Gain a Secondary Emphasis in Another Subject
Options are intended to provide you with a path to expand your degree and are a specified combination of courses that provide a secondary emphasis in another subject or a career-oriented area. For example, as a Mechanical Engineering student you may wish to add a Management Sciences Option, or as an Electrical Engineering student you may wish to add a Physics Option.
Since engineering programs are very structured, you should decide if you are interested in taking options as you enter second year. Options often require taking extra courses beyond your degree's minimum requirements. Options generally require 5-8 courses and will appear on your university diploma.
Options are not available to Architecture students unless specifically noted.
How to declare an Option
To declare an option, complete all 3 sections of the Plan Modification Form, and email it to your academic advisor with your name, student number, and the name of the option. Some options require courses or a minimum average to declare them; make sure that you've met the declaration requirements by checking the Undergraduate Calendar.
Available Options
For general questions about options, please contact engineering.options@uwaterloo.ca. For more specific questions about an option, please contact the co-ordinator for that option listed below. The option co-ordinator can assist you in determining how the courses may fit the best with your program.
For more information on options you can also visit the undergraduate calendar.
| Option | Co-ordinator |
|---|---|
| Artificial Intelligence: Study and advance ever-greater degrees of efficacy, reliability, and safety, the ways in which machines and systems perceive, see, speak, decide, respond, act, and plan. | Otman Basir, Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| Biomechanics: Study solutions to health-care problems, birth defect prevention, medical imaging, prosthesis design, and ergonomics. | Naveen Chandrashekar, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering |
| Computer Engineering: Develop skills in the areas of logic, digital hardware, operating systems, computing systems, databases, networks, and security and privacy. | Wojciech Golab, Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| Computing: Enrich your studies with knowledge in programming, data structures and algorithms, digital systems, human-computer interaction, and more. | Wojciech Golab, Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| Entrepreneurship: Pursue an innovative pathway in engineering, and enrich your studies with courses in venture creation and corporate entrepreneurship. | Nada Basir, Conrad School of Business and Entrepreneurship |
| Environmental Engineering: Study pollution control, waste disposal, and health and sanitation. | Rebecca Saari, Civil and Environmental Engineering |
| Anh Pham, Civil and Environmental Engineering | |
|
Life Sciences: Understand the structure and function of biological systems (choice of four sub-options):
|
Theme 1: Andrew Doxey, Biology |
| Theme 2: Jonathan Witt, Biology | |
| Theme 3: Brenda Lee, Physics and Astronomy | |
| Theme 4: Dara Gilbert, Chemistry | |
| Management Science: Solve management problems using social sciences and mathematical models. | Fatih Safa Erenay, Management Science and Engineering |
| Mechatronics: Design and develop “thinking” machines and devices. | John McPhee, Systems Design Engineering |
|
Physical Sciences: Understand the basic physical sciences that lay behind many engineering applications (choice of three sub-options):
|
Theme 1: Richard Epp, Physics and Astronomy |
| Theme 2: Steve Forsey, Chemistry | |
| Theme 3: Tony Endres, Earth and Environmental Sciences | |
| Quantum Engineering: Focus on foundations, design methodologies and experimental skills to analyze and implement technological platforms using quantum devices, systems and algorithms. | Hamed Majedi, Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| Software Engineering: Learn about the design, implementation, and maintenance of large-scale software systems. | Wojciech Golab, Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| Statistics: Gain a broad background in applied statistics, including multiple regression, quality control, experimental design, and applied probability. | Riley Metzger, Statistics and Actuarial Science |