Admission & Prerequisites

Getting into MECH 2

Admission

Placement into MECH 2 is performed the same as any second year program at UBC. Students must rank their preferences and write a short essay supporting their first choice program online at the Engineering Academic Services Website.
More information about the general admission process can be found here. For information about admissions into options, please visit here.

Prerequisites

The prerequisites for MECH 2 are: All of MATH 100, MATH 101MATH 152PHYS 170APSC 160 and one of APSC 100APSC 150APSC 151 and either (a) PHYS 153 or (b) all of PHYS 157PHYS 158PHYS 159; and one of ENGL 112WRDS 150, or equivalent.

In most cases, students missing prerequisite courses will not be allowed to commence MECH 2.  At minimum, any students missing MATH 100, MATH 101, MATH 152, PHYS 170, one of (a) PHYS 153 or (b) all of PHYS 157, PHYS 158, PHYS 159, and WRDS 150 or another first-year English course must have received credit for these courses no later than August 1st. Any student who fails to do so will not be permitted to start Mech 2 that year and will forfeit their seat in Mech 2 until a subsequent year in which they are able to meet the prerequisites by the above deadline.

If a student is unable to start Mech 2 due to missing prerequisites, they are encouraged to complete their complementary studies electives in the gap year while completing the missing prerequisites. Information for some common missing courses is outlined below; contact the Student Services Office for further details.

Students transferring into Mech 2 from other faculties or schools should consult Student Services for information regarding prerequisite courses and transfer credits.

Missing:

PHYS 170 is a core subject in first year engineering at UBC and the material is very important for mechanical engineers in general. Many of the topics in MECH 2 build on the foundation provided by PHYS 170. Some students transferring from other schools or programs may not yet have this course. If you are missing PHYS 170, please:

  • Identify yourself to the MECH Student Services Office immediately
  • Register for the summer session of PHYS 170 in another institution, if possible;

To check the course status of PHYS 170, including dates, times, and seats remaining, please refer to the Student Services Centre course information.

Although ENGL 112 or WRDS 150 is indicated on the UBC Calendar as a prerequisite for MECH 220 and MECH 221 any first year English course, including APSC 176 will satisfy the prerequisite requirements. Students are required to take their English requirement prior to commencing Mech 2 – in first year or during the first term of summer. For those who did not receive a grade of 65% or greater in their English course, the Technical Communication course (MECH 226) will be taken as a summer course at UBC (MECH 227).

More information on Mech 2 requirements can be found in the Academic Calendar.

Note on Overlapping Courses

Mech 2 is an integrated program that teaches academic subjects in concert with design and technical skills. As such, prior coursework that overlaps with content given in Mech 2 cannot be substituted. All students in the Mech 2 program are required to register in and successfully pass all components of the program.

  • Math courses 200 level and above taken prior to Mech 2 will not be counted for equivalent credit. All students completing Mech 2 will be required to take MATH 254 and MATH 258 as part of the program.
  • APSC 201 is not accepted as an equivalent technical communication course. Students entering our program are expected to complete MECH 226 or 227 to satisfy their degree requirements.