Undergraduate Program FAQ
Are you a first-year student thinking about applying to Mechanical Engineering for your second-year placement, but have questions? Here are some we have received from students trying to make their program decision.
Mech 2 is our award-winning second-year program that merges academic learning with technical skills and design projects by offering them together in modules. Find out more here: https://mech.ubc.ca/undergraduate/mech-2/
| Q: | What courses do you take in Mech 2? |
| A: | See our Mech 2 Courses here: https://mech.ubc.ca/undergraduate/mech-2/overview/ |
| Q: | How is the Mech 2 program structured? |
| A: | Find our program structure here: https://mech.ubc.ca/undergraduate/mech-2/overview/ |
| Q: | What are the Mech 2 projects? |
| A: | Within Mech 2, Mech 223 is the design course teaches you how to design and fabricate a mechanical device with a group of other students. You will then have an opportunity to demonstrate your device in a competition with the rest of the class. In addition, you will prepare professional quality engineering reports and presentations as part of the design module. Project details vary from year to year, but they are typically remote-controlled vehicles (cars, trains, hovercraft, or boats). |
| Q: | What are some things we could do over this summer to prepare ourselves for Mech 2? |
| A: | You can find resources the help you prepare for Mech 2 on our website: https://mech.ubc.ca/undergraduate/mech-2/preparing-for-mech-2/.
It may be helpful to reflect on your first-year courses and identify any weak points that you may want to review. Many of the math and physics concepts will be helpful for Mech 2 courses. Our Mech 2 faculty also recommend that students also remember to relax and take time for themselves. Students may want to consider looking into a time management system - such as time management apps or task planning tools - that will help facilitate a healthy life balance despite a busy school program. |
| Q: | What types of courses do we take in Mech? |
| A: | Visit our website to find out about the courses we offer: https://mech.ubc.ca/undergraduate/curriculum/courselists/ |
| Q: | What is the course schedule and workload like? |
| A: | See our Course Planning and Registration Guide to see how the program is structured. Here is the 2022W version: 2022W Flex Curriculum Course Planning and Registration Guide (NOTE: this is an example only, as updates happen year to year). |
| Q: | What is the student experience like? |
| A: | Despite being a big department, our program fosters a tight-knit community. All our undergraduate students belong to Club Mech, a student-run group that organizes social events, industry panels, and represents our undergraduates in student government. We sponsor many design teams as well. Read all about the MECH Community here: https://mech.ubc.ca/undergraduate/community/
You can also learn about the student life in the program directly from our students, by visiting our MECH Ambassadors blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/mechambassadors/blog/. |
Within the Mechanical Engineering undergraduate program, we offer four options: Aerospace, Biomechanics & Medical Devices, Mechatronics, Thermofluids, as well as a General Stream. These allow students to tailor their courses in a specific direction (or keep their knowledge base broad), all while learning the core skills of Mechanical Engineering.
- Find out more about our options here: https://mech.ubc.ca/undergraduate/curriculum/program-options/
- Here are the courses offered by each option: https://mech.ubc.ca/undergraduate/curriculum/courselists/
| Q | Does the Biomechanics Option go into enough depth to be able to pursue a field like prosthetics? |
| A: | Yes. Pursuing Mechanical Engineering with the Biomedical Option is a very good path to prepare yourself for medical device design in general. Learning topics including solid mechanics, dynamics, mechanical design, and biomechanics will directly contribute to a key skillset required for designing devices such as prosthetics. |
| Q | I am interested in your Aerospace Option - what will I learn? |
| Our new Aerospace Option tailors the applicable courses from our Thermofluids Option specifically to the aerospace industry. UBC does not offer an aerospace engineering degree, but the Mechanical Engineering degree with the Aerospace Option covers almost equivalent material (it is one course different from what would be studied in a dedicated aerospace engineering degree). It will make your core mechanical engineering degree more applicable to the aerospace industry, and set you up to apply for graduate studies in aerospace. UBC MECH grads have gone on to work in aerospace and related industries, as mechanical engineering is a core discipline in this field. | |
| Q | How many spots are available for the Mechatronics Option? |
| A: | We accept 32 students per year to the Mechatronics Option. We try to accept about half of the cohort from applicants in first year (early admission) and select the remaining from applicants in Mech 2 (regular admission). |
| Q: | If we are planning on going into Mechatronics, are there any courses that we must include in our second year timetable that are not a part of the MECH program? |
| A: | No, there is also no need to take any extra courses in order to be accepted into the Mechatronics option. The Mech 2 curriculum contains all of the core courses needed and students are recommended to focus on doing well in them, rather than taking additional courses during Mech 2. |
At Mechanical Engineering we want students who love what they do! We offer an intensive and rewarding program, and look both at grades and your personal statement in our admissions process to find students who will be the right fit. Tell us about your love of design, community leadership, past experience, and passion for Mechanical Engineering!
You can find out more about undergraduate admissions at Mechanical Engineering here: https://mech.ubc.ca/undergraduate/admissions/
NOTE: The answers below and on our website are based on our typical admission process. We understand that the situation with COVID-19 is continuously evolving, and the second-year placement process may look different this year.
| Q: | How many students does Mechanical Engineering accept into Mech 2 each year? |
| A: | Mechanical Engineering accepts a maximum of 128 students each year, which includes students applying from first-year UBC engineering, engineering transfer programs, and interdepartmental transfers. |
| Q: | Do I require hands-on experience to get into Mech? |
| A: | No, however, it does help to include anything relevant in your personal statement for Second-year admissions. |
| Q: | What GPA should I aim for to get into Mech? Is there a cut-off? |
| A: | The GPA cut-off varies year to year, depending on how competitive the overall first-year cohort is and how many students choose Mech as their first choice. Each year, first-year students should receive information from the First-Year Faculty Chair regarding historical admission averages for the various programs, including Mech. |
| Q: | How much of a role does the personal statement play? |
| A: | Second-year placement is a broad-based admission process, so we assess both grades and the personal statement to assess a student’s suitability to our program. Each student's case is unique, but for some, the personal statement is what makes the difference between them being admitted to Mech or not, so we strongly encourage students to not underestimate the importance of that aspect of the application. |
Mechanical Engineering at UBC is a design-focused program that unites academics and practical application in every level of your university degree.
| Q: | Are undergraduate design projects mostly team-based? |
| A: | Yes, a project-based course is included in 2nd, 3rd, & 4th year, and you will work with a small team in each course. Mech 2 has a heavy focus on designing in teams, with Mech 223 being almost entirely team-based. For the fourth-year capstone project, students normally work in teams of 4 or 5 students with a faculty mentor and an external client. |
| Q: | What exactly is involved in the fourth-year capstone design project? |
| A: | In the capstone design projects, students work in teams to design a product or system that typically addresses the need of an external client. It is a year-long project that culminates in a prototype.
Read all about Mechanical Engineering capstone here: https://mech.ubc.ca/undergraduate/curriculum/45x-capstone-design/ |
| Q: | How many projects are there per year? |
| A: | Mech 2 features three design projects, two of them in the design-focused Mech 223 course.
The third year includes one design project within the MECH 328 course (Mechanical Engineering Design Project). In the fourth-year capstone project, each student team takes on their own unique project that they work on over the course of the whole year. We typically offer a choice of about 30-40 projects per year, in collaboration with industry partners. |
| Q: | Is there an opportunity to get involved in entrepreneurship in MECH? |
| A: | Yes - MECH participates in the APSC-wide New Venture Design (NVD) program, which allows students to carry out an entrepreneurially-focused project in lieu of their traditional capstone project. In NVD, students work in teams of ~3 engineers and ~3 business students to identify a need and address it by both building a technically-based product and putting together a business plan. A number of former students have either continued with their NVD project and built it into a real company or have moved on to other start-up organizations. |
| Q: | Are there research opportunities for undergraduates? |
| A: | Yes! We offer several ways for undergraduates to get involved in research. Please see our website for details: https://mech.ubc.ca/undergraduate/research-opportunities/ |
| Q: | What skills are required to be a mechanical engineer? What skills will I gain from the program? |
| A: | A mechanical engineer is trained to take a broad perspective. They have skills in a wide range of subject areas related to how materials, structures and fluids behave, both at rest and when in motion, and they are also trained in the fundamentals of adjacent areas such as materials engineering and electrical and computer engineering. They learn system design and integration skills, along with significant project management skills. In addition, because many of the systems that they design have a human-facing side, they also learn to design for human needs and to incorporate human factors considerations into their designs. |
| Q: | Do mechanical engineers design electronics in their projects? Are the electrical components in the design projects designed and implemented by them? |
| A: | Mechanical engineers learn to use electronics to develop sensors and actuators for systems they develop. Although they don't typically learn to manufacture electronic systems (though some of this is done in the Mechatronics option), they do learn key principles about electronic systems, as well as how to select and use electronic components and systems. |
| Q: | Does it help to also know a lot about other disciplines & skills? |
| A: | Regarding admissions, more knowledge will never hurt you, but the program doesn’t assume that students know any of these things coming in. In the Mech 2 design teams, we try to spread out the students with shop/design team experience so that no team has a huge advantage or disadvantage.
In general, Mechanical engineering is a broad field, and the more skills one has, the better. Most mechanical engineers learn significant amounts about programming, instrumentation and measurement, solid modeling, and manufacturing processes, among other skills. Employers typically regard such hands-on skills as extremely valuable. |
| Q: | How does Mechanical Engineering interface with other engineering disciplines? |
| A: | Most technical systems these days involve significant use of mechanical and electrical components. Mechanical engineers can serve as technical specialists in their areas of expertise, but, because of their broad perspective and knowledge, also often end up taking on higher-level coordination and management roles. |
Mechanical Engineering is involved in a wide range of industries, from automotive to biomedical, robotics to clean energy. Our curriculum is developed in consultation with members of industry, to ensure our graduates have the skills they need to pursue their careers.
| Q: | What are the career options for students who graduate from Mechanical Engineering? |
| A: | Mechanical Engineering is an incredibly broad field! See our website for examples of the various career options open to Mechanical Engineers: https://mech.ubc.ca/undergraduate/whymech/ |
| Q: | What co-op opportunities are available to MECH students? |
| A: | Visit the Coop site to learn more about opportunities for students: https://coop.engineering.ubc.ca/prospective-students/ |
| Q: | How are mechanical engineers involved in environmental engineering or sustainability? |
| A: | Mechanical Engineers are involved in sustainability in a variety of ways! We have faculty working on everything from detecting and reducing emissions to developing hydrogen fuel cell technology. Two samples on campus are our Clean Energy Research Center (CERC), and our Clean Energy Engineering (CEEN) Master of Engineering Leadership program.
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If you have any questions about our program that aren’t featured here, you can reach out to our advisors:
Student Services
Telephone: (604) 822-6584
students@mech.ubc.ca
Office Hours: 8:00am – 4:00pm | Monday to Friday
Book an advising appointment