Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Electrical and Computer Engineering - Aeronautics

The program information below was valid for the winter 2024 term (January 1, 2024 - April 30, 2024). 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.

• Admit term(s) 
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Spring
• Delivery mode 
  • On-campus
• Length of program 
  • The minimum period of registration for the Doctoral degree is four terms after a Master’s degree or equivalent and six terms after an Honours Bachelor's degree or equivalent. The maximum time limit is twelve terms after a Master’s degree or equivalent and eighteen terms after an Honours Bachelor's degree or equivalent. Extensions beyond twelve terms must be approved by the Faculty Graduate Studies Office.
• Program type 
  • Collaborative
  • Doctoral
  • Research
• Registration option(s) 
  • Full-time
  • Part-time
• Study option(s) 
  • Thesis

• Minimum requirements 
  • Admission to the program is based upon the student's academic record and evidence of ability to pursue independent research.
  • Normally an overall standing equivalent to 80% in either a relevant thesis-based Master’s degree or a University of Waterloo Master of Engineering (MEng) degree that includes a completed ECE 699A Master of Engineering Project 1 course.
  • At the time of admission, each student must have a faculty supervisor who has endorsed the recommendation for admission.
• Application materials 
  • Résumé
  • Supplementary information form
  • Transcript(s)
• References 
  • Number of references:  3
  • Type of references: 

    at least 2 academic

• English language proficiency (ELP) (if applicable)

Thesis option:

Graduate Academic Integrity Module (Graduate AIM)

Courses 

• Students admitted to the program with a non-Aeronautics MASc degree must obtain at least 5 courses (0.50 unit weight per course) of graduate credit including 2 Aeronautics core courses. Students are required to take a minimum of 2 ECE courses toward their degree requirements. The choice of courses must meet with the approval of the supervisor.
• Aeronautics core courses:
  • AVIA 601 Interdisciplinary Aeronautics
  • AVIA 802 Interdisciplinary Aeronautics Project - PhD Level
• Students admitted to the program with a MASc in Electrical and Computer Engineering - Aeronautics degree from the University of Waterloo must obtain at least 5 courses (0.50 unit weight per course) of graduate credit including 1 Aeronautics core courses. Students are required to take a minimum of 2 ECE courses toward their degree requirements. The choice of courses must meet with the approval of the supervisor.
• Aeronautics core course:
  • AVIA 802 Interdisciplinary Aeronautics Project - PhD Level.
• Students admitted to the program with an incomplete Master’s or Honours Bachelor's degree must obtain at least 8 courses (0.50 unit weight per course) of graduate credit including 2 Aeronautics core courses. Students are required to take a minimum of 3 ECE courses toward their degree requirements. The choice of courses must meet with the approval of the supervisor.
• Aeronautics core courses:
  • AVIA 601 Interdisciplinary Aeronautics
  • AVIA 802 Interdisciplinary Aeronautics Project - PhD Level
• Aside from AVIA 601 and AVIA 802, only courses from the Faculties of Science, Math and Engineering are permitted.
• This degree is offered through the Collaborative Aeronautics Program. This program, jointly offered by a range of departments/schools across several academic faculties, promotes the development of interdisciplinary perspectives on aeronautics. Collaborative Aeronautics Program students complete their specialist training in their respective home departments/schools, while working with colleagues from a variety of other departments/schools in core interdisciplinary courses (AVIA 601 and AVIA 602/802).
• To obtain credit, an individual course must be passed with at least a 75% average.
• Students may be required to withdraw from the program at any time if they fail to maintain a minimum cumulative average of 78% in their course work or if they fail to receive satisfactory progress reports regarding their research activities.

Link(s) to courses

• Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) courses
• Aviation (AVIA) courses

PhD Comprehensive Examination I and PhD Comprehensive Examination II

• Students are required to meet the University-level PhD Comprehensive Examination minimum requirements outlined in the “Minimum requirements for the PhD degree” section of the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar (GSAC), with certain noted differences that are specific to the Faculty of Engineering Comprehensive Examination minimum requirements:
  • Comprehensive examination purpose: Consistent with University-level minimum requirements.
  • Who Chairs an examination: Students must follow the Faculty of Engineering Chair guidelines whereby the Chair is normally selected from outside of the student’s home department.
  • Format / Content: Consistent with University-level minimum requirements but with additional information provided in the Faculty of Engineering Comprehensive Examination minimum requirements.
  • Academic integrity: Consistent with University-level minimum requirements.

• In addition to the University-level and Faculty-level PhD Comprehensive Examination minimum requirements, students in the PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering - Aeronautics program are also required to meet the following requirements:
  • Students must complete the Background Comprehensive Examination and the Comprehensive Proposal Examination which are conducted by the Department for each candidate.
  • The first exam, the Background Comprehensive Examination, will be held before the end of the third term (fourth term if from an incomplete MASc). The main objective of this examination is to satisfy the Department that the candidate has a broad knowledge of their field and a thorough technical background to pursue their research; the candidate will be questioned on their background preparation.
  • The second exam, the Comprehensive Proposal Examination, will be held no later than the student's sixth term and only after the Background Comprehensive Examination has been successfully completed. The main objective of this examination is to examine and approve the thesis proposal.
  • The result of these examinations is the identification of an Advisory Committee which has examined and approved the candidate's background and thesis proposal and is willing to assist the supervisor with the subsequent research program. The validity of the comprehensive examination expires after three years.
  • Students who do not complete either Comprehensive Examination by the stated deadline, or fail either exam on their second attempt, will be required to withdraw from the program.
  • The Background Comprehensive Examination Committee does not include the supervisor(s) and must consist of three members of the University, one of whom must be from ECE and two of whom can be internal or external to ECE (but within the University of Waterloo). The Proposal Comprehensive Examination Committee must consist of the  supervisor(s) plus three members of the University, two of whom must be from ECE and one of whom must be external to ECE (but within the University of Waterloo). It is the supervisor’s responsibility to form each of these committees.
• Detailed procedures are available in the “PhD comprehensive examination process” section of the Electrical and Computer Engineering website.

PhD Seminar

• The aim of the seminar is to allow students to gain experience in preparing and presenting their work. The seminar is to be held no later than the end of the third year (ninth term) after the initial registration in the program. The seminar must be attended by the student’s supervisor and their Advisory Committee. Other Faculty members and PhD and MASc students may also be in attendance. Since this is not intended to be an examination, the seminar presentation and the feedback communication, would be regarded as satisfying the seminar credit requirements.
• Students who do not complete the PhD Seminar by the stated deadline will be required to withdraw from the program.

PhD Thesis

• The primary objective of the program is the accomplishment of independent and original research work and reporting thereon in a research thesis.
• The requirements for the PhD degree are completed when the student successfully defends their thesis before an Examination Committee. This committee should consist of the supervisor, three other members of the University (at least one of whom should be from outside the Department) and an external examiner. Faculty from other Departments who hold cross appointments in the Department are counted as departmental members in defining examining committees.