Undergraduate Program Renewal

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Report summary | FAQ | Timeline | Next steps + how to get involved | Oversight committee | Contact

In 2024, the Faculty of Engineering Program Renewal Working Group was formed to review and make recommendations on the undergraduate program with the goal to enhance student experience, strengthen our program’s competitiveness and improve the career-readiness of our graduates. The working group led a comprehensive program review process to gather insights from students, staff, faculty and industry advisors.

Their findings and recommendations were presented as a report to the Engineering Faculty Council and received endorsement in October 2025.

Read the Program Renewal Report Summary

Starting in 2026, the working group will explore the recommendations in the report with student, staff, faculty and industry input. The group will facilitate a series of workshops, surveys, town halls and new committees to begin the work of designing a new first-year engineering program that will be piloted in fall 2026 and fully implemented in fall 2027.

Key report learnings

  • Student feedback tells us students are expecting more program flexibility and choice, a more manageable workload, and more opportunities for experiential learning and employability skills development.
  • Industry Advisory Councils recommend program changes to improve the career-readiness of graduates including stronger competence in project management, communications, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, and emerging software tools.

Guiding principles for program renewal

Flexibility

Student-Centered Learning

Career-Ready Graduates

Report recommendations for consideration

  • Update the common core to achieve a more balanced student workload and modernized courses
  • Introduce a design spine: A design course in each academic year
  • Introduce more electives: Give students agency in their education 
  • Hybrid entry with students admitted to either “direct entry” in Year 1 or through “general entry” to a particular program in Year 2
  • Improved focus on recognizing and rewarding teaching commitment and excellence
  • A more engineering-centric first year with new integrated courses for delivering complementary content in a manner clearly linked to engineering and developing the graduate attributes

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FAQ

Why does Engineering need to renew its programs now?
Our consultations revealed opportunities to better meet the needs of both students and industry. The U of A Engineering program must respond to changing expectations and needs to remain competitive among other post-secondary institutions and produce the best and brightest engineers.
How will this affect current students?
The proposed changes will be implemented beginning in the first year, meaning that there should be no effect on students currently enrolled in Engineering. Current students will not be required to take any additional courses or to fulfill additional requirements in order to graduate.
How will this affect faculty?
The program renewal poses an exciting opportunity for engineering faculty to provide input to strengthen the current curriculum and foster an environment for students to thrive. They will be encouraged to participate in consultation activities and will be key to the design, implementation and evaluation of the new program.
How will this affect staff?
Our staff are the backbone of the Faculty of Engineering and on the frontlines serving our students and faculty. They will be encouraged to participate in consultation activities and will be key to the implementation and evaluation of the new program.
How will this affect other faculties who co-deliver programs with Engineering?
As we work through the updated program design, we will work with other faculties to clarify what impacts this might have on their roles.

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2025-2031 Timelines

2025-28
Program Renewal Oversight Committee
Project + change management
AI Task Force
Advise on pedagogy, develop supports
2026-28
Program-Level Working Groups
Start to outline plan for their renewed program in consultation with faculty, students + staff
F2026
Limited first year pilot integrated courses in U of A Foundations Program
F2027
Renewed first year starts
F2028
Renewed programs start for second year students
F2031
First graduates of the renewed programs

Subject to change as the initiative progresses

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Next steps + how to get involved

Jan 2026: Define Learning Outcomes

In fall 2025, we offered six workshops engaging over 50 Faculty of Engineering instructors. We are currently compiling the data gathered and plan to validate it with a follow-up survey in January. Engineering instructors can expect this survey in their inbox in Jan. 2026. The next step will be to use the input to define the renewed program learning outcomes that will guide our curriculum development and set our programs apart from other engineering schools.

Dec 2025 - Jan 2026: First-year Workshops

We are holding a series of workshops for a group of 12 faculty members and instructors to discuss the first three terms of the engineering program using the Program Renewal Working Group Report as the baseline for discussions. The groups will discuss topics taught, high level course structure, and the culture of the first three terms of the renewed programs.

Jan 2026 -Sept 2027: Detailed Common Core Course Design (Including Pilot)

Once the high level course structure is established, we can start detailed course design for the common core. We have the opportunity to offer the proposed first year integrated courses to a limited group of students as part of the U of A’s new Foundations Program starting in September 2026. Though much of the course content is yet to be determined, we would like to start recruiting for the detailed course design of these new integrated courses. To complete the detailed design for these courses, under the guidance of the Program Renewal Oversight Committee, we are seeking Expressions of Interest. If you are a current faculty member or instructor interested in being involved, please email Steve Dew ( steven.dew@ualberta.ca) or Sean Sanders ( ssanders@ualberta.ca) to indicate your areas of interest. This work will be done collaboratively using a design process in small teams.

Early 2026-Sept 2028: Program Implementation Committees

Building on the updated first three terms will be renewed disciplinary programs for Years 2 through graduation. For most engineering departments, there will be one Program Implementation Committee for each program. These committees are responsible for developing program-specific outcomes and designing a program to meet these outcomes and the recommendations outlined in the program renewal report.

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The Program Renewal Oversight Committee

The Program Renewal Oversight Committee is an ad hoc body established to guide and support the implementation of the Program Renewal Working Group’s recommendations, particularly the proposed common core curriculum. The Program Renewal Oversight Committee’s focus is on determining how to implement the changes. It operates within existing authority structures and approval processes.

Members

Steve Dew
Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Sean Sanders
Professor, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering

Nicole Wilson
Academic Programs Manager, Faculty of Engineering

Pierre Mertiny
Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs), Faculty of Engineering, and Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Samer Adeeb
Chair and Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering and the School of Mining & Petroleum Engineering

John Doucette
Chair and Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering Ivan Fair, Vice Dean, Faculty of Engineering

Questions or feedback?

Please reach out to Steve Dew (steven.dew@ualberta.ca) or Sean Sanders (ssanders@ualberta.ca).

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