COTR signs engineering program agreement with UVIC

Fourth year mechanical engineering students Ian Welle (right) and Willem Brussow (left) demonstrate a CNC milling machine at the February 20th Engineering Open House at the University of Victoria.

College of the Rockies signed an engineering program block transfer agreement with the University of Victoria on February 20, 2013, which allows students who complete COTR’s one-year full-time engineering certificate program to block transfer all of their COTR year one credits to UVIC and be on a level playing field with UVIC students for entry into year two of UVIC’s engineering program.

College of the Rockies dean of instruction, Darrell Bethune said, “Starting immediately College of the Rockies’ engineering certificate students will receive full credit for first-year engineering at the University of Victoria, and better yet, will be on equal footing with UVIC students for competitive admission into year two.”

The COTR engineering certificate meets the first-year requirements of all UVIC engineering streams except software engineering. COTR students can enter software engineering by taking an additional computer science course at UVIC after they transfer.

Dr. LillAnne Jackson, associate dean of undergraduate programs at UVIC, is proud of the unique program offered at the university.

“Part of what makes University of Victoria’s engineering program different from other universities is the co-op experience we offer,” said Jackson. “All engineering students participate in four full terms of paid co-op work in jobs related to their degree. This gives them practical work experience by the time they graduate.”

“Undergraduate engineering students optionally participate in international design competitions designing, for example, an ‘EcoCar’ and a satellite. UVIC teams have placed extremely well in recent competitions. Other attractive features of our program are a sustainability focus and research innovations relating to clean technology,” Jackson continued.

“This is a terrific opportunity for students to begin their engineering education at College of the Rockies with smaller class sizes and more personal instruction,” Bethune said.

For more information on the College of the Rockies’ Engineering certificate, call (250) 489-2751 ext. 3243 or go to cotr.bc.ca.