Co-op Master's Degrees

The Faculty of Engineering offers MASc (Co-op), MSc (Co-op) and MEng (Co-op) degrees. Participation in the co-op program requires a co-op research project suitable for a master's thesis (for co-op MASc and MSc degrees) or a master's project (for co-op MEng degree), and the student's acceptance by a faculty member in the Faculty of Engineering as well as a suitable sponsoring organization. The faculty member who will supervise the graduate student will determine the suitability of a project for master's level research.

The academic requirements for co-op master's degrees in Engineering are identical to those for regular (e.g. non-co-op) degrees with the addition of a minimum of eight months, or up to 12 months, of co-op work term(s). During the work terms, the graduate student will work on a research project that will form the basis of his/her master's thesis/project. The graduate student will conduct all or part of the research work as part of his/her co-op work at the employer's site. Also, all co-op graduate students should complete the “Co-op Workshop” offered by the Technical Co-operative Education Office before going on a work term.

Academic/Work term schedules shall be designed by the Supervising Committee of the graduate student taking into consideration the requirements of the research project as well as the needs of the student and the employer. In developing the schedules, the Supervising Committees shall adhere to the following guidelines:

1. The last term before completion of the degree requirements shall be an academic term.
2. The first co-op work term in the MASc and MSc programs will normally be taken after completing at least nine credit hours.
3. The first co-op work term in the MEng program will normally be taken after completing at least 12 credit hours.
4. Provided that conditions 1-3 above are satisfied, co-op work terms may be:

• Alternate semesters
• Summers only
• One, two or three consecutive semesters
• Parallel (part-time) with study
• Other combinations

The normal upper time limits for the completion of co-op master's degrees will be the same as those for non-co-op degrees, e.g. four years for full-time and five years for part-time studies. The Supervisory Committee of co-op master's students will normally include the student's industrial supervisor as a member, or if appropriate (based on Faculty of Graduate Studies and Faculty of Engineering regulations), as a thesis/project co-supervisor. This arrangement will be agreed upon by the academic supervisor and the company before the student begins the program.