Engineering program may be offered at U of T Mississauga
U of T Mississauga may offer a first-year engineering option on this campus as early as 2015, says Professor Ulrich Krull, vice-principal research and special initiatives at U of T Mississauga.
Early discussions between the Faculty of Engineering and U of T Mississauga are “flourishing,” Krull said, in an interview. “We believe an engineering presence on this campus would be a very appealing option to engineering students, particularly in light of proposed courses.”
Engineering students would spend their first two years at UTM rather than one year at St. George. They would enroll in all of the courses required to complete the first-year requirements of an engineering degree with the added benefit of concurrently pursuing arts and science courses. Students would be guaranteed the option of completing an arts and science minor, and in some cases, could even opt for a major by completing additional courses in subsequent years. With the added courses, students would take five years to complete their degree.
“There is a demand for arts and science courses among engineering students at St. George, and this UTM option would help to meet that demand,” Krull said. “Students, while exploring all the fields of engineering, would also be able to nurture their interests in arts and science. They’d be building skills that could be applied across professions and disciplines.”
The proposed program would draw on strengths at UTM in physics, chemistry, mathematics and management, and benefit from the many newly renovated laboratories and facilities. Initially, it would involve a cohort of 50 to 100 first-year engineering students with possible expansion in the future.
In addition to the multidisciplinary focus, Krull says an engineering presence at UTM might appeal to students who live in the western GTA. They might welcome the opportunity to attend a U of T campus closer to home, he noted.
In November 2011, a committee composed of U of T Mississauga and engineering faculty members released a report proposing the program collaboration. The two divisions have already been solidifing their partnership: some U of T Mississauga faculty have been co-teaching elements of engineering courses at St. George, and engineering graduates have enrolled in UTM’s professional graduate programs.
More discussions on the program are forthcoming, Krull says.