Specializations and Options

Specializations and Options

In the fourth year (4A and 4B) of the undergraduate program, each mechatronics engineering student must select a set of 5 technical elective courses. These fourth-year technical electives are chosen as the basis for achieving the student's ultimate career objective after graduation. Each student is therefore responsible for selecting his or her own program.  

Designated Options

Mechatronics engineering students who are interested in a more formal link to other Engineering departments may take a designated option. If all requirements for the option are satisfactorily completed, the option is designated on the student's graduation transcript and UW degree.

There are at least 10 Designated Options described in the UW Calendar. Although all of the Designated Options are open to mechatronics engineering students, in practice only a few may be taken conveniently. The most popular Options are:  Management SciencesSoftware, Artificial Intelligence, and Biomechanics. Each Option requires students to complete a set of specific technical elective courses, and extra courses must usually be taken in addition to the regular academic workload. Some Options permit Complementary Studies Courses, defined in the UW Calendar, to be included in the courses counted towards the Option. Students interested in a Designated Option must therefore plan the choice of complementary studies courses very carefully in order to ensure that both the Option requirements and the complementary studies requirements will be met.