Elective information – Faculty of Engineering

Elective information

Quick facts for ECE electives

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Elective courses often become full. As they are not required courses, we cannot add any more seats to them. If there is a particular elective that you want, but it’s full, keep an eye on it until the last day to make changes to your enrollment because someone may drop the course, enabling you to get the seat.  Always be prepared to enrol (obtaining any necessary permissions, overloads and conflicts ahead of time).

Electives should fit into your timetable without conflict, so if one elective creates a conflict then choose another! Trying to manage courses with conflicting schedules may mean poor performance in both courses, as well as possible conflicts with midterm and final examinations.  Please be advised that even if a conflict is approved by the instructors, it is your responsibility to keep up with the class (authorization does not mean special accommodation will be provided).

As with all courses, you must have the prerequisites to take these courses. Permission is sometimes required to take a course, particularly if the course is offered in a department other than your own.  If you do not have the prerequisite for an elective, you can request permission to take the course from the department that offers the course.

Please note that permission requests are not guaranteed – the department that offers the course will decide whether you will be permitted to take the course or not. Because of this and the popularity of elective courses, plan to take another course in case your request is denied.

Learn more about engineering permissions/pre-requisites
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ECE technical electives

“ECE Technical Elective” refers to courses on the Approved List for each program.

“ECE Directed Technical Elective” refers to the courses which are listed for your program in the Undergraduate Calendar (of the year you started your program).

No additions or substitutions can be made.  The Associate Chair of the ECE Department will consider suggestions, however they cannot be implemented until the following year.

  • Approved list for the integrated electrical and iBiomedical program (BEngBME)

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Faculty of Engineering technical electives

Faculty of Engineering Technical Elective refers to one of the 3, 4 or 5 unit courses at Level 3 or 4 on the appropriate list of acceptable courses from other departments within the Faculty of Engineering.  These electives are intended to broaden the breadth of knowledge of ECE undergraduates, giving them perspectives into other engineering disciplines.

Complementary electives

This refers to courses taken outside of the Faculty of Engineering. Additional courses can be suggested to the ECE Advisor in the Engineering Student Services office (the ECE Department cannot authorize these credits).

Please note

“Commerce Elective” is only for students in a Management program (either Comp Eng & Mgmt or Elec Eng & Mgmt).

“Focus Elective” is only for students in a Society program (either Comp Eng & Society or Elec Eng & Society).  These electives are self-designed by each student from courses outside of the Faculty of Engineering, to obtain skills and knowledge in an area of significant personal interest to each individual student. Further details of these electives can be obtained through the Engineering & Society program website.