Degree Requirements

In order to receive your degree, you must complete all degree requirements for your program published in the GSPA Academic Calendar. Be aware of important dates and use the Engineering degree completion deadlines as guidance. 

Visit the Engineering program Guidelines to find information about Engineering Degree requirements, Degree Completion deadlines and steps to graduate.   

If you have completed your degree requirements, you can apply to graduate through Quest. You will need to indicate an expected graduation term - please select the term in which you anticipate completing all of your degree requirements. 

Degree Requirements  

For a complete list of your program's degree requirements, consult the GSPA Graduate Academic Calendar . 

For MEng, MASc and PhD students: 

MEng, MASc, and PhD students:

MASc and PhD students:

MEng students:

MASc students:

PhD students:

For MASc Students: 

Master's Thesis

Students must submit a thesis embodying the results of independent research work to the satisfaction of an Examining Committee. The topic of the thesis is arranged by the supervisor(s) and the student. The composition of the Examining Committee must be as follows:

  • The student’s supervisor(s).
  • At least one faculty member from within the Department of Systems Design Engineering.
  • At least one faculty member from outside the Department of Systems Design Engineering.
  • No more than one adjunct faculty member (including Professors Emeriti) may serve on the Examining Committee. Adjunct appointments require the approval of the Associate Dean, Graduate from the student’s home Faculty.
  • At least two of the faculty members on the committee must be tenure or tenure-track.

Please see the Academic Calendar for more information.

For PhD Students: 

Engineering PhD Thesis

  • Candidates are expected to maintain continuous registration until the thesis is submitted to Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.
    • Inactive terms or leaves of absence may be requested under exceptional circumstances, for a specific period, and with departmental approval.
    • Your supervisor will assist you in establishing a research problem with an appropriate scope, suggest alternative approaches to the solution of the research problem, and provide general advice on the structure and content of your thesis. The Engineering code of ethics must be strictly observed in the supervisor—candidate relationship. 
  • To be awarded a PhD in the Faculty of Engineering, you must successfully complete a program of advanced study, and conduct original research, the findings of which must be presented in the form of a thesis, submitted to the University for public examination ahead of its oral defence. 
  • You must demonstrate a critical awareness and understanding of the literature in the research field, exhibit a capability of defining original and useful research problems, a capability of independent thought in solving a research problem, and an ability to communicate research results verbally and in writing. 
  • The University of Waterloo allows students to submit theses in English or in French, the latter being governed by certain important constraints.
    • The principles governing the submission of theses in French are specified in the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar. The oral examination of a thesis will assess the ability of a candidate to communicate orally the results of the research and to defend the contents of the thesis.
  • Originality in a thesis:
    • Posing and solving an important new problem, or formulating an existing problem in a novel and useful way 
    • Offering new and significant insights into problems previously examined by other researchers.
    • Replications of previous investigations may be acceptable if, and only if, they incorporate significantly new elements in the design or execution of an experiment.
      • Objective criteria to determine what is meant by a significant contribution to knowledge are difficult to specify. One way is to consider the extent to which parts of the thesis might be published in peer-reviewed technical journals of international stature or as a monograph by an acceptable publisher. The ultimate test of the acceptability of a thesis is the ability of a candidate to satisfy, through an oral examination, to a University-appointed committee of research specialists in the general field of study, that a significant research contribution has been made and communicated adequately.

Please see the Academic Calendar for additional information. 

Engineering PhD Comprehensive Examination 

PhD students in the Faculty of Engineering are required to successfully complete the PhD Comprehensive Examination milestone.

The PhD Comprehensive Examination consists of an oral examination conducted at the University of Waterloo with the candidate and members of the Comprehensive Examining Committee present. In the Faculty of Engineering, the examination serves to determine that PhD students have:

  1. The capacity to communicate clearly in both oral and written form;
  2. The appropriate breadth and depth of knowledge of the field of study and the background necessary to be successful in their PhD program; and
  3. Developed a research proposal that is novel, is of the appropriate scope for a PhD, and is likely to be feasible (e.g. required resources are available; candidate has appropriate knowledge/skill, etc.).

The format of the comprehensive examination may vary by department. In some departments, there is a single examination which addresses all three of the purposes listed above. In other departments, the PhD Comprehensive Examination is divided into two separate milestones, with the first focusing on the background preparation of the student (items 1 and 2 from the list above) and the second focusing on the research proposal (items 1 and 3 from the list above). The Comprehensive Examining Committee requirements described below do not apply to the committee for the Background Exam for Departments which have two separate milestones.

Comprehensive Examining Committee

In Engineering, the Comprehensive Examining Committee will consist of a minimum of three examiners (one more than the University minimum requirements) in addition to the student’s supervisor(s). These examiners must satisfy the following conditions:

  • must hold a PhD or equivalent degree;
  • at most one can hold an adjunct appointment or emeritus status;
  • at least one, in addition to the supervisor, must be from the student’s home department and hold a tenure or tenure track position;
  • at least one must be from outside the student’s home department.

It is the responsibility of the student’s supervisor to recommend appropriate members for the Examining Committee. The composition of the comprehensive examining committee will be approved by the Associate Dean, Graduate Studies for the student’s Faculty, or delegate.

The comprehensive exam shall be chaired by a tenured or tenure-track faculty member at the University of Waterloo with Approved Doctoral Dissertation Supervision (ADDS) status, normally external to the student’s home Department/School. The Chair is a non-voting member of the comprehensive examining committee.

More information can be found here.