Degrees in ECE & Areas of Specialization

The minimum admission requirement for the course-based MEng degree is either a four-year bachelor’s degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering or an equivalent degree from an accredited University with a minimum of 70% (B) grade average (North American equivalent). In some cases, students with a similar degree from another scientific discipline may be admitted, with appropriate approval. International students must provide proof of English language proficiency. If enrolled full-time, a student can complete the degree in one year. The ECE department offers a Course based MEng program: 10 courses required, and a Project Based MEng program: 8 courses required plus a research project. Time to Completion: 3 Terms (1 year).

MEng Program Page

Electrical & Computer Engineering MEng programs include the following options or streams:

• Engineering in Medicine
• Power Systems Engineering
• Robotics and Control
• Software Engineering 
• Communications & Signal Processing

Faculty of Engineering offers a Combined Master of Engineering (MEng) Graduate Diploma (GDip) in Engineering Leadership and Innovation. It is a 4-term (16 month) program where students concurrently take courses in both MEng and GDip programs. Students registered in this option must complete the requirements for both MEng and GDip programs. Once completed, students receive both a MEng degree and Graduate Diploma.Students registered in any technical field of the MEng program in the Faculty of Engineering could opt for this option as this option does not affect or alter the technical course requirements of a particular MEng technical field.

TUITION FEE: Tuition fees are applied to student accounts three times per year at the beginning of each term (January 1, May 1, September 1). As the Combined MEng-Graduate Diploma program is classed as a four-term graduate program, students will be required to pay tuition for four consecutive academic terms. The per-term rates of tuition for the Combined MEng-Graduate Diploma program are assessed at the same tuition rate as the stand-alone MEng program. To view current graduate program fee schedules, please visit the Office of the Registrar website.

Program Structure (Combined option)

Students are required to complete 8 technical courses OR 6 technical courses and a project (as per the MEng program in which they are registered).Students are required to complete 2 professional courses, which are cross-listed as GDip elective courses.Students are required to complete 4 courses of the GDip program (3 core courses and one elective course).

For more information about the GDip program in Engineering Leadership and Innovation, please visit the Thompson Centre website.

A thesis-based master’s program leads to an MESc degree. Each applicant is considered on his/her merits, but the minimum prerequisite for admission is a four-year bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in engineering, physical, computer or life sciences when appropriate with a minimum of 78% (B+) grade average (North American - calculated based on the last two years of the bachelor’s degree marks). The typical completion time of the MESc program is two years. Admission to the MESc program requires a Faculty Supervisor to admit an applicant. Applications will be made available to potential supervisors at the time of successful completion. Time to Completion: 6 terms (2 years). 

MESc Program Page

The thesis-based doctor of philosophy research program leads to a PhD degree. Admission to the PhD program typically requires successful completion of a research master’s degree in engineering, physical, computer or life sciences when appropriate with a grade average of at least 78% (B+) (North American equivalent). Direct entry into the PhD program is also available to outstanding students who have completed their undergraduate degrees. The typical completion time of the PhD program is four years. Admission to the PhD program requires a Faculty Supervisor to admit an applicant. Applications will be made available to potential supervisors at the time of successful completion. Time to completion: 12 terms (4 years). 

PhD Program Page

This oldest area of research in ECE spans two related disciplines: applied electrostatics and electromagnetics. Most of the researchers are members of the Applied Electrostatics Research Centre (AERC), which is one of the few in the world specializing in the application of electrostatics to interdisciplinary problems. Other faculty members work in the general area of electromagnetic which includes radio-wave propagation, radars, electromagnetic interference and stochastic electromagnetics with an emphasis on telecommunications problems. Much of this work is also interdisciplinary and involves collaborative work with faculty members in the Department of Physics.

An interdisciplinary group of active faculty members collaborate under the auspices of Biomedical Systems Research. The group members are from ECE and have formal affiliations with other departments and research centers on campus, such as: the Robarts Research Institute, the Canadian Surgical Technologies and Advanced Robotics research centre, the Lawson Health Research Institute, the National Centre for Audiology, the Department of Medical Biophysics, and the Faculty of Health Sciences. The common vision shared by these faculty members is to approach the modeling of Biomedical Systems through the development of software systems, computer hardware and specialized devices -- under a framework enriched by the interplaybetween mathematical formalism and empirical investigation.

Group members in this area have established The Bell Centre for Information Engineering (BCIE) with support from Bell Canada, to coordinate and enhance the Department’s research activities in this area. The Centre is dedicated to fostering innovative basic and applied research in information engineering, working with industry, and government organizations to develop new communications and data networking technologies, and train the next generation of researchers and practitioners. The faculty members working in this area carry out intensive collaborations with industrial and academic partners. They have been successful in attracting research funds from NSERC, IBM, CRC, CFI, CITO, and others.

Group members in this area have expertise in high-speed and low-power VLSI circuits, analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits, modeling and simulation of high-speed interconnects, cryptographic hardware and computer arithmetic, time-frequency signal processing for diagnosis, industrial applications of FPGA, speech and audio signal processing; photonic crystal integrated micro and nano sensors; and MEMS. The laboratory facilities include several newly funded CFI laboratories, DSP equipment donations from Texas Instruments and also access to the UWO Nanofabrication Laboratory and, Hybrid Microsystems chip design and fabrication capabilities provided by the Canadian Microelectronics Corporation (CMC).

Western Engineering has recruited internationally known faculty members, one being an NSERC Hydro One Networks Senior Industrial Research Chair in power systems and another as NSERC-UNENE Senior Industrial Research Chair, to develop a world-class power systems engineering research group and graduate program. This has resulted in Western becoming one of the leading centres for power systems engineering research in Canada and around the world. The expertise and strength of the faculty members in this area are in power electronic (ac-dc) conditioning technologies, control systems and protection and automation technologies. Although, this area has been established very recently, intensive industry collaborations have already been established, mainly because of the unique capabilities that exist. Extensive laboratory facilities include a state-of-the-art real-time digital simulator and industry-sponsored protection and automation laboratories. 

Key strengths of the group members in this area are in the design, control and application of advanced robotic systems, the use of smart materials and intelligent control techniques for the design and control of the next generation of human-friendly robot manipulators, fault-tolerant systems, applications of modern control strategies in welding processes, design and applications of the next generation of mobile robotic systems including underwater robots. An area of particular interest is exploring robotic and other mechatronic applications in surgery and therapy.

Faculty members in this area are developing research in software evolution, service-oriented architecture, cloud computing, security, e-learning technologies, software estimation, predictive models, and human aspects of software engineering. The group members are investigating the theoretical foundations and practical applications of computational intelligence with a specific focus on agenthood, coordination and cooperation in distributed systems environments. A key focus is on promoting the evolution of cooperative distributed systems engineering from an ad hoc, labour-intensive activity to a discipline that is managed and supported by technology.