Master of Applied Science (MASc) in Chemical Engineering - Nanotechnology

The program information below was valid for the fall 2021 term (September 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021). This is the archived version; the most up-to-date program information is available through the current Graduate Studies Academic Calendar.

The Graduate Studies Academic Calendar is updated 3 times per year, at the start of each academic term (January 1, May 1, September 1). Graduate Studies Academic Calendars from previous terms can be found in the archives.

Students are responsible for reviewing the general information and regulations section of the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar.

Program information

  • Admit term(s) 
    • Fall
    • Winter
    • Spring
  • Delivery mode 
    • On-campus
  • Program type 
    • Collaborative
    • Master's
    • Research
  • Registration option(s) 
    • Full-time
  • Study option(s) 

Admission requirements

  • Minimum requirements 
    • A 75% overall standing in the last two years, or equivalent, in a four-year Honours Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
  • Application materials 
    • Résumé
    • Supplementary information form
    • Transcript(s)
  • References 
    • Number of references:  2
    • Type of references: 

      at least 1 academic. Note: The Department reserves the right to request an additional reference.
  • English language proficiency (ELP) (if applicable)

Degree requirements

    Thesis option:

  • Graduate Academic Integrity Module (Graduate AIM)
  • Courses 
    • Students must complete CHE 600 Engineering and Research Methods, Ethics, Practice, and Law (0.25 credit weight) and 4 graduate courses (0.50 unit weight per course) as follows:
      • CHE 601 Theory and Application of Transport Phenomena or CHE 602 Chemical Reactor Analysis
      • NANO 600 Introduction to Nanotechnology
      • 1 nanotechnology core course
      • 1 graduate level CHE elective course from the list of Nanotechnology Electives
    • No more than 2 courses taught by supervisor(s).
    • No more than 1 reading course.
    • Note: Students who have a Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) in Nanotechnology Engineering from the University of Waterloo are not allowed to take NANO 600. Instead, they may choose any 1 course from the list of nanotechnology core courses.
    • Nanotechnology core courses:
      • NANO 601 Characterization of Nanomaterials
      • NANO 602 Structure and Spectroscopy of Nanoscale Materials
      • NANO 603 Nanocomposites
      • NANO 604 Nanomechanics and Molecular Dynamics Simulations
      • NANO 605/SYDE 683 Design of MEMS & NEMS
      • NANO 606/SYDE 682 Advanced MicroElectroMechanical Systems: Physics, Design & Fabrication
    • Nanotechnology elective courses:
      • (a) Micro/nano Instruments and Devices
        • BIOL 642 Current topics in Biotechnology
        • CHEM 720 Topic 13 Selected Topics in Analytical Chemistry: Biosensors and Nanotechnology
        • CHEM 750 Topic 17 Selected Topics in Physical Chemistry: Surface Science and Nanotechnology
        • CHEM 750 Topic 23 Selected Topics in Physical Chemistry: Processes at Micro-Nano Scales
        • CHEM 750 Topic 27 Selected Topics in Physical Chemistry: Nanotechniques
        • ME 738 Special Topics in Materials: Materials for Nano and MEMS
        • ME 760 Special Topics in Thermal Engineering
        • ME 780 Special Topics in Mechatronics
      • (b) Nanoelectronics Design and Fabrication
        • CHE 620 Applied Engineering Mathematics
        • CHEM 750 Topic 11 Selected Topics in Physical Chemistry: Bioelectronics
        • CHEM 750 Topic 19 Selected Topics in Physical Chemistry: Carbon Nanotube Electronics
        • ECE 630 Physics and Models of Semiconductor Devices
        • ECE 631 Microelectronic Processing Technology
        • ECE 632 Photovoltaic Energy Conversion
        • ECE 633 Nanoelectronics
        • ECE 634 Organic Electronics
        • ECE 635 Fabrication in the Nanoscale: Principles, Technology, & Applications
        • ECE 636 Advanced Analog Integrated Circuits
        • ECE 637 Digital Integrated Circuits
        • ECE 639 Characteristics & Applications of Amorphous Silicon
        • ECE 672 Optoelectronic Devices
        • ECE 676 Quantum Information Processing Devices
        • ECE 677 Quantum Electronics and Photonics
        • ECE 730 Topic 10 Special Topics in Solid State Devices: Advanced Technology for Semiconductor Processing
        • ECE 730 Topic 11 Special Topics in Solid State Devices: Physics and Modeling of Semiconductor Devices
        • ECE 730 Topic 19 Special Topics in Solid State Devices: Magnetism and Spintronics
        • ECE 730 Topic 26 Special Topics in Solid State Devices: MBE and Quantum Nano Devices
        • ECE 730 Topic 28 Special Topics in Solid State Devices: Physics of Nanoscale Devices
        • ECE 730 Topic 29 Special Topics in Solid State Devices: Computational Nanoelectronics
        • ECE 770 Topic 18 Special Topics in Antenna and Microwave Theory: Nanoelectronics for QIP
        • ECE 770 Topic 21 Special Topics in Antenna and Microwave Theory: Quantum Optics & Nanophotonics
        • PHYS 713 Molecular Physics
        • PHYS 731 Solid State Physics 1
        • PHYS 747 Optical Electronics
      • (c) Nano-biosystems
        • BIOL 608 Advanced Bacterial Genetics
        • BIOL 614 Applied Bioinformatics and Genomics
        • BIOL 629 Cell Growth and Differentiation
        • BIOL 642 Current Topics in Biotechnology
        • BIOL 678 Current topics in Neurophysiology
        • CHE 622 Statistics in Engineering
        • CHE 660 Principles of Biochemical Engineering
        • CHE 760 Special Topics in Biochemical Engineering
        • CHE 765 Research Topics in Biochemical Engineering
        • CHEM 737 Enzymes
        • ECE 730 Topic 25 Special Topics in Solid State Devices: Microfluidic & Nanobiotech Systems
        • PHYS 751 Clinical Applications of Physics in Medicine
        • PHYS 752 Molecular Biophysics
      • (d) Nanomaterials
        • CHE 610 Theory and Application of Transport Phenomena
        • CHE 612 Interfacial Phenomena
        • CHE 622 Statistics in Engineering
        • CHE 630 Chemical Reactor Analysis
        • CHE 640 Principles of Polymer Science
        • CHE 641 Physical Properties of Polymers (cross-listed with CHEM 771)
        • CHE 740 Special Topics in Polymer Science and Engineering
        • CHE 745 Research Topics in Polymer Science and Engineering
        • CHE 750 Special Topics in Materials Science: Thin Film Fabrications & Mechanical Properties
        • CHE 755 Research Topics in Electrochemical Engineering, Interfacial Engineering & Material Science
        • CHEM 710 Topic 17 Selected Topics in Inorganic Chemistry: Nanostructured Materials and Integrative Chemistry
        • CHEM 713 Chemistry of Inorganic Solid State Materials
        • CHEM 720 Topic 14 Selected Topics in Analytical Chemistry: Nanomaterials for Energy Conversion and Clean Environment
        • CHEM 750 Topic 17 Selected Topics in Physical Chemistry: Surface Science and Nanotechnology
        • CHEM 770 Principles of Polymer Science
        • CHEM 773 Topic 11 Selected Topics in Polymer Chemistry: Synthesis, Self-assembly and Materials Application of Inorganic Polymers
        • CHEM 773 Topic 14 Selected Topics in Polymer Chemistry: Living Polymerization Techniques
        • ME 632 Experimental Methods in Materials Engineering
        • ME 738 Special Topics in Materials: Materials for Nano and MEMS
        • PHYS 701 Quantum Mechanics 1
        • PHYS 704 Statistical Physics 1
        • PHYS 706 Electromagnetic Theory
        • PHYS 773 Special Topics in Physics
    • The courses to be taken will be selected in consultation with the student's research supervisor. The normal full load is at least two 0.50 unit weight courses per term while concurrently maintaining acceptable progress in the research project.
    • Graduate courses offered by the Faculty of Engineering are numbered as 600 or 700 series courses and are assigned a unit weight of 0.50, which means that they are one-term courses as defined in the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar.
    • The Faculty of Engineering requires that no more than one half of the courses used for credit towards a graduate degree may be taught by a student’s supervisor(s). In the case of co-supervision in small research groups, it may be necessary to relax this rule: in such cases, the student's file must contain a statement of formal approval from the Chemical Engineering Department and endorsement from the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research of Engineering.
    • Only courses taken within five years prior to the completion of the MASc degree may be counted for credit towards a degree, unless a request for revalidation is granted.
    • Students must achieve a:
      • Minimum cumulative average of 70%.
      • Minimum grade of 65% in each course.
      • Note: Probationary students may have specific grade requirements, which will be specified in their admission letter.
    • Each student is responsible for monitoring their own academic records and must immediately notify the Graduate Studies Manager of any inadequate grade or average.
  • Link(s) to courses
  • Seminar Attendance
    • Over the course of their degree program, all students must attend 12 seminars:
      • 8 seminars from the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN)
      • 4 seminars from departments and research institutions where Chemical Engineering faculty members have a membership. The Chemical Engineering seminars are documented in the Events section of the Chemical Engineering Department website.
    • Note: At Chemical Engineering seminars, attendance is documented. At other approved seminars, students complete an attendance form and get it signed by the seminar organizer. Full instructions are available on the Department website.
  • Graduate Studies Seminar
    • The graduate studies seminar helps to develop students’ ability to communicate the results of a research investigation concisely and informatively. Each student must present a seminar about their thesis project at the appropriate Annual Research Seminar held by the Chemical Engineering Department. The seminar is not an oral examination of the thesis.
  • Master’s Thesis
    • Each student must submit a thesis that reports the results of original research and discusses the significance of the work. The thesis must be acceptable to the student’s supervisor(s) and two additional faculty readers. Any of the readers may request that the student complete an oral examination.
    • The topic and scope of a thesis are arranged by the student and their supervisor. A MASc thesis should define a substantial research problem, provide a comprehensive review of the literature in the research problem area, describe the theoretical, analytical and/or experimental solution, and provide a comprehensive set of conclusions and recommendations.
    • Each student must prepare a thesis in accordance with the current guidelines issued by Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs and the Faculty of Engineering.
    • Thesis submission: The student must distribute copies of their thesis to the readers designated by the Chemical Engineering Department’s Associate Chair for Graduate Studies. The readers will include the supervisor(s) plus at least two other faculty members. They will acknowledge receipt of the thesis from the student by initialing a Department Certification of MASc Thesis Submission and Acceptance form. The student must also submit one copy of their completed MASc thesis, along with their initialed Department Certification of MASc Thesis Submission and Acceptance form, to the Engineering Graduate Studies Office. A representative of the office will confirm acceptance of the thesis by initialing the Department Certification of MASc Thesis Submission and Acceptance form and then email notice of the thesis deposit to the Chemical Engineering Department. The thesis will be put on display in the Engineering Graduate Studies Office, and therefore made available to members of the University community, for three weeks. Once the student’s Department Certification of MASc Thesis Submission and Acceptance form has been signed by a representative of the Engineering Graduate Studies Office, the student must return the form to the Chemical Engineering Department’s Graduate Coordinator.
    • Thesis evaluation: Within three weeks of their receipt of the thesis, each reader will return the thesis with their comments to the student and, upon acceptance of the thesis, sign the student’s Department Certification of MASc Thesis Submission and Acceptance form. The student will return this form to the Chemical Engineering Department’s Graduate Coordinator. Once the student’s supervisor is satisfied that the student has completed all of the changes requested by the readers, the supervisor will sign the form to indicate his/her acceptance. The Chemical Engineering Department’s Associate Chair of Graduate Studies will sign the form and forward it to the Engineering Graduate Studies Office. It will prepare a MASc Thesis Acceptance form and forward it to the student, the Chemical Engineering Department’s Graduate Studies Office and the University of Waterloo’s Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.
    • Restricted circulation of theses: Occasionally a research program may produce findings that warrant restrictions on the circulation of the thesis. This may result from constraints imposed by research sponsors or a belief that the work may produce patentable processes or devices. If the student and their supervisor(s) judge that some restrictions should be placed on a thesis, they should write to the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies as early as possible in the research program, describing the nature of and reasons for the restrictions. If the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies concurs, then the approval of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research of Engineering and the Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs will be sought. The restriction is limited to one year, with a possible extension to a second year if an acceptable case can be made to the Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.
    • Critical times: If their thesis is accepted on or before the last day of the term, a student is not required to register for the following term. Therefore, to avoid paying regular registration fees, the student should submit their thesis at least four weeks before the registration day of the following term. If the thesis requires major revisions that extend completion beyond the registration deadline, the student must register and pay fees for the pending term. Refunds may be made available under certain circumstances.
Department of Chemical Engineering website
Master of Applied Science (MASc) in Chemical Engineering - Nanotechnology future students program page