Note: All options and minors are subject to changes made by the department hosting the option. The ECE department is not notified of all such changes and therefore you must read the description in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Currently, five Level-1 courses required for the MTE option are taken by both electrical and computer engineering students. ECE 403 Thermal Physics will have to be taken as a Natural Sciences Elective.
Of the four Level-2 courses, ECE 361 Power Systems and Components is taken by electrical engineering students in 3B, while computer engineering students may take this for the option as well as counting it as a technical elective (up to two 2nd- and 3rd-year electrical-engineering-specific courses may be counted as technical electives for computer engineering students). ME 321 Kinematics and Dynamics of Machines is currently offered in the Winter and Spring Calendar Terms.
Of the Level-3 courses, all ECE students take ECE 250 Algorithms and Data Structures in their 2A Academic Term. Students could take ECE 463, of of ECE 481 or 484, and one of ECE 457A, 457B or 486 as both technical electives. Currently, however, none of the Mechanical Systems courses have as of now been approved as technical electives.
Your 4th-year design project must have a mechatronics theme. Consequently, you must find a group of ECE students willing to take on such a project and you must have that project approved by the Mechatronics co-ordinator. The ME and MTE programs have their 4A in the Fall; consequently, you will not be able to join a group from their program, as you must complete the requirements of ECE 498A in the Spring Calendar Term.
Thus, this option will restrict three out of five technical electives for electrical-engineering students and four out of five technical electives for computer-engineering students.
Because this option requires two extra courses, this requires that you will have to fit in two additional courses into your workload either as:
- extra courses during an Academic Term over-and-above your full course load,
- courses taken through distance education or on campus during your Co-op Work Terms (usually only feasible for CSEs and NSEs—if you are taking an on-campus course during a Co-op Work Term during working hours, this must be approved by your employer),
- courses taken during an extra study term either in place of a Co-op Work Term (you must have five Co-op Work Terms to graduate) or after your 4B Academic Term (recall that taking three or more courses during any term is considered a full-time student, and you will be required to pay additional fees), or
- courses taken at other universities, requiring you to find equivalent courses and submitting a Letter of Permission prior to signing up for the course (this will usually be through distance education and is usually only feasible for CSEs and NSEs).
If you are a student has completed or nearly completed this option and would like to comment about scheduling your courses, work load, prerequisites you may have gotten waived, applications of the option, how it relates to the Electrical or Computer Engineering Program, etc., please contact the Webkeeper.