On Wednesday, October 3rd, the Faculty of Engineering hosted a graduate studies information session to ensure that any students who are thinking about continuing their education at Waterloo receive the information they need. All the departments sent professors and current graduate students to talk about the graduate programs and degrees available.
“But Iron Warrior,” you may ask, “why would I choose to stay in school for even longer after getting a fancy engineering degree from Waterloo?” Well, as Dean Pearl Sullivan said when she addressed the attendees at the beginning of the reception: you should consider graduate studies because a bachelor’s degree is the lowest common denominator among job seekers today. Canada is producing thousands of engineers every year. If you want to stand out from the crowd, additional credentials are a good way to do so. In addition, graduate school gives you an opportunity to experience moments of discovering something new and exciting. Or as the Dean put it, “Wow!” moments.
“I don’t trust the Dean,” you may retort, “it’s her job to try to get me to come back to do more school.” Current graduate students also spoke about the advantages of continuing their education. Some of them worked in industry after graduation for a couple of years and then decided to go back to school. One of the reasons is that if you have a graduate degree under your belt, you are more likely to get a position to work at a different level than someone without one. You might even get to use your brain at the work place! Also, if there is a particular topic in your engineering field that really interests you, it’s hard not to want to know more about it and get involved in its advancement.
“Ok, I guess those are some good reasons,” you may think, “but why would I come back to Waterloo?” Some of the graduate students that were at the reception did their undergrad here and decided to stay. They said that knowing the professors and the department allowed them to feel comfortable in their new role much sooner than if they went to a new school. Raymond Legge, the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, mentioned another good reason to stay at Waterloo during his speech. If you develop some new technology while doing your research, the IP and the rights to the product or process belong to you, not to the university. If you produce something successful, then you get to make money off of it!
Waterloo is not just a research-oriented university. The Faculty of Engineering also offers various professional degrees that can be completed in as little as one year. These degrees include Master of Engineering (MEng), Master of Architecture (MArch), Master of Management Sciences (MMSc), and a newer program called Master of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Technology (MBET). Since these programs lead to professional degrees, you need to fund your own studies, unlike the research-focused degrees. However, any of these graduate degrees provides a good compliment to bachelor’s degree in engineering.
If you are curious about graduate programs at Waterloo and want to learn more about what they entail, there is plenty of information in the Future Graduate Students section of the Faculty of Engineering website. Making a decision about what you want to do after graduation can be quite daunting, so it is a good idea to be informed about what options are available to you.
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