Management Engineering provides undergraduate students with an engineering education needed to understand, design, implement, and manage complex management systems upon which organizations depend. Management Engineering undergraduates obtain a degree which combines, as an integrated whole, technical and managerial knowledge along with opportunities to develop their problem-solving abilities, communication and interpersonal skills, project management experience, teamwork, and leadership skills.
The Management Engineering plan is administered by the Department of Management Sciences, in the Faculty of Engineering. The Department of Management Sciences also offers the Management Sciences Option to students in other Engineering plans, as described elsewhere in this Calendar.
The Management Engineering curriculum at Waterloo provides a solid foundation in management, engineering, science, and mathematics. On this foundation, the curriculum also has a number of courses focused on one of three theme areas:
- Operations Research and Supply Chain Management: Operations research deals with quantitative models of complex operations and uses these models to support decision-making in any sector of industry or public services. Supply chain management is the process of planning, implementing and managing the flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption.
- Information Technologies: The information technologies theme focuses on how technology is designed and managed to support effective decision-making. Topics deal with technical applications in software design and development, data mining and telecommunication, as well as, the organizational and social issues associated with the use of information technologies.
- Management of Technology: The management of technology theme builds on the foundation of management topics in accounting, finance, economics, organizational behaviour, and organizational design. Courses in this theme deal with operational and organizational issues related to managing innovation and technological change.
The capstone design project is intended to provide students with the opportunity to engage in a significant design experience based on engineering and management knowledge and skills gained in previous courses and on co-operative work terms. The project will reinforce the concepts of teamwork and project management.
This broad training allows our students to successfully manage a wide variety of processes and systems within an organization. Graduates are equipped to work on projects ranging from the design of efficient operations, to devising smooth information flows, and the management of technological change. As well as gaining an engineering education, students in this plan build an understanding of how organizations produce and distribute products and how they can be managed in an efficient or optimal way.
Employment Opportunities
Employment opportunities for management engineers exist in business, industry, non-profit organizations, government, universities, and wherever institutions wish to improve their effectiveness and efficiency based on engineering analysis and principles of scientific management. Graduates are uniquely qualified to work on interdisciplinary teams that require both engineering and management expertise, to manage technical functions in almost any enterprise, or to undertake the management of broader functions in a high-technology enterprise. Management engineers work and consult in every industry, including manufacturing, communications, transportation, energy, retail and distribution, banks and insurance companies, hospitals and healthcare organizations, entertainment and travel firms.
Management Engineering at the University of Waterloo is a co-op education program that provides opportunities for students to gain job-related experience to complement their academic studies. Employers value the practical training received by graduates, and work-term salaries contribute to paying for University fees. See Co-operative Education System for details.
Academic Curriculum
The Management Engineering curriculum consists of 34 core and nine elective courses for a total of 43 courses. The term by term academic component is as follows:
Legend
Cls=number of class hours per week, Tut=number of tutorial hours per week, Lab=number of lab hours per week
| Term |
Course and Title |
Cls |
Tut |
Lab |
| 1A Fall |
CHE 102 Chemistry for Engineers |
3 |
2 |
0 |
| MSCI 100 Management Engineering Concepts |
3 |
2 |
3 |
| MATH 115 Linear Algebra for Engineering |
3 |
2 |
0 |
| MATH 116 Calculus 1 for Engineering |
3 |
2 |
0 |
| PHYS 115 Mechanics |
3 |
2 |
0 |
| 1B Winter |
MSCI 100B Seminar |
1 |
0 |
0 |
ENGL 192/SPCOM 192 Communication in the Engineering Profession
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
| GENE 123 Electrical Circuits and Instrumentation |
3 |
1 |
1.5 |
| MSCI 121 Introduction to Computer Programming |
3 |
2 |
0 |
| MSCI 131 Work Design and Facilities Planning |
3 |
1 |
1.5 |
| MATH 118 Calculus 2 for Engineering |
3 |
2 |
0 |
| PHYS 125 Physics for Engineers |
3 |
2 |
0 |
| 2A Fall |
MSCI 200A Seminar |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| MSCI 211 Organizational Behaviour |
3
|
0
|
0
|
| MSCI 240 Algorithms and Data Structures |
3 |
1 |
0 |
| MSCI 251 Probability and Statistics 1 |
3 |
1 |
1.5 |
| MSCI 261 Engineering Economics: Financial Management for Engineers |
3
|
1
|
0
|
| MSCI 271 Advanced Calculus and Numerical Methods |
3 |
2 |
0 |
| ME 235 Materials Science and Engineering |
3 |
1 |
3 |
| 2B Spring |
MSCI 200B Seminar |
1 |
0 |
0 |
MSCI 245 Databases and Software Design
|
3 |
1 |
1.5 |
| MSCI 253 Probability and Statistics 2 |
3 |
1 |
1.5 |
| MSCI 263 Managerial Economics |
3 |
1 |
0 |
| MSCI 331 Introduction to Optimization |
3 |
1 |
0 |
| ME 219 Mechanics of Deformable Solids 1 |
3
|
1
|
0
|
| ME 250 Thermodynamics 1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
| 3A Winter |
MSCI 300A Seminar |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| MSCI 311 Organizational Design and Technology |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| MSCI 334 Operations Planning and Inventory Control |
3 |
1 |
1.5 |
MSCI 342 Principles of Software Engineering
|
3 |
0 |
3 |
| MSCI 431 Stochastic Models and Methods |
3 |
1 |
0 |
| Elective |
| MSCI 391 Work-term Report |
| 3B Fall |
MSCI 300B Seminar |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| MSCI 332 Deterministic Optimization Models and Methods |
3 |
1 |
0 |
| MSCI 333 Simulation Analysis and Design |
3 |
1 |
1.5 |
MSCI 343 Human-Computer Interaction
|
3 |
1 |
1.5 |
| Elective |
| Elective |
| MSCI 392 Work-term Report |
| 4A Spring |
MSCI 400A Seminar |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| MSCI 401 Management Engineering Design Project 1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| MSCI 434 Supply Chain Management |
3 |
1 |
1.5 |
MSCI 436 Decision Support Systems
|
3 |
1 |
0 |
| Elective |
| Elective |
| MSCI 491 Work-term Report |
| 4B Winter |
MSCI 400B Seminar |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| MSCI 402 Management Engineering Design Project 2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| Elective |
| Elective |
| Elective |
| Elective |
Elective Courses
List I: Technical Elective Courses with Large Engineering Science or Design Content
| Department |
Course |
Title |
| Management Sciences |
MSCI 433 |
Applications of Management Engineering |
| MSCI 435 |
Advanced Optimization Techniques |
| MSCI 445 |
Telecommunications Systems: from protocols to applications
|
| MSCI 446 |
Data Mining [Note: new title effective winter 2021]
|
| MSCI 452 |
Decision Making Under Uncertainty |
| MSCI 531 |
Stochastic Processes and Decision Making |
| MSCI 541 |
Search Engines
|
| MSCI 543 |
Analytics and User Experience |
| MSCI 551 |
Quality Management and Control |
| MSCI 555 |
Scheduling: Theory and Practice |
| MSCI 599 |
Special Topics in Management Engineering Design |
| Chemical Engineering |
CHE 211 |
Fluid Mechanics |
| CHE 572 |
Air Pollution Control |
| CHE 574 |
Industrial Wastewater Pollution Control |
| Civil Engineering |
CIVE 230 |
Engineering and Sustainable Development |
| CIVE 343 |
Traffic Simulation Modelling and Applications |
| CIVE 375 |
Environmental Engineering Principles |
| CIVE 440 |
Transit Planning and Operations |
| Electrical and Computer Engineering |
ECE 361 |
Power Systems and Components |
| ECE 467 |
Power Systems Analysis, Operations and Markets |
| Mechanical Engineering |
ME 212 |
Dynamics |
| ME 220 |
Mechanics of Deformable Solids 2 |
| ME 262 |
Introduction to Microprocessors and Digital Logic |
| ME 269 |
Electromechanical Devices and Power Processing |
| ME 340 |
Manufacturing Processes |
| ME 351 |
Fluid Mechanics 1 |
| ME 353 |
Heat Transfer 1 |
| ME 354 |
Thermodynamics 2 |
| ME 362 |
Fluid Mechanics 2 |
| ME 435 |
Industrial Metallurgy |
| ME 456 |
Heat Transfer 2 |
| ME 459 |
Energy Conversion |
| ME 533 |
Non-metallic and Composite Materials |
| ME 559 |
Finite Element Methods |
| ME 566 |
Computational Fluid Dynamics for Engineering Design |
| Mechatronics Engineering |
MTE 241 |
Introduction to Computer Structures & Real-Time Systems |
| Statistics |
STAT 435 |
Statistical Methods for Process Improvements |
| STAT 443 |
Forecasting |
| Systems Design Engineering |
SYDE 522 |
Machine Intelligence |
| SYDE 531 |
Design Optimization Under Probabilistic Uncertainty |
| SYDE 542 |
Interface Design |
List II: Other Elective Courses
| Course |
Title |
| MSCI 411 |
Leadership and Influence |
| MSCI 421 |
Strategic Management of Technology |
| MSCI 422 |
Economic Impact of Technological Change and Entrepreneurship (CSE List A, Impact) |
| MSCI 423 |
Managing New Product and Process Innovation |
| MSCI 442 |
Impact of Information Systems on Organizations and Society (CSE List A, Impact) |
| MSCI 454 |
Technical Entrepreneurship |
| MSCI 597 |
Complementary Studies Topics in Management Sciences |
| MSCI 598 |
Special Topics in Management Engineering |
Notes
- MSCI 401/MSCI 402 may be replaced by GENE 403/GENE 404.
- Some of the List I courses have prerequisites that are not met by core courses in Management Engineering; see their course descriptions in this Calendar before planning elective choices.
- Course schedules may vary from term to term; check course schedules before planning elective choices.
- Students are encouraged to take List II electives as free electives to extend their knowledge of management engineering. However, free electives may be used to deepen a concentration in any area of engineering or to pursue an interest outside of engineering. Free electives may be selected from any department at the University.
Rules Restricting Choice of the Nine Elective Courses
RULE 1. At least six of the nine electives must be from List I. Students can count other Engineering courses toward List I (subject to associate chair approval).
RULE 2. At least one of the nine electives must be from List A of the Complementary Studies Requirements for Engineering Students, i.e., a course on the impact of technology on society.
Complementary Studies Component
All engineering students are required to take Complementary Studies courses, as described in Complementary Studies Requirements for Engineering Students. Most of these requirements are satisfied in the core curriculum, namely, ENGL 192, MSCI 211, MSCI 261, MSCI 263, MSCI 311, together with satisfactory evaluations on three work-term reports. The requirement for studies on the impact of technology on society is met by RULE 2, above.
Professional Development (PD) Courses
Professional development courses are required as described in the BASc and BSE Specific Degree Requirements section on Work Terms. Management Engineering students are also required to take PD 22 Professionalism and Ethics in Engineering Practice. This course replaces one of the PD electives such that for Management Engineering students, PD 22 is an additional core PD course, and the number of PD electives required is reduced by one. Management Engineering students are automatically enrolled in the required core PD courses and PD 22, but must enrol in the elective PD courses using the normal Quest enrolment process.
Options and Minors
Several Faculty Designated Options are available to Engineering students. These are listed and described elsewhere in this section of the Calendar. If a student satisfies the option requirements (usually seven or eight courses), the appropriate designation will be shown on the student's transcript. The course requirements for some options can be partially met by taking Management Engineering electives, but students may have to take extra courses to complete the requirements.
The Management Sciences Option will not be awarded to any Management Engineering student.
Minors are sequences of courses that are arranged in conjunction with another department and lead to an appropriate designation on the transcript and diploma. Approval from both Management Sciences and the other department is required. Usually a student must take extra courses to complete a minor. See the discussion in this section of the Calendar under the heading Options, Specializations and Electives for Engineering Students.
Term-by-Term Structure
The Management Engineering plan follows the eight-stream schedule (i.e., beginning with terms 1A and 1B in the fall and winter terms, followed by alternating work and academic terms). In accordance with Faculty rules, in order to complete their degree, students must have at least five work terms, and they must submit three work-term reports, in academic terms following three work terms.