Engineering in Manufacturing Engineering, M.E.M.E.

Program Description

The Master of Engineering in Manufacturing Engineering is a one and a half‐year program aimed at highly motivated students seeking advanced training in the broad area of Manufacturing. Application for admission to the program may be made through the Walter G. Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology. The program accepts full-time and part-time students.

In addition to the general requirements for entry into a graduate program in Engineering, students must hold an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Engineering with at least a B average (equivalent to a McMaster 8.0/12 GPA) in the penultimate and final years.

Delivery of the program includes a strong emphasis on project‐based experience within the Manufacturing Industry, which is obtained through an industry‐based project during the coursework portion of the program. Requirements for these are outlined below. Due to the strong practical orientation of the project components of the program, successful completion requires that students have strong interpersonal and communication skills. To this end, each applicant will be interviewed. A strong performance in the interview is a critical requirement for admission.

Students completing the Program on a course-only basis will be required to complete 8 courses from the approved list of courses. Course selection must be done in consultation with the program lead.

Students completing the Program through course and project work will be required to complete six courses from the approved list of courses, plus successful completion of the project. Course and Project selection must be done in consultation with the program lead.

Students may receive advanced standing for up to two of the following courses (note that a maximum of two 600-level courses can count towards a SEPT graduate program).

Only a student enrolled in their final year of a Bachelors of Engineering or Technology at McMaster University immediately entering a SEPT graduate program can be eligible for advanced credit. There can be no banking, no retroactive accommodations and no offer for students outside of Engineering to participate in advanced credit options.

Project

Students must complete a suitable industry‐based project. Projects will normally be performed individually or by groups of two to three students which could be multi‐disciplinary in composition. Projects should address a specific problem found in a manufacturing facility related to trouble-shooting, re-design or optimization. The problem should not be focused on the design of new processes or products as that lies beyond the purview of this program. It is expected that the majority of the projects will be developed from work undertaken during co-op or graduate employment experience and students should look for opportunities to develop projects with their employers. Students are also encouraged to develop their own ideas and find industrial sponsors. Identification of this project is the responsibility of the student and must be provided to the program lead at the time of applying to the program. Projects are ideally undertaken at local companies but may be conducted at locations inside Canada or abroad with the Program Lead’s approval and provided that none of the work on the project was done prior to admission into the program. Project groups or individuals will have an industry‐based supervisor (stakeholder) with whom the student team can discuss progress, arrange trials etc. Students will also have an academic supervisor who will normally have some expertise in the subject area. It is expected that the teams will meet with their supervisors on a regular basis to discuss their progress.

Projects will have three “tollgate” stages. Student groups must submit a project proposal by the end of September to their academic and industrial supervisors for approval of scope, deliverables and timeline. The interim project report, outlining progress‐to‐date, is due at the end of the fall semester for approval by the academic and industrial supervisors. The final written project report is normally due at the end of the winter semester. However, if the supervisors agree that the project group has not made sufficient progress by this point, they are free to request further work to meet the standards of the program. The project team will orally defend their final project report to an examination board comprised of their industrial supervisor, academic supervisor and program Director (Chair) or designate.