www2.mtroyal.ca/~jmyoung
updated Jan, 2010
MRU’s Engineering Transfer Program offers a way for students to get into the second year of the UofC’s
or the UofA’s engineering programs without actually attending the UofC or UofA for first year. This may
meet your needs if i) you had lower than expected grades in your last year of high school, ii) you have
been out of school for a while, iii) you are new to Canada, iv) you prefer a more personal learning
environment, or v) you need to take a couple of years to get your first academic year completed
because you are a care-giver and/or high performance athlete and/or are busy with employment.
MRU offers smaller class sizes and more contact with instructors than the bigger institutions. Our
courses are fully transferable to the UofC and to the UofA, as well as to some other universities such as
the University of Victoria, the University of British Columbia, the University of Saskatchewan, the
University of Regina, the University of New Brunswick, as well as some schools in the US. That said, our
programs are tailored for the UofC and the UofA. If you are interested in any of the other institutions,
we suggest that you take the UofC curriculum and consult with MRU’s Engineering Advisor.
MRU’s current Engineering Advisor is Dr. Janice Miller-Young. You can meet with her by calling 403440-6147 to set up an appointment. Please come to advising appointments prepared to discuss your
marks in previous courses, and ready to take notes. Inquiries by e-mail can not usually be responded to
in a timely manner, depending on the advisor’s other commitments at the time of your e-mail.
Admission to MRU’s Bachelor of Engineering – University Transfer Program
Starting in the Fall of 2010, MRU engineering students will be required to have at least 65% in Pure Math
30, Math 31, Physics 30 and Chemistry 30, and 60% in English 30-1 (or their equivalents). If you do not
have these required courses and/or marks, you will need to take or upgrade them before applying. You
can do that through MRU or through high school or other post-secondary institutions.
You are encouraged to apply during Early Admission (December 1 – March 1). For complete information
regarding admission, review the General Admission Requirements
(http://www.mtroyal.ca/Admission/index.htm)
and the Engineering admission requirements
(http://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/ScienceTechnology/Programs/Bach
elorofEngineering-UniversityTransfer/AdmissionRequirementsCosts/index.htm).
Life as an Engineering Student
It’s not easy, but it can be lots of fun. Engineering is a challenging program and our standards are no
lower than those of the larger universities. If you take 5 courses a term, expect to put in about 75 hours
of work per week (classes, reading, homework, studying, labs, etc). If you can’t put in the time, for
whatever the reason, do not presume that you will be able to get by with less. Instead, take fewer
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courses per term. If you have a job or a child or some other responsibilities that will make it difficult to
commit the required time, we can work with you to make a schedule that leads to success.
At MRU, you will take all/most of your first academic year and then you will transfer to the UofC, UofA
or some other institution. If you stay here for 2 years, you may also take part of your 2 nd year courses
but you cannot take all of them here. In other words, no matter how long you spend here, you will
always be applying into your 2nd academic year at the UofC, UofA or elsewhere. Indeed, the UofA
requires that you only spend one year here while the UofC allows you to spend two or three years here,
if you wish. In any event, you will always be applying for 2nd year admission at whatever school you
choose to transfer to.
The Big Decisions … Place and then Speed
After you have applied to MRU and have been accepted, you put down your deposit. You will then be
required to attend an Advising session with the Engineering Advisor. This session will brief you on the
details of Fall registration and the Advisor will answer any questions that you may have. After you have
attended the session, you will be taken off “Advising Hold”. You can then register for your Fall courses.
Note that you will register for your Winter courses later on in October/November.
Where do you want to transfer to? The two basic options are the UofC and the UofA. If you really want
to go somewhere else, we may have information on transferring to that institution but if not, you may
be expected to find out what they require on your own. In any event, we would encourage you to take
the “UofC track” so that you’ll have a choice of destinations.
As it happens, the UofA and the UofC have very different admissions requirements. The UofA essentially
requires that you complete your first year in one year. All of the guidelines for the UofA transfer can be
found on this handout.
The UofC allows you to take 2-3 years to transfer, but their GPA standards are higher for transferring
because they have a limited number of seats for transfer students. That is, transfer is competitive. So if
you decide that you want to transfer to the UofC, the next big question is … how fast?
 If you had a 75% average in your engineering pre-requisite courses, you may be able to handle a
one year transfer to the UofC where you will need a minimum 75% average to get in.
 If your high school average was less than 75%, we suggest taking 2 years to transfer. You can
take 3-4 courses a term, get some good marks, and pick up a couple of 2nd year courses as well,
before transferring.
 If you had close to a 75% average, you can elect to try the one year transfer track and you can
change tracks (to the 2 year transfer track) at Christmas if things aren’t working out as well as
you had hoped.
If you decide to transfer to the UofC, you will likely not be able to change your mind and head to the
UofA after the Fall term. If you decide to transfer to the UofA, you may be able to change your mind
and head to the UofC after one term but you will also likely lose the credit for at least one course and
you’ll have to spend a 2nd year at MRC to make up another. The different schools require different
courses and different course loads. You need to make the decision about where you want to go, before
you register for Fall courses.
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How do MRU Engineering Students Do?
For the last few years, MRU has admitted 140-170 students per year. Of those, approximately half stay
on for a second year (and a few are here for some part of a third year). So we have about 200 students
in the program at any one time. Of those, approximately 40 transfer to the UofC each year (as the UofC
has seats for approximately 40 MRC transfer students). Another 10-20 students go to the UofA.
Another 15-25 students transfer to any number of other institutions. Approximately 80 stay on for
another year at MRC, and the rest drop out or try something else.
Therefore, if you have some aptitude for math and science and you can write reasonably well, and if you
are willing and able to work hard, your chances of success are pretty high. Those that do not move on
generally put very little time into their studies and/or really aren’t interested in engineering. So if you
have those two points going for you, you chances of success are much higher.
Open Studies Students
Open studies students are not able to register for engineering courses until after program restrictions
are lifted, which will generally occur in the first week of classes each semester, before the drop/add
date. This is to ensure that students in the engineering program have time to register for their classes.
As of Fall 2009, MRU’s policy will be that open studies students can take up to 10 credit courses before
they must enter a program.
Ongoing Help
Throughout your time at MRU, the Engineering Advisor is available to help you choose your courses to
help you meet your own individual needs. But that can only happen if you talk with the Advisor. It is
therefore suggested that you meet with your Advisor once a term, just to make sure everything is going
well. If you are having any difficulties, your Advisor can sometimes help you get through them.
For registration help please go to the Office of the Registrar or call the Registration Help Line at 403440-3303 or toll free at 1-877-676-0686.
For more information about engineering courses and their pre-requisites, please see the Academic
Calendar (available at the bookstore or
http://www.mtroyal.ca/AcademicSupport/AcademicCalendar/index.htm) or visit the engineering
program’s curriculum page at:
http://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/ScienceTechnology/Programs/Bache
lorofEngineering-UniversityTransfer/CurriculumCourses/index.htm
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Transferring to the University of Calgary
MRU offers a full first-year transfer program to the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering. If you
achieve a GPA of at least 3.0 in your last 10 courses at MRU, you are likely to be accepted into the UofC
Engineering Faculty for the 2nd year of your engineering program. The 2 nd year is also when students choose their
engineering discipline e.g. mechanical, civil, chemical etc. While a GPA score of 3.0 likely gets you into the faculty,
it does not necessarily mean that you will get into your first choice of department/program. Acceptance into the
department and/or program of your choice is competitive. The cut-offs vary from year to year but they have
tended to vary from 2.8 to 3.5. Transfer students are placed into departments after UofC students and there are
quotas of transfer students by department.
To be clear, the UofC looks at your last 10 course marks. It does not say how fast you have to take those courses.
That is, you can do them over 2 years (or longer!). So if you spent 2 years at MRU taking 4 courses per Fall and
Winter term (and no courses in the Spring terms), the UofC would look at your last Fall and Winter terms (8
courses) and the best 2 marks in your first Winter term. It would essentially ignore your first Fall term (although
they would accept those courses as transfers, of course). The UofC’s transfer philosophy is to test your ability to
handle the difficulty level of the material that you will be required to deal with when you attend the UofC.
As a result, a very important strategic question for you will be … how long should I stay at MRU? If you would like
to try and transfer in one year, you would take the following courses (shown below). If you achieve a GPA of at
least 3.0, you will likely be on your way to the UofC. If not, you could try to apply elsewhere e.g. the UofS, or you
could stay at MRU and take a few 2nd year courses in the following Fall and Winter to try and boost your GPA
before you try to transfer again. See the advising webpage (link at the top of this handout) for recommended
courses if you want to take a lighter course load and spend more than one year at Mount Royal.
Fall Term
ENGR 1261
ENGR 1271
MATH 1203
MATH 1217
CHEM 2209
ENGR 1205
- Orientation to the Engineering Profession I (1 hr/wk)
- Engineering Design & Communications I
- Linear Algebra for Scientists and Engineers
- Calculus for Engineers and Scientists I *
- General Chemistry for Engineers
- Mechanics I
(UofC ENGG 251)
(UofC ENGG 251)
(UofC MATH 221)
(UofC AMAT 217)
(UofC CHEM 209)
(UofC ENGG 205)
Winter Term
ENGR 1263
ENGR 1273
ENGR 1233
MATH 1219
CHEM 2210
ENGR 1215
- Orientation to the Engineering Profession (1 hr/wk)
- Engineering Design & Communications II
- Computing for Engineers I
- Multivariable Calculus for Engineers
- Behaviour of Liquids, Gases & Solids
- Electricity and Magnetism
(UofC ENGG 253)
(UofC ENGG 253)
(UofC ENGG 233)
(UofC AMAT 219)
(UofC ENGG 201)
(UofC PHYS 259)
Spring Term
Complementary Studies Course**
ENGL 0212 - Introductory Composition***
Please see the Academic Calendar (available at the bookstore or on
http://www.mtroyal.ca/AcademicSupport/AcademicCalendar/index.htm) for pre- and co-requisites for each course.
* If you have less than 65% in Math 31, you will need to take Math 1200 before you can take Math 1217, and therefore you
should plan to be at Mount Royal for two years before transferring.
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** Choices at MRU currently include Anth 1101 (UofC Anth 201), Anth 1102 (UofC Anth 203), Anth 1105 (UofC Arky 205), Cnst
1131 (UofC Cnst 231), Econ 1101 (UofC Econ 201), Econ 1103 (UofC Econ 203), Geog 1103 (UofC Geog 203), Hist 1101 (UofC
Hist 201), Rels 1101 (UofC Rels 201), Rels 1105 (UofC Rels 203), Ling 1111 (UofC Ling 201), Ling 1113 (UofC Ling 203), Phil 1101
(UofC 201), Phil 1149 (UofC Phil 249), Phil 1175 (UofC Phil 275), Phil 1179 (UofC Phil 279), Plsc 1101 (UofC Poli 201), Plsc 1123
(UofC Poli 223), Psyc 1101&1102 (UofC Psyc 205), Slgy 1101 (UofC Soci 201), and Musc 1234 (UofC Muhl 281).
*** This course is not required, just suggested, if you have less than 80% in English 30 and less than 75% on the English 30
Diploma Exam. Getting at least a B in ENGL 0212 meets the UofC’s Effective Writing Requirement, which you must meet by the
end of your first year at the UofC. You have already met it if you did well in English 30 i.e. above 80%/75%.
UofC students take 11 courses in their first year. That is, those courses specified above in the Fall and Winter, plus
the Complementary Studies Elective. We do not suggest that our students take the Complementary Studies
Course in the Fall or Winter because you need to maintain high marks. You don’t need to take it in the Spring
either, but if you don’t you will need to make it up later on at the UofC. Likewise, you do not need to take ENGL
0212, as explained above. But it also eliminates another concern when you get to the UofC. Alternatively, you can
challenge the Effective Writing Requirement (EWR) by writing the UofC’s challenge test for the EWR. Contact the
UofC for times, locations and costs of the test.
MRU actually offers several more courses that UofC Engineering recognizes. However, not all of the courses are in
the curriculums of all the UofC Engineering Departments. The following list shows which courses are usable for
which departmental programs:
Math 3307 Differential Equations (UofC AMAT 307) – Chem, Civil, Comp, EE, Geo, Mfg, Mechanical, O&G, SW
Engr 3319 Statistics for Engineering (UofC ENGG 319) – Chem, Civil, Comp, Geo, Mfg, Mechanical, O&G, SW
Phys 3369 Acoustics, Optics & Radiation (UofC PHYS 369) – Civil, Comp, EE, Geo, Mfg, Mechanical, SW
Econ 1109 Engineering Economics (UofC ENGG 209) – all, as a complementary studies elective
Engl 2263 Technical Report Writing (UofC COMS 363) – all, as a complementary studies elective
Math 3101 Numerical Methods (UofC ENGG 407) – Chem, Civil, EE, Geo, Mfg, Mechanical, O&G
Engr 3349 Mechanics II (UofC ENGG 349) – Chem, Civil, Geo, Mfg, Mechanical, O&G
Chem 3357 Organic Chemistry (UofC CHEM 357) – Chem, Mfg, Mechanical, O&G
Math 3309 Vector Calculus (UofC AMAT 309) – Geo
Math 1271 Discrete Mathematics (UofC MATH 271) – Comp, SW
Once you have completed your first year courses, you can take these courses to help round out your schedule
and/or boost your GPA before transferring. One must be careful though, as not all of these courses are required in
all of the departmental programs at the UofC.
One should also note that the UofC actually does two GPA calculations for your transfer. The first is on your last 10
courses. That gets you admitted to the UofC Engineering Faculty. Then they do a second calculation of your last
10 courses that are transferrable to engineering. Usually, these will be the same 10 courses. However, if you try
to boost your GPA with courses that are of no value in engineering, you may increase your chances of getting into
the faculty while at the same time reducing your chances of getting into the department you want.
If you want to transfer to UofC in one year, you take the courses shown above. If you come to the MRU
Engineering Transfer Program with any of these courses, you increase your chances of making the transfer in one
year as you won’t need to take as heavy a course load each term.
If you want to transfer to UofC in two years, the next question you need to answer is … how many courses do you
want to take in the Fall? Generally, you’ll take 3-4 courses instead of 5 (and we don’t count ENGR 1261/1263 as
full courses since they are only 1.0 credit courses). Some courses (e.g. Math 1217) are important to take early
because they become pre-requisites for other important courses. In any event, if you aren’t taking the standard
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first term shown above, then you should make an appointment with the Engineering Advisor to make sure you’re
making good choices for you.
UofC Transfer FAQs
Q. Can I fail a course and still make it to the UofC?
A. Sure, as long as you fail early i.e. as long as it’s not in your last 10 courses. You can make up the failed course in
the next term. It is generally better to withdraw (WD) than to fail a course. You can WD from a course up until
about a month before the course ends.
Q. Can I take a lighter course load than is shown above?
A. Certainly. As long as you plan on being at MRU for at least 2 years.
Q. Who can I talk to at the UofC if I have any questions?
A. The person to talk to at the UofC is Suzanne Dauner (their Engineering Advisor) and she can be reached at 403220-8533 or at dauner@ucalgary.ca.
Q. If I take Spring courses at MRU will they count for the UofC?
A. Yes and no. They will not count towards your admission GPA calculation if you have already applied to the
UofC. However, if you aren’t applying until next year, then yes, they may count in your transfer GPA calculation
if they become part of your “last 10 courses”. In any event, you will always receive credit for having
taken/passed them. The only question is whether they will influence your GPA.
Q. When should I apply to the UofC by?
A. By April 1.
Q. When will I know if I got into the UofC program?
A. Generally by Aug 1.
Q. Does the UofC allow “redos” on courses?
A. If you fail a course or if you get a D and need the course as a pre-requisite for other courses in the future, you
will be expected to redo such a course. However, if you get a C- or higher in a course, you are not allowed to
redo that course and get credit for it.
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Transferring to the University of Alberta
Mount Royal University is one of seven post-secondary institutions within Alberta that offers an official first-year
engineering transfer program from which students can gain admission to one of the discipline-specific degree
programs at the University of Alberta. These programs start in second-year. Students from any of the official
engineering transfer programs are treated in exactly the same way as first-year engineering students at the
University of Alberta in regards to second-year admissions. Each discipline-specific degree program has a limited
number of seats and all admissions are competitive i.e. they are based on a student’s first-year GPA. Eligibility for
this admission competition requires a student to successfully complete enough engineering units of transfer credit
and to be in satisfactory standing. More specifically, if you have completed at least 30.0 engineering units of
transfer credit and if you achieve a GPA of at least 2.0 in your Fall/Winter academic year at MRC, you are assured
acceptance into the UofA Engineering Faculty for the 2 nd year of your engineering degree. However, while a GPA
of at least 2.0 assures your acceptance into the UofA Engineering Faculty, it does not necessarily mean that you
will get into your first choice of department/discipline. That said, in recent years, most of the departments and
programs (e.g. co-op) have been accessible with a 3.0 GPA. The full first-year program for students wishing to
transfer to the University of Alberta is shown below. Students who take less than a full course load will have a
negative adjustment applied to their GPA in the calculation of an admission average.
To be clear, the MRU engineering transfer program to the University of Alberta is a one-year program i.e. you must
complete it in one Fall/Winter academic year. You cannot spread it over two years. Students who find it necessary
to drop courses can maintain their eligibility for admission as long as they successfully complete 30.0 engineering
units of these courses (not counting ENGR 1261 and ENGR 1263). The UofA’s transfer philosophy is to test your
ability to handle the heavy workload that will be required of you when you attend the UofA, and to have you
compete on a level playing field with every other student (UofA or transfer) that seeks a second-year admission.
Fall Term
ENGR 1261 - Orientation to the Engineering Profession I (UofA ENGG 100 = 1.0 UofA Credit Units)
PHYS 2130 - Wave Motion, Optics and Sound
(UofA PHYS 130 = 3.8 UofA Credit Units)
MATH 2211/1203 - Linear Algebra for Scientists and Engineers
(UofA MATH 102 = 3.5 UofA Credit Units)
MATH 1217 - Calculus for Engineers and Scientists I
(UofA MATH 100 = 4.0 UofA Credit Units)
CHEM 2209 - General Chemistry for Engineers
(UofA CHEM 105 = 3.8 UofA Credit Units)
ENGR 1205 - Mechanics I
(UofA ENGG 130* = 4.0 UofA Credit Units)
= a total of 19.1 UofA Credit Units (not including ENGR 1261)
Winter Term
ENGR 1263 - Orientation to the Engineering Profession II (UofA ENGG 101 = 1.0 UofA Credit Units)
ENGR 1233 - Computing for Engineers I
(UofA ENCMP 100 = 3.8 UofA Credit Units)
MATH 1219 - Multivariable Calculus for Engineers
(UofA MATH 101 = 3.5 UofA Credit Units)
CHEM 2210 - Behaviour of Liquids, Gases & Solids
(UofA CHEM 103 = 4.3 UofA Credit Units)
ENGR 3349 - Mechanics II
(UofA ENPH 131* = 4.3 UofA Credit Units)
Complementary Studies Course
(3.0 UofA Credit Units)**
= a total of 18.9 UofA Credit Units (not including ENGR 1263)
Please see the Academic Calendar (available at the bookstore or on
http://www.mtroyal.ca/AcademicSupport/AcademicCalendar/index.htm) for pre- and co-requisites for each course.
* The combination of MRC's ENGR 1205 and ENGR 3349 is equivalent to the combination of UofA's ENGG 130 and ENPH
131. If only one is completed, you receive credit for only one of ENGG 130 or ENPH 131.
** Choices at MRU currently include Econ 1101 (UofA Econ 101), Econ 1103 (UofA Econ 102), Geog 1103 (UofA Eas 191),
Ling 1111 (UofA Ling 101), Phil 1179 (UofA Phil 120), Psyc 1105 (UofA Psyc 104), and Slgy 1101 (UofA Soc 100). MRC’s
English 1131 (Introduction to Fiction) and English 1135 (Introduction to Poetry) are also acceptable choices.
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MRU offers two other courses which provide engineering transfer credit at the University of Alberta: Math 3307
Differential Equations (UofA MATH 201 = 3.5 UofA Credit Units) and Econ 1109 Engineering Economics (UofA
ENGM 310 or ENGM 401 = 3.0 UofA Credit Units). These are only taken at MRC in special circumstances, under
the guidance of the MRC and/or UofA Engineering Advisor. Econ 1109 has no pre-requisite but Math 3307 does
have Math 1219 as a pre-requisite.
If you come to the MRU Engineering Transfer Program with one of the courses from the engineering transfer
program, we will make efforts to substitute Econ 1109 into your schedule in place of the course you already have.
If you come to the MRU Engineering Transfer Program with more than two of the courses shown above, we may
be able to incorporate another complementary studies course into your program in addition to adding in Math
3307 and Econ 1109. However, the ability to include such changes into your schedule cannot be assured due to
potential scheduling conflicts.
UofA Transfer FAQs
Q. Can I fail a course or withdraw from one and still make it to the UofA?
A. Yes, if your overall GPA including the failed course is above 2.0 and you have successfully completed 30.0
engineering units of transfer credit (excluding ENGR 1261/1263 and the failed course). You can make up the
failed course in the Spring term, if it is offered, or you can make up the failed course at the University of Alberta.
Q. Can I take a lighter course load than is shown above?
A. Yes, but there are two considerations. Eligibility for admission requires that you have successfully completed at
least 30.0 engineering units of transfer credit (not including ENGR 1261 and 1263). If the total number of
engineering units attempted (not including ENGR 1261 and 1263) falls below 37.0, your GPA will be adjusted
down by 0.05 for every unit below 37.0 in the calculation of your admission average.
Q. Do I have to meet any particular English requirements for the UofA?
A. You come to MRU having English 30 or its equivalent. With one exception, all of the UofA engineering degree
programs include one English course. MRU’s Engl 1131 or Engl 1135, either of which can be taken in the Winter
term at MRU, will satisfy this requirement.
Q. Who can I talk to at the UofA if I have any questions?
A. The person to talk to at the University of Alberta is Doug Clark (their Engineering Advisor) and he can be
reached at 780-492-3399 or at doug.clark@ualberta.ca.
Q. If I take Spring courses at MRU will they count for the UofA?
A. Yes and no. They will not count towards your GPA used for UofA admissions. However, if you successfully
complete courses from our engineering transfer program, you will receive the transfer credit. Spring courses can
also be used to raise the total engineering units completed to reach the 30.0 required for admission eligibility.
Q. When should I apply to the UofA by, and when will I know whether I got into UofA Engineering?
A. By May 1, and generally by August 1, respectively.
Q. Does the UofA allow “redos” on courses?
A. If you get a D or an F in a UofA transfer course at MRC, you will need to take that course again either here or
later at the UofA. If you retake the course here, UofA will still only look at your initial D or F for GPA calculations
but they will accept the transfer credit if you get a C- or better on the second try (for example, in the Spring
term). If you wish to repeat a course in which you got a grade of C- or higher, again, the UofA will only look at
the original mark and you will not get another transfer credit for the second try since you’ll already have credit
from the first try.
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