Choice of an engineering program (Chemical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Geomatics, Mechanical, Oil & Gas, or Software) is normally made during April of the first year of studies. While a place in at least one of the programs is assured for every student advancing to second year with satisfactory performance, it is not always possible to accommodate every student's first choice of program. Students will not normally be admitted to a program if they are deficient in more than two courses from the first year program or if they are deficient in any courses which are prerequisites for second year courses in the program of choice.
First year Engineering students wishing to enter the Biomedical Engineering Specialization or the Energy & Environment Specialization must apply for admission to the Biomedical Engineering Specialization program or the Energy & Environment Specialization at the same time the choice of an engineering program is made.
In the event that the number choosing a program exceeds the program quota, students will be admitted to the program in order of academic performance until the enrolment limit is reached. Academic performance is judged on the student's GPA for those courses required for the engineering program and taken during the last review period. Priority is generally given to students who have taken a full-course load in their last review period and who have all courses in the first year program complete. The exact policy for prioritization of students is determined by the Associate Dean (Student Affairs) and may be revised from year to year. Students may obtain information on current policy from the Engineering Undergraduate Studies Office.
The current second-year quotas for the various programs are as follows:
Chemical Engineering: 85
Civil Engineering: 87
Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering combined quota: 165
Geomatics Engineering: 59
Mechanical Engineering: 173
Oil & Gas Engineering: 40
Software Engineering: 44
Biomedical Engineering Specialization: 32
Energy & Environment Specialization: 25
Second-year quotas for the Biomedical Engineering Specialization and the Energy and Environment Specialization are included in the above program quotas.
Any student in satisfactory standing in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering at the end of second year may choose between the Electrical Engineering program or the Computer Engineering program.
Students admitted to a program at the second year level include the continuing students who have completed their first year successfully in the School and transfer students. Many transfer-student files are not complete and thus no admission decision has been taken at the time registration starts in the summer. To give transfer students a fair opportunity for admission to their program of first choice, a certain number of places will be allotted to the continuing students and the remaining places will be retained for transfer students. The number of places in the two categories will be decided each year based on an assessment of the demand, with the objective of admitting transfer and continuing students to each program with equivalent qualifications. Transfer students are assessed for program admission on an equivalent basis to continuing students in terms of (a) the courses for which they have obtained transfer credit towards the engineering technical program, and (b) their GPA on those courses. Continuing students who have not registered in both Fall and Winter Term classes in their programs by July 15 will not be guaranteed their place in their program. Students who have not been admitted to a program will not normally be permitted to register in courses specific to that program, even if there is room in one or more courses specific to a program.