The Option in International Studies in Engineering provides an enriched educational experience by focusing on the global nature of engineering. It provides a background in the engineering aspects of international trade and a wider appreciation of cultural diversity. It includes work abroad, or study abroad, or both to achieve a result that is not possible in the classroom alone. The Faculty Option will normally require extra academic material on campus, in addition to the overseas experience of work or study or both. It will result in a life-long benefit for those students who are inclined and able to seek enrichment in their education.
The Option consists of study terms or work terms, or both, at overseas locations, of at least eight months, together with academic requirements. To be accepted for the Option designation of International Studies in Engineering, the complete package must be approved by the Co-ordinator of the Option.
Specific Requirements
There are three specific requirements for a student to complete the option:
- International Experience: An experience of at least eight months outside of Canada after the completion of 2B. This may include study terms, work terms, or terms spent as an intern in an academic institution, such as a research laboratory in a university, or with a non-government agency, such as Engineers Without Borders, to a total of at least two terms abroad.
- Academic Courses: Six courses approved by the option coordinator.
- No more than three of the courses may be language skills courses.
- Courses may be taken during normal academic terms or online from the University of Waterloo, or at overseas institutions while the student is on exchange or during a foreign work term. Language courses given by such organizations as the Goethe Institute may also be included.
- There is a list of approved University of Waterloo courses for the option available on the Engineering Exchange website, with most courses on the list also approved as Complementary Studies electives; deviation from the list may be approved by the option co-ordinator.
- In concept, three of the courses should be completed before the international experience, and three afterwards, but in practice considerable flexibility in timing is allowed.
- This course component of the option is waived for students who complete the Renison University College Certificate in East Asian Studies
- International Report: Enrolment in and completion of the requirements for GENE 303. This consists of a report that is to be written after completion of the international experience component of the option. The report may include, but is not restricted to:
- technical, non-technical, and professional aspects of the foreign residence experience, or
- socio-economic aspects of life in the foreign country, or
- a discussion which compares and contrasts conditions in the country or countries involved in the international experiences, or
- a review or analysis of the social or political histories of those countries, or
- trade and commercial relations with or among the country or countries involved.
In all cases, the report must include information addressed to the needs of other students considering a similar experience. A general guideline for the report is that it should not be smaller than a co-op work report.
For further information regarding this Option, contact the Faculty of Engineering, Exchange Office, Carl A. Pollock Hall (CPH) 1320E.