Written by Mariko (she/her), student
Most people know Waterloo Engineering for its innovation, co-op, or size.
These things are all important. Many Waterloo graduates go on to build their own start-up company. More than 9,950 Engineering co-op students have found jobs in the past year. With over 10,500 students enrolled, Waterloo’s Faculty of Engineering is the largest engineering school in Canada.
But there is much more to Waterloo Engineering!
Interesting facts about Canada’s largest engineering school
1. We are the largest faculty
Engineering is the largest of Waterloo's six faculties. With over 8,600 undergraduate students, Engineering students make up almost one quarter of the undergraduate population at Waterloo!
2. We group students into cohorts
Engineering students are grouped into a cohort based on your program, department, and co-op stream. Cohort sizes range from roughly 60 to 120 students. All lectures are held with your cohort, so you are always guaranteed smaller class sizes and a few familiar faces in class.
3. Our mascot is a 60-inch pipe wrench
The mascot of the Engineering Society of the Faculty of Engineering is a 60-inch chrome pipe wrench named the “Ridgid Tool.”
The Ridgid Tool was first brought to campus in 1967; the Tool celebrated its 55th birthday in 2022! The Ridgid Tool can be seen at many of the Engineering Society’s social events, carried by the enigmatic, masked Tool Bearers.
4. We collect hard hats
At the engineering orientation week, every first-year student earns a bright yellow hard hat. With further participation in orientation week as a leader in upper years, you can earn a green, red, or black hard hat!
You can find the hard hat collection in Carl A. Pollock Hall!
5. A new program
Waterloo Engineering recently added Architectural Engineering to the Faculty of Engineering. Architectural engineers spend some time on the Waterloo campus learning civil engineering concepts, and some time at the School of Architecture campus in Cambridge learning architectural concepts.
6. We have our own newspaper
The Iron Warrior is the newspaper written for Waterloo Engineering students, by Waterloo Engineering students.
You can read news about current events, reviews by students, or reports on issues within the university. Plus, they have amazing crossword puzzles.
7. We are all in co-op
All Waterloo Engineering students are automatically enrolled in Waterloo's co-op program. This means that the entire undergraduate population rotates every four months, between co-op and school. Because all students are in the co-op program, this means every student gets to bring back their workplace experience to the classroom and take a real-world approach to learning.
Waterloo Engineering is so much more than the largest engineering school in Canada. It is a vibrant, exciting faculty with lots of passionate people and faculty spirit.
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