Specializations and Options

In the fourth year (4A and 4B) of the undergraduate program, each Mechanical Engineering student must select a set of 7 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.

Mechanical Engineering students typically specialize in one of five areas: Fluid Mechanics, Machine Design and Solid Mechanics, Materials Engineering and Processing, Automation and Control, or Thermal Engineering. MME Department policy permits students to take up to 2 of their 7 fourth-year technical electives from other departments in the Faculty of Engineering, provided that the courses are at an equivalent academic level.

Welding and Joining Specialization

Welding and joining processes are used to fabricate almost all manufactured products. New automated manufacturing methods have made welding and joining more important than ever before. The courses in this specialization are intended to prepare students to work in all areas related to welding and joining, including welding metallurgy, welding and joining processes (including robotic welding), and welding design. The specialization is the only one of its type in Canada and compares well with programs in Europe and the US. If all Mechanical Engineering degree requirements and requirements for the Welding and Joining Specialization are satisfied, then a Welding and Joining Specialization Certificate of Completion will be awarded on graduation. Visit the Welding and Joining Specialization website for more information. 

Designated Options

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. However, although all of the Designated Options are open to Mechanical Engineering students, in practice only a few of the Options may be taken conveniently. The most popular Options are: Mechatronics, Management Sciences, 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 count toward 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.