing down what we learned from them. He is overall a great and caring professor.

By far both the greatest class I've taken at UCLA, but also by far the most workload. Many of the concepts can be pretty "mathy" but the projects that he assigns (1 project every other week) are really awesome projects ranging from aircraft wing analysis, fuselage buckling, launch vehicle analysis, composite analysis, all of which are straight from his connections with industry. If you want to learn something useful that will conglomerate all of what you've learned in your undergrad thus far, take this class without a doubt, but be sure you're seriously willing to put in upwards of 10-15 hours of work a week.
PS No final or midterms, just 5 homeworks, 5 projects, and alot of extra credit

Goyal is such a great professor! Definitely requires a lot from students but I have learned so much about engineering in general and how to set up problems and what to look for. how to question results. analyze results. why safety is important. Goyal is funny, witty, and interactive with students. sometimes intimidating. a lot of work in the class but you'll definitely feel that rewarding feeling after taking his course. great that he provided many extra credit opportunities to help us students manage time and earn that A.