The Whole Engineer
Experiential learning provides students with hands-on learning opportunities beyond the traditional lecture-style format. We are challenged to re-imagine engineering education as a holistic approach to educating the whole engineer. Through The Pivot, we are transforming the undergraduate experience into a rich experiential learning opportunity. Our students gain five key competencies from The Pivot. They are:
Information Box Group
Discover + Create (DC)
Mentored research or project experiences to enhance technical competence and creativity.
Integrate + Solve (IS)
Understanding and bridging multiple and diverse ways of defining problems and posing solutions.
Business + Innovate (BI)
Understanding gained through experience that viable business models are necessary for the successful implementation of engineering solutions.
Global + Diversity (GD)
Understanding gained through experiences where serious consideration of cultural issues is mandatory to successfully implement engineering solutions.
Citizen + Community (CC)
Deepen social consciousness and motivation to address global and local societal problems because serving people is the vision of engineering.
Experiential Learning – Courses
Extracurricular Experiential Learning Courses
McMaster Engineering students have the opportunity to earn course credits by participating in clubs and teams.

ENGINEER 3CX3 Learn More About 3XC3
Provides students with the opportunity to earn course credit for valuable experiential learning which occurs while heavily involved in extracurricular clubs and groups.

ENGINEER 4EX3 Learn More About 4EX3
Students receive formal recognition of experiential learning conducted within the atmosphere of technically-oriented McMaster Engineering teams.
Project-based Experiential Learning Courses
These courses combine project-based and experiential learning to develop solutions to real-world problems.

ENGINEER 1P13 Learn More about 1P13
Called Integrated Cornerstone Design Projects in Engineering (1P13), students in this course are exposed to a series of design projects that develop both technical and professional skills.

ENGINEER 2PX3 Learn More about 2PX3
This course provides a multi-disciplinary learning environment that develops skills in engineering design and technical communication through a term-long project that addresses an industry or community relevant issue.
Experiential Learning – Educating the Whole Engineer
Explore the variety of ways we are educating the whole engineer.

The Pivot
The Pivot is the first program of its kind that will transform McMaster Engineering’s undergraduate experience into a rich experiential learning opportunity to prepare students to be flexible in a rapidly changing world and to meet challenges not yet imagined.
Co-Op
The Engineering Co-op Program provides undergraduate and graduate students with the opportunity to gain valuable engineering work and experiential learning opportunities before they graduate. In 2018/2019, over 2,100 students participated in over 3,200 4-month co-op work terms across the globe.

Clubs, Groups & Teams
There are over 60 engineering clubs, teams, committees, conferences, and competitions students can join to enhance technical and non-technical skills. Getting involved in these experiential learning opportunities enriches student life and contributes to social development and academic success.
MacChangers
MacChangers is a co-curricular experiential program at McMaster University that pairs multidisciplinary teams with community members to propose innovative solutions to local challenges facing the Hamilton community, as well as the global community.

Summer Research Program
McMaster Engineering has the largest undergraduate engineering research program in Canada. In 2018, more than 269 of our undergraduates (7%) were mentored by professors. The NSERC Research Experience Award and Dean’s Excellence Awards give students the opportunity to spend their summers working in labs with professors, researchers and entrepreneurs across campus.

Entrepreneurship
McMaster Engineering is supporting an infrastructure that’s helping to launch Hamilton’s next generation of star entrepreneurs. With the support of key partners, we are seeing the number of student-born start up companies continue to grow. In 2016, one third of the 27 companies housed in The Forge, McMaster University’s start-up incubator, were engineering students.

Grand Challenge Scholars Program
The Grand Challenge Scholars Program (GCSP) is an experiential learning initiative that spans across students’ entire undergraduate careers. The first of its kind in Canada, the GCSP is designed to prepare the next generation of students for addressing the grand challenges facing society.