Prospective Students

Is Mechanical and Materials Engineering in your future?

Whether you're a high school student planning your university career, or a community college student looking to transfer into our undergraduate program, you'll find that Queen's University Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering has a lot to offer. You can learn more about Queen's University entrance requirements at the admissions web site.

We encourage you to discover the opportunities, challenges and excitement of Mechanical and Materials Engineering (MME), either in our General Option (ME1) or by specializing inthe Materials Option (ME2) or the Biomechanics Option (ME3). MME uses principles of engineering graphics, mathematics, materials, physics and economics to conceive, design, develop, manufacture, operate and maintain processes and devices. MME is the broadest of the engineering disciplines, and is present in every sector of our society (environment, housing, food and water, energy, industry, transportation, education, health care, government).

Is MME for you?

  • Are you interested in how things work?
  • Are you interested in how things are made?
  • Would you like to invent something?
  • Would you like to run your own company or consulting firm one day?
  • Would you like to have an impact on how the world produces and uses energy to do useful things?
  • Would you like to help make the world a better place for everyone?

If you answered yes to some of the above then maybe MME is for you. In a technological world it really helps if you understand how things work.

Career Paths

MME is one of the largest and most diverse Departments in Applied Science at Queen's. MME covers a huge range of career possibilities. If you take an MME degree you can make a career in just about any area or field of our society, including:

  • manufacturing
  • human mobility
  • artificial limbs and organs
  • biomechanics and biomedical
  • environmental protection or remediation
  • automotive
  • aerospace
  • marine
  • rail
  • equipment design and development
  • heavy equipment
  • nano scale machines
  • construction
  • chemical and petrochemical
  • research and development
  • energy and power generation
  • renewable energy
  • oil and gas exploration, production, refining and distribution
  • consulting
  • management
  • marketing
  • business and entrepreneurship

Acquired Skills and Knowledge

Your MME undergraduate degree will give you a solid technical foundation for whatever path you choose. Beyond the undergraduate degree you may choose to study towards a technical specialty in graduate school. An MME degree can be a foundation for many other professional careers including Law, Business, Medicine, Dentistry and others. At the undergraduate level, the Mechanical curriculum provides a foundation in the basic MME skills. This includes:

  • graphical, verbal and written communication
  • critical thinking and problem solving
  • mathematics and computing
  • basic, applied and engineering sciences
  • humanities and social sciences
  • design and manufacturing

The MME Experience

The core program in MME includes technical courses in kinematics and dynamics, design techniques, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, materials, solid mechanics, thermodynamics, machine design, manufacturing methods, instrumentation and measurement, and automatic controls. These courses are supported by a number of laboratory experiences so that students can apply the theory they have learned to real world applications. In addition you will learn to communicate your ideas in various ways including written, visual and verbal presentation.

The upper year curriculum has a large choice of technical electives which introduce students to various applications and specialties. We offer this wide range of technical electives so that students can have a taste of various fields in MME to help them decide what field they would like to enter after graduation. Students may choose to continue on in Graduate School to do advanced study in a specialty. The curriculum is a careful balance between lecture and laboratory based instruction and project based instruction in a team work environment.

There is an emphasis on hands-on learning, beginning with a unique course in machine shop practice and ending with industrially sponsored final year design projects. Students are encouraged to participate in national design competitions in order to broaden their educational experience including the solar design team, the Formula racing car, the Mini Baja all terrain vehicle and the Aerodesign cargo aircraft, and others. If you are wondering if MME is for you then contact us, and maybe we can answer some of your questions.

Head of Department: Dr. Keith Pilkey, P.Eng.

Chair of Undergraduate Studies: Dr. Rick Sellens, P.Eng

Undergraduate Studies Assistant: Ms. Jacquie Brown

The department mailing address, phone and FAX numbers are: Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen's University at Kingston, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6. Phone: (613) 533-2575, FAX: (613) 533-6489