If you are in 1B this term, it’s not too early to start thinking about going on exchange to a foreign country for one or two terms in third year. And if you’re in 2A, it’s time to start thinking seriously about exchange in 3A in the Fall or Winter of 2015.
We have new exchange application procedures in Waterloo International and the Faculty Exchange Office. You will have a wider choice among the 80 or so exchange programs available to Waterloo engineers around the world, but with that extra choice come more responsibilities for you.
Engineering will approve you for exchange, but the final selection of students for each partner institution will be made by Waterloo International. We will do what we can to help you finish your degree program on time, with your classmates. The Faculty and your Department will provide provisional approval for the courses you expect to take at your first choice destination exchange partner. But you will be able to indicate a second and third choice for possible exchange universities for the same term. (Of course you can only attend one of them.) The course selection at your second and third choice schools will be up to you.
In the old days, we would use a first come first serve method to reserve you a place on the list for a given university. However, this has the potential to leave places empty because some students on the list had to withdraw for academic or personal reasons. So now, we will accept applications regardless of number right up to the deadline date. They’ll get sorted out by Waterloo International on a merit basis.
Bear in mind that to qualify for exchange, you need to have an average of better than 70 per cent for the three terms prior to departure, or to be in the upper half of your class; if you only marginally make this level and you apply for our most popular destinations, you may find yourself offered exchange only at your second or third choice. So choose carefully. Cindy, in the Engineering Exchange Office, will keep track of numbers of first-choice applicants to each destination, and will be able to advise you when there are likely to be more applicants than places available at a particular university.
It’s not a part of the mandate of Waterloo International (in Needles Hall) to help you select your program of courses on exchange; in the final analysis, it’s up to you. However, your home department pre-approves one (and only one) set of courses as part of your application. But we cannot do this for all three of your possible destinations in advance! Nonetheless, your home department can give further advice, and we do keep records, on the Engineering Exchange web page, of course packages that were taken by previous students; these can be helpful when you are making your selections. However, there are constraints due to CEAB requirements (especially with respect to Engineering Design content), so continuation to graduation with your class cannot be guaranteed. General advice is to include as many tech electives and CSE’s as possible.
Exchange is a tremendous opportunity. Don’t miss out. The application process may seem long, but we are here to help. The forms are available on line; just visit the Engineering Exchange Web page. Visit the Faculty Exchange Office to let us know where and when you want to go on Exchange.
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