Current undergraduate students

For detailed information on the most recent Nanotechnology Engineering program and curriculum, please visit the Undergraduate Studies Calendar.

For previous versions, please see the List of Undergraduate Studies Archived Calendars. In this link, select the year your program began. Then in the sidebar, click on "Faculty of Engineering", then "Bachelor of Applied Science and Bachelor of Software Engineering Specific Degree Requirements", and then "Nanotechnology Engineering".

Technical electives

Students in the Nanotechnology Engineering program are able to specialize in the second half of their third year (3B term) as well as their fourth year (4A and 4B term) by selecting technical electives from the List of Technical Electives. The set of technical elective courses covers a broad range of topics in the field of nanotechnology. To remain relevant, these technical elective courses are subject to change, based on the evolution of the field of nanotechnology.

Degree options

Nanotechnology Engineering students who wish to enrich their education further may elect to take one of the five available Options. General information about Degree Options can be found at: Options and Electives for Engineering Students. The mathematics, life sciences, and physical sciences options are only open to students who maintain cumulative averages of 80% or higher.

• International Studies in Engineering
• Management Sciences Option
• Mathematics Option
• Life Sciences Option
• Physical Sciences Option

Detailed scheduling information for these Options can be found here: Options Scheduling Information.

Minor

Those who may be interested in pursuing a minor can find information in the Undergraduate Calendar. Minor requirements are listed in the relevant department's academic plans. A minor typically requires satisfactory completion of ten or more lecture courses.

For a more detailed view into the terms, please see our extended course schedule.

Within the Faculty of Engineering, access to advisors is faculty-wide in your first year and then program-specific from second year and beyond.

First-year students can contact Faculty of Engineering academic advisors.

The Nanotechnology Engineering program advisors for second-year and higher students are found on this page.  

Academic issues can sometimes be mixed up with personal problems (relationship issues, death in the family, etc.). Whatever the problem, engineering counselling and the University of Waterloo Counselling Services.

Academic counselling deals with all aspects of your academic career.

For emergencies, these resources are all available by telephone, in some cases 24 hours a day.

Students will take three design project courses, one in each of the 3B, 4A, and 4B terms which make up the Nanotechnology Engineering Capstone Design program. Students work in teams on an open-ended engineering design problem under the supervision of a faculty member with expertise in that area. Using the skills you’ve acquired over your studies, your team will solve real world problems and present your project at the annual Nanotechnology Engineering Capstone Design Symposium in March.

Six work terms, consisting of two four-month and two eight-month periods, are required of every student. Five work-term performance evaluations with ratings of "Marginal" or better are required prior to graduation. For more information about Co-operative Education.

Work term reports are technical documents that are written by students and are expected to reflect work accomplished during the corresponding work terms. They serve to provide students with experience in technical writing, and to prepare them for the types of communication that they will encounter most often as professional engineers. Detailed information on work term reports, including deadlines and the feedback process, can be found on the appropriate Learn site for NE 250, NE 350 and NE 450 courses or contact the Work-Term Report Coordinator. Information can also be found about these courses on the Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar. The Guidelines for Nanotechnology Engineering work term reports can be accessed through the NE Sharepoint site however this might not be the most up to date version so always refer to the appropriate Learn site.

Clearing Failed Reports

The NE 250, NE 350 and NE 450 work term report courses are a program and degree requirement with the final grade included in the term average. As failed work term reports are failed courses, these are included in the cumulative failure count. For failed work term reports, the original grade will always remain in the grade field for the term in which the course was originally taken. The credit is cleared with a CLF (clear failure) beside the original grade. The failed course will be cleared by re-taking and passing the course in a subsequent term, when the course is next offered. NE 250 is offered in the Spring term, NE 350 is offered in the Fall term and NE 450 is offered in the Winter term as well as any necessary additional terms.

A Course Override Form must be submitted to the NE UG Co-ordinator, for the term in which the failure is to be cleared, as the course must be mounted to QUEST for that term.

Contact the Course Instructor to be added to the Learn course site for the appropriate work term report course level. The submission date will be the second Friday of the term by 3:30 pm. Submit an electronic copy to the dropbox (Workterm Report) on Learn as a pdf or Word file <20MB and a printed informal version submitted to Wendy Gauthier (QNC 2603). Informal means that it does not have to be bound and can be stapled or clipped.

Administrative Assistant and Undergraduate Coordinator

Wendy Gauthier

Work-Term Report Coordinator

Jenn Coggan

These topics are dealt with through a series of combined credit/non-credit courses, one in each academic term of the NE program. Each incoming cohort of students is assigned a "class professor" to accompany the students as they proceed through their program of study. The class professor coordinates events, such as guest lectures and seminars for the class and, during the terms 1B through 3B, works closely with the Nanotechnology Health Risk/Assessment and Hazards Training expert who will deliver 32 lectures associated with the credit components of these 8 courses. Seminars organized by a class professor will typically be lectures that focus upon the NE program and related research being carried out. Lectures on Nanotechnology Engineering Practice may be given by the class professor or by other UW faculty members involved in nanotechnology engineering research.

All Engineering students are required to complete a set of five Professional Development (PD) courses (two core and three electives) during work terms. These courses focus upon the development of professional communication and project management skills and are intended to help students advance their careers and adapt to the work-place world. Additional information about these PD courses may be found at WatPD-Engineering.

All Nanotechnology Engineering Students must complete and clear the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) and English Language Proficiency (ELP) requirements by the ends of the academic terms 1A and 2A respectively.

The aim of complementary study electives (CSEs) is to provide an understanding of our heritage and social environment, and of the way in which the disciplines of science and engineering interact with them. While these courses must meet specific requirements, courses from nearly all Faculties and Departments are available, thus giving students a rather wide selection from which to choose. With offerings from Cybernetics to Musical Theory, students are advised to take a combination of courses that will provide them with enjoyment and will, at the same time, benefit their future endeavours. There are some courses that may also count toward a Degree Option (see below). Nanotechnology Engineering students must take a total of six CSEs as part of their degree requirements. MSCI 261 taken in 2B meets the List B CSE requirement. Additional information on CSE requirements and courses may be found at: CSEs - UW Undergraduate Calendar