Equity, diversity & inclusion – Faculty of Engineering

Engineering is for everyone

Equity, diversity and inclusion at McMaster Engineering

The Mac Eng approach

McMaster Engineering is dedicated to fostering a culture where every student, staff and faculty member feels valued, respected and empowered.

We are committed to building an environment that actively challenges systemic barriers, celebrates diverse perspectives and ensures that all voices are heard and represented. Through continuous learning, meaningful action and community collaboration, we strive to create a more inclusive and innovative engineering community for all.

Coming soon:
Our EDI Action Plan

After meaningful consultations with our community, Mac Eng is preparing to launch an EDI action plan that outlines key areas for growth and sets out clear, actionable steps to drive meaningful change.

We are committed to cultivating a learning community where every student feels respected, valued and a genuine sense of belonging. Driving meaningful change requires both individual commitment and collective action. When engineering embraces diverse perspectives, it leads to more inclusive innovation and better, more thoughtful design.

Dean Heather Sheardown
Redsuits stand with their arms around in each other in front of JHE.

Demonstrating our commitment

  • Black Outreach STEM Series (BOSS): Workshops that resonate with the daily lived experiences of Black youth, which helps them connect and relate the subject matter to their own lives and communities. Learn more about McMaster’s award-winning BOSS program.
  • Girl Guides of Canada: McMaster-designed, STEM-themed virtual learning modules are available (with badges) for Sparks, Embers, Guides, Pathfinders and Rangers.
  • Go Phys Girl: Girls in Grade 6 to 12 can dive into the fascinating world of interactive physics projects.
  • Venture Camps: For decades, McMaster has hosted engaging youth summer camps that make STEM fun! Led by the Community Outreach Team and supported by Mac Eng student leaders, participants are given a glimpse of life on campus.
girl pouring contents of a test tube into a small bottle.
Pictured: A BOSS participant doing an experiment.

Through Faculty funding, identity-focused clubs and teams at McMaster Engineering are able to build a supportive, welcoming community amongst students with shared lived experience and interests. These include:

  • Inclusion in the Engineering Workplace course: Engineering workplaces are diverse but can pose challenges to underrepresented groups. Students will develop the vocabulary and tools to master perceptual, institutional, and psychological mechanisms of inclusion as allies and targets. Created and taught by Associate Professor Kim Jones.
  • Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach to teaching: An educational framework introduced in 2002 that aims to provide all students with equal opportunities to access and engage in learning. It’s based on the principle that diversity among learners is the norm, and that educational environments should be flexible and inclusive to accommodate the varied needs, preferences, and abilities of students. UDL is particularly important in the context of engineering education, where complex and technical subjects can pose unique challenges to students with diverse backgrounds, skillsets, and interests.
  • Engineers in the Community co-op course: The McMaster-developed professional development course is offered asynchronously online, is free of cost and consists of six modules that can be done at a student’s own pace. The modules include foundations in diversity, Indigenous perspectives, poverty, racism, gender and accessibility.

Dedicated roles to support equity-deserving groups:

  • Black Recruitment and Career Advisor position  
  • International Undergraduate Coordinator position  

Faculty hiring initiative: In 2020, McMaster University committed to hiring 12 new Black-identifying faculty member to contribute to the advancement of Black academic excellence across all six Faculties.

Scholarships:

McMaster Engineering has one of the largest undergraduate scholarship programs in the country, including ones specifically aimed to support students who demonstrate need and those who are part of equity-deserving groups. These include:

  • The Sonia Sennik Resilience Scholarship ($8000)
  • Yves and Cynthia Bled Canadian Future Achievers Award for Women in Engineering (2 x $2500)
  • Engineering a Brighter Future Award of Excellence (4 x $25000 for four years)

At the graduate level, McMaster Engineering helps facilitate the Indigenous and Black Engineering/Technology (iBET) PhD Fellowship valued up to $25000 annually.

Recruitment supports:

From kindergarten students to undergraduate students, Black @ Mac Eng initiatives focus on breaking barriers to STEM education for traditionally underrepresented groups by providing meaningful support to Black students in their journey to becoming leaders of tomorrow.

Visit the Black @ Mac Eng web page for more info about how we support future and current Black students
Land Acknowledgement

McMaster University resides on on the traditional territory shared between the Haudenosaunee confederacy and the Anishinabe nations, which was acknowledged in the Dish with One Spoon Wampum belt. That wampum uses the symbolism of a dish to represent the territory, and one spoon to represent that the people are to share the resources of the land and only take what they need.