Degree planning and enhancement

Degree planning

The current requirements for completing a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Systems Design Engineering (including including Complementary Studies Electives, Technical Electives and Professional Development courses) are listed in the Undergraduate Calendar.

Students admitted in a prior year can find their degree requirements in the Academic Calendar Archives.

Technical Electives - Winter 2026

BME Courses
  • BME 399 – Directed Biomedical Research Project (department consent)
  • BME 499 – Elective Biomedical Research Project (department consent)
  • BME 544 – Measure & Signal Processing
  • BME 551 - Biomechanics of Human Movement
  • BME 553 - Introductory Mechanics of Biomedical and Biological Materials
  • BME 561 – Biomaterials & Tissue Eng
  • BME 564 - Biocompatibility and Biomedical Design
  • BME 581 – Ultrasound Medicine & Biology
  • BME 582 - Biomedical Optics
  • BME 599 – Special topics in Biomed engineering 

SYDE Courses
  • SYDE 532 – Intro Complex Systems
  • SYDE 535 – Soc & Env Systems Comp Sim
  • SYDE 536 – Modelling Transportation Systems
  • SYDE 537 – Artificial Life: Biology and Computation
  • SYDE 542 – Interface Design 
  • SYDE 543 – Cognitive Ergonomics
  • SYDE 548 – User Centred Design Methods
  • SYDE 552 – Computational Neuroscience
  • SYDE 554 - Nonlinear Dynamic Systems 
  • SYDE 584 – Physiological Systems & Biomed Design

STV Courses
  • STV 100 – Society, Technology, and Values
  • STV 208 – AI & Society

Degree enhancement

In addition to receiving a professional engineering degree, Waterloo Engineering offers several ways for you to further enhance your degree and gain valuable experience.

Options

Options are intended to provide you with a path to expand your degree and are a specified combination of courses that provide a secondary emphasis in another subject or a career-oriented area. As a Systems Design Engineering student you may be interested in: an Artificial Intelligence Option, a Biomechanics Option, an Entrepreneurship Option or a Software Engineering Option.

Specializations

A specialization is intended to formally recognize on your diploma a focused selection of elective courses within Systems Design Engineering.

Other degree enhancement opportunities