Programs

The Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (OCIMAE) combines the research and development strength and graduate education of two of Canada’s most prominent large universities, Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, to form one of Canada’s largest Mechanical and Aerospace graduate education programs. With more than 60 active Mechanical, Aerospace, and Bio-mechanical Engineering professors, more than 200 graduate students at both the Master’s and Ph.D. levels, and fully equipped modern labs and machine shops, OCIMAE offers you the opportunity for an unsurpassed graduate training and specialization in almost any field of mechanical engineering. The programs of study offered by the Institute are as follows:

Master’s Degree

Admission Requirements

The minimum requirement for admission to a master’s program is a bachelor’s degree with at least high honours standing (at Carleton University normally B+ or better in honours subject; B- or better overall) or high second-class standing (at the University of Ottawa normally a B or 70% equivalent rating) in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or a related discipline.
 

Program Requirements

Study at the master’s level can be pursued through a thesis to a M.A.Sc., or a coursework option leading to a M.Eng. The requirements for coursework are specified in terms of credits. At Carleton University, 1.0 credit typically comprises three hours of lectures or seminars a week for two terms, or the equivalent. At the University of Ottawa, 1.0 course credit is one hour of instruction per week for one term. Thus 1.0 credit in Carleton University is equivalent to 6 course credits in the University of Ottawa notation.

M.A.Sc. — Master’s by Thesis 

The requirements are:

1. A minimum of 5 courses (2.5 credits at Carleton University or 15 course credits at the University of Ottawa);
2. Participation in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering seminar series;
3. Completion and successful oral defence of a research thesis.

M.Eng. — Master’s by Coursework

The requirements are: 

1. A minimum of 10 courses (5.0 course credits at Carleton University or 30 course credits at the University of Ottawa).

M.Eng. — Master’s by Project

The requirements are: 

1. A minimum of 7 courses (3.5 course credits at Carleton University) and a project equivalent to 3 courses (1.5 course credits at Carleton University) OR
2. A minimum of 8 courses (24 course credits at the University of Ottawa) and a project equivalent to 2 courses (6 course credits at the University of Ottawa).

 

Doctor of Philosophy

Admission Requirements

The normal requirement for admission to the Ph.D. program is a master’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering or a related discipline. Students who have been admitted to the master’s program may be permitted to transfer into the Ph.D. program if they show outstanding academic performance and demonstrate significant promise for advanced research.

 

In addition, graduate courses offered by departments in other disciplines may be taken for credit with approval by the department in which the student is registered for the Ph.D., including any courses already taken during the Master’s.

Program Requirements

The requirements for the Ph.D. degree (from the master’s degree) are:

1. A minimum of 3 courses (1.5 course credits at Carleton University or 9 course credits at the University of Ottawa);
2. Participation in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering seminar series;
3. Successful completion of qualifying examinations;
4. Completion and successful oral defence of a research thesis. The examining board for all theses will include professors from both departments and an external examiner who is a member of neither university.
    

Students who have been permitted to transfer into the Ph.D. program from a master’s program require a minimum of 8 courses (4.0 course credits at Carleton University or 24 course credits at the University of Ottawa).