Engineering Science Undergraduates

Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) - General Policies

Requirements of one of the five options must be completed. Each provides basic science, general studies, engineering science, specialized engineering and science, plus project and laboratory work. Specialized study is completed in one of five options: electronics engineering, computer engineering, engineering physics, systems and biomedical engineering.

Honours Option

For an honors program in any option, a capstone project (ENSC 440) and an undergraduate thesis (ENSC 498 and 499) must be completed. For a general degree with any option other than engineering physics and biomedical engineering, a capstone project (ENSC 440) must be completed. The engineering physics options is honors-only.

Graduation with BASc (honors) requires both a CGPA and an upper division grade point average (UDGPA) of at least 3.0.

Co-op Work Terms

Students complete a three term co-op education program of practical experience in an appropriate industrial or research setting leading to a project under the technical direction of a practicing engineer or scientist. The internship may be within the University but in most cases the work site is off campus. A member of the external organization and a school faculty member jointly supervise the project.

Course Load

The school of Engineering Science will not enforce a minimum course load as a policy. However, students should understand the Engineering degree should be completed within a reasonable time to get professional recognition and career advantage. Students are highly encouraged to follow the suggested course schedule, option declaration, completion of Co-Op/work-terms so that the graduation is not delayed. Students are also encouraged to seek help/advise from FAS-Advising.

Course Sequencing

Although there is no strict requirement to follow the specific course sequence for the program, not following the suggested course sequence may lead to scheduling and prerequisite problems in subsequent terms, failure to complete courses identified with an asterisk in the designated term will almost certainly lead to such problems.

Course Enrollment

Permission may be required from the appropriate department, school or faculty to enroll in some courses. A pre-approved complementary studies course list is available from the school. Other courses may be acceptable with undergraduate curriculum committee chair approval.

Minimum Grade Requirements

To enroll in a course, a minimum "C-" grade is required in all course prerequisites. As the registration system will not recognize a "D" grade, students will have to connect with an academic advisor to discuss program planning options. Students must achieve a minimum grade of 2.0 or better in order to meet graduation requirements.

LIMITS ON DUPLICATION OF COURSES

The number of courses which a student may repeat in a degree program is limited to five. Courses taken at SFU for which you have already received transfer credit from another institution will count within the current limit of five repeats. This limit may be extended by the dean of the faculty.

Students who intend to enroll in their sixth or subsequent repeat course should seek advice from their major department advisor or Academic Advising before submitting their requests for an extension of the limit to their dean.

Any request to enroll in an individual course for the third time must be approved by the UCC Chair. No fourth attempts of an individual course will be approved. Approved course withdrawals will not be counted as repeats for the purposes of this policy.

Students can only duplicate a specific Special Topics course when the course topic is deemed to be the same as the one for which the student has already received credit.

Complementary Studies & WQB

This program’s general studies section also consists of non-technical courses which broaden education and develop awareness of social, economic and managerial factors affecting engineering and scientific work. All units of the engineering communication program must be completed. In complementary studies, at least one course must deal with science and technology within society and one with humanities and social sciences. Other complementary studies courses may contain these subjects or may be chosen from business, arts, humanities and social sciences.

Writing, Quantitative and Breadth (WQB) Requirements

Writing Requirements

6 credits of writing intensive courses, including at least one course from the upper division, preferably within the student's discipline. In ENSC, this requirement is normally met by taking ENSC 105W and ENSC 405W.

Quantitative Requirements

6 credits of quantitative intensive courses. In ENSC, this requirement is normally met by taking ENSC 220 and ENSC 225.

Breadth Requirements

(a) 6 credits of Sciences – B-Sci;

(b) 6 credits of Undesignated Breadth -- B-UD (courses taken outside the student's major program);

In ENSC, the B-Sci requirements are met with PHYS 120 and 121. The B-UD requirements are met with CHEM 121 and CMPT 128. The B-Soc and B-Hum requirements can be met by carefully selecting the complementary electives; please refer to the section on Pre-Approved Complementary Studies Electives under courses for students admitted in Fall 2006 and after for details.

Students completing degree programs must fulfill writing, quantitative and breadth requirements as part of their program. For students in Engineering Science, these university requirements are modified as follows:

for students in the computer engineering, electronics engineering, systems engineering and engineering physics options, the total number of Breadth-Social Sciences (B-Soc) and Breadth-Humanities (B-Hum) courses is reduced to three, with at least one course in each category
for students in the biomedical engineering option, one course in each of the Breadth-Social Sciences (B-Soc) and Breadth-Humanities (B-Hum) categories may be waived

Students admitted to SFU in Fall 2006 and after are required to meet the following WQB requirements in order to graduate. University requirements state all students completing an undergraduate degree program must complete breadth requirements with a grade of C- or better.

Summary

A GRADE OF C- OR BETTER IS REQUIRED TO EARN W, Q OR B CREDIT

Requirement	Units	Notes
W - Writing	6	Must include at least one upper division course, taken at Simon Fraser University within the student’s major subject
Q - Quantitative	6	Q courses may be lower or upper division
B - Breadth	12/15	Designated Breadth	Must be outside the student’s major subject, and may be lower or upper division 3 units Social Sciences: B-Soc + 3 units Humanities: B-Hum (for biomedical engineering option) 9 units in Social Sciences & Humanities, with at least 3 units in each category: B-Soc, B-Hum (for computer engineering, electronics engineering, systems engineering and engineering physics options) 6 units Sciences: B-Sci
B - Breadth	6	Additional Breadth	6 units outside the student’s major subject (may or may not be B-designated courses, and will likely help fulfil individual degree program requirements) Students choosing to complete a joint major, joint honours, double major, two extended minors, an extended minor and a minor, or two minors may satisfy the breadth requirements (designated or not designated) with courses completed in either one or both program areas.

Courses

Course Drop Deadlines

When planning a semester, student should remember deadlines related to dropping courses:

1. University deadlines and penalties will apply for all course drops (for deadlines refer to here).

The sole exception is requests from students who get co-op placements after the first penalty period takes effect provided these students have their drops done through the Co-op Office.

However, if a student chooses to take a course in addition to a co-op practicum, all regulations (i.e., deadlines, penalties and paperwork) will apply to this course in the event the student wishes to drop it later in the semester.

2. With the noted exception, students will do all their own course drops, up to and including week 5 of any given semester. Commencing in week 6, students must either:

contact the Registrar’s Office to arrange a course drop under extenuating circumstances; or,
complete a Request for Undergraduate Course Change form (available from the Undergraduate Program Assistant at the Burnaby or Surrey offices) which must be signed off by the course instructor and the Engineering Science Director. This form is used only to backdate a drop because of administrative error; or to drop a course for which no tuition penalty should be assessed because another course has been substituted for it (added after the end of Week 2 of classes) by the student.

Co-op

Co-op Education Work Experience Requirements

Co-op education allows students to gain important workplace skills in an industrial or research setting to complement their academic studies.

Every student completes a co-op education program of three work terms. After the first year, students typically alternate between academic and work terms.

Ideally two of the three mandatory work terms should be completed in industry (ENSC 195, 295, 395) unless a student plans to pursue post-graduate studies. Students may participate in additional work terms but are encouraged to seek diversity in their experience. The three mandatory work terms may include one special co-op term (ENSC 196, 296, 396). Special co-op may include, but is not restricted to, self-directed, entrepreneurial, service or research co-op work terms. Permission of the engineering science co-op office is required.

An optional non-technical work term (ENSC 194) is also available through the engineering science co-op education office and is often completed after the first two study terms. ENSC 194 does not count toward the mandatory three course requirement.

The engineering science co-op program will also seek opportunities for students wishing to complete their thesis requirements in an industrial setting.

Co-op Policies

The following restrictions apply to ENSC students seeking co-op placements:

1. ENSC students may not participate in co-op if they are registered in the Back on Track (BOT) program.

2. ENSC students must have a CGPA of at least 2.2 in the term before they seek co-op (i.e. the CGPA on their current transcript must be at least 2.2).

3. ENSC students with a CGPA less than 2.4 must meet with a co-op coordinator to discuss how a search will be conducted before participating in a seeking semester.

4. ENSC students are required to complete 3 co-op semesters. Students must have a CGPA of 3.0 or higher to request to seek a 4th co-op semester.

5. Students have an opportunity to participate in research co-op terms, where they gain experience in an academic, research and/or lab setting at SFU. Ideally, at least two of the three mandatory work semesters should be completed in industry unless a student plans to pursue post-graduate studies.

Labs

An enforcement system is implemented to govern unprofessional behavior and violations of lab regulations in ENSC learning spaces.

Non-compliant behavior, such as eating or drinking in lab spaces where equipment is present, vandalizing ENSC property, and bullying/harassment is taken seriously. Students should report observations of such behavior by speaking with lab engineers, their instructors, emailing fas_safety@sfu.ca, or speaking to an ESSS representative to report on their behalf.

All students are asked to uphold professional conduct and adhere to this policy to protect the safety of the users and equipment in labs. Violating this policy can cause:

Cross-contamination between lead residues and food/drink. It is almost guaranteed that there is lead present on the equipment and surfaces in labs where electronic components are used.
Equipment damage due to spillage.
Hygienic issues such as garbage (drink cups, wrappers, etc.) and food being left in lab spaces, attracting mice/ants which the Applied Science Building (ASB) has struggled with in the past.

Rooms where food and drink consumption are not permitted:

The Pit (ASB 8800)
Machine shop and workshops (ASB 8806, 8808, and 8824)
ASB Cleanroom (ASB 8823, 8825, 8829)
Lab 1 workstations, soldering area, and SPA lab (ASB 9800A)
Lab 1A (ASB 9884)
ASB 9801
Computer labs ASB 9815, 9817, 10877 and 10879
ASB 9819
ASB 10820
ASB 10824
ASB 10874
ASB 10878

Food and drinks are allowed in the areas that are outside of labs, such as:

Applied Science Building (ASB) public hallway
ESSS student lounge located at ASB 8842
Sunny room located at ASB 9886
The hallway outside of computer labs ASB 9815/9817
Entrance area outside of ASB 10877/10879

Please be mindful of others and clean up after yourself.

If students wish to bring chemicals/liquids for projects (not for consumption) into lab spaces, they must be approved by the lab engineering team first. You can reach out to the team at ensc-res@sfu.ca.

Faculty of Applied Sciences