MME Grad Student Program Specific FAQs

A course-based Master’s (MEng) is intended to increase knowledge, generally to specialize technically or develop complementary skills (e.g. management). This degree is often intended for working professionals. It can help you advance your career by opening up more career opportunities in the industry and it also helps you in starting up your own business.

• Students must complete at-least 8 courses
• Finding a supervisor is not mandatory in order to receive an offer of admission to the MEng program.
• Guaranteed funding does not apply to the MEng Coursework program, but applicants are recommended to apply for external scholarships other funding and scholarship opportunities. 

The research-based Master’s (MASc) will also increase technical knowledge, but additionally develops other skills related to the research project such as creativity, flexibility and analytical skills. The research focus also facilitates continuation to a PhD. It can help you advance in your career by opening up more career opportunities in the industry and academia or teaching.

• Students must complete at-least 4 courses, a master's thesis and a seminar
• Finding a supervisor is mandatory in order to receive an offer of admission to the MASc program.
• Guaranteed funding for incoming full-time MASc students of $18,000 per year for 2 years, with other funding opportunities like the EEF-M valued at up to $55,000 for over two years.

The Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering recommends you apply, upload all of the required documents, and then start contacting potential supervisors. Before submitting your application, we encourage you to spend time reviewing the profiles of our faculty members within your proposed area(s) of specialization to determine those whose research would be a good fit with your proposed research. It may be helpful to read some of their publications to familiarize yourself with their work.

We recommend that you list the faculty members you are interested in working within the “Potential Supervisors” field on your application form when selecting the program. MME does not require you to communicate with a potential supervisor in order to list their name, instead we encourage you to do so. Many faculty members specifically look for applications which have their name listed as a potential supervisor, so this helps to get your application noticed. Unfortunately, we are unable to add names of potential supervisors to your application once it has been submitted. 

Once you have applied and all of your documents (including references) are uploaded, approaching a potential supervisor using the Faculty of Engineering's Contact a Faculty Member web form is a good next step and is the most effective way of initiating contact with a potential supervisor. 

Here are some additional tips you may find helpful:

• You are welcome to contact any faculty member in your area(s) of specialization, even if you have not listed their name on your application.
• Use proper letter format, formal salutations – Professor/Dr. (last name) and close with “Yours sincerely” followed by your full name and contact information—don’t forget to include your 8-digit Waterloo ID Number!
• Let them know what program (MASc or PhD) and term you have applied to.
• Attach your CV and current transcripts.
• Tell them why you are interested in graduate studies, include career goals, and be sure to highlight any research or leadership skills.
• If you have funding through one of Waterloo’s formalized graduate studies partnerships, advise them of the source, the value and the duration.
• Let them know why you have chosen them, why your research interests are a good match. Refer to specific published articles (by the professor) that interest you. Show your potential supervisor why you want to work with them specifically
• Offer an opportunity for further discussion, (teleconference, video conference, or perhaps a meeting in person)