Program Guide
The best place to start your engineering degree
At Saint Mary’s, we offer the first two years of the Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) degree. After finishing your first two years of engineering at Saint Mary’s, you graduate with a Diploma in Engineering and have several options for continued study:
- Guaranteed acceptance to Dalhousie University to complete years three & four of the BEng program
- Completion of a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree here at Saint Mary’s (only one additional year of study)
Diploma in Engineering at Saint Mary’s
Students wishing to obtain a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Nova Scotia must finish their degree at Dalhousie University. However, you can complete the first two years of the BEng degree at several different universities throughout the province. So, why come to Saint Mary’s for the first two years of your BEng degree? There are lots of reasons:
Enjoy small class sizes, and get one-on-one help from your professors
Starting your BEng degree at other universities, you might find yourself in classes of 300+ students, where one-on-one time with your professors just isn’t possible. At Saint Mary’s, we limit enrolment in most engineering courses to 40 students maximum. Our small class sizes mean that we can give every student personalized attention. You’ll get to know your professors and all of the students in your classes on a first-name basis. Need extra help or want an extra challenge? Your professors are ready to help.
Engage in hands-on learning experiences
At Saint Mary’s, we recognize that hands-on learning is crucial to offering an excellent engineering education. That’s why we're striving to develop hands-on design projects and laboratories for each of the engineering courses we offer. Disassemble and rebuild common household devices in Design I. Build robots and compete against your classmates in Design II. Test the strength of structures you’ve designed and built in Deformable Bodies. Our small class sizes allow us to offer educational experiences you won’t get elsewhere.
Study on a great, student-centred campus
Our Saint Mary’s campus is an oasis in the heart of the city. Move from class to class to residence through our interconnected buildings without having to brave the outdoor elements. Have lunch with your friends and classmates at the famous Gorsebrook Lounge. Watch a football game at the Huskies Stadium. Have a coffee and chat with friends below our indoor green wall in the airy, sunlit tranquillity of the Atrium. Finish your day with a yoga class at the Homburg Centre, or go for a run with our Engineering Running Club. Read a book or nap beneath a towering oak tree in the quiet, peaceful Oaks park. You can do it all without ever having to cross streets or battle traffic in our self-contained city block campus.
Live in the vibrant, friendly, action-packed city of Halifax
Like live music? We have that. Want a great variety of multicultural cafes, restaurants, and bars? We have lots of those, too. How about visiting our Seaport Farmers’ Market, watching cricket or baseball on the Halifax Commons, relaxing at our award-winning Central Library, shopping at a plethora of unique boutique stores downtown, going skating on the Oval, or having a picnic and lounging seaside in Point Pleasant Park? It’s all within walking distance on our beautiful Halifax peninsula. Want to stretch your legs? We have great outdoor activities only minutes away. Take surf lessons at Lawrencetown Beach, hike the rugged, granite coastline at Duncan’s Cove, or cycle seaside along the Purcell’s Cove Rd to our white sand Crystal Crescent Beach. With so much to do and the friendliest people you’ll find just about anywhere, there’s really no better place to live.
Completion of BEng at Dalhousie University
After completion of your Diploma of Engineering at Saint Mary’s, you are guaranteed acceptance to Dalhousie University where you can complete the third and fourth years of your Bachelor of Engineering degree. You can also choose Dalhousie’s co-operative education (co-op) option, which usually extends the BEng degree by a year but gives you a full year of engineering work experience before you graduate.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 (co-op) |
| Saint Mary's | Dalhousie | |||
Degrees earned: Diploma in Engineering (Saint Mary’s), Bachelor of Engineering (Dalhousie)
Dalhousie offers the following engineering specializations:
- Chemical engineering
- Civil engineering
- Electrical and Computer engineering
- Environmental engineering
- Industrial engineering
- Mechanical engineering
Completion of BSc at Saint Mary’s
After completion of your Diploma in Engineering, a single additional year of study at Saint Mary's can earn you a Bachelor of Science degree.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
| Saint Mary's | ||
Degrees earned: Diploma in Engineering (Saint Mary’s), Bachelor of Science (Saint Mary’s)
You can also choose to complete an extended Bachelor of Science degree with a Major in the science of your choice (math, physics, biology, etc.). Including the Diploma in Engineering, this option usually takes four years instead of three.