Undergrad Course Information
To see the full list of courses available to ECE undergraduates, go to the Academic Calendar, which also includes all the details pertaining to policies, procedures and fees.
Use the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering timetable to create your course schedule, which displays the day of the week, time, location and instructor for each offered course: Engineering course timetables.
For elective courses from the Faculty of Arts & Science, see the relevant seasonal timetable. Make sure you schedule elective courses around your core ECE requirements: Arts & Science timetable builder.
Thesis Course
For the Thesis Course (ECE499H/Y), the thesis projects are arranged between the student and the supervising faculty member. It is your responsibility to contact one of the faculty members in the ECE department for supervision.
Note: To apply, you must have at least a B+ average in the latest two terms (excluding summer).
The thesis project should have a clear research focus and requires at least four deliverables: a proposal, an interim report, a final thesis document and a final presentation/defence.
These deliverables are used to measure your progress in investigation and communication skills, two of the Engineering Graduate Attributes according to CEAB (Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board) guidelines.
- This is a full-year course (1.0 weight) and may be taken only once.
- For students who wish to continue summer research: You have an option to request approval for a Fall-term course (0.5 weight) from the Undergraduate Associate Chair.
- Whether full-year or half, the course counts only as one Free Elective course in the ECE flexible curriculum (0.5 weight). (Note that for academic calculations such as GPA, it counts as 1.0 weight.)
- You must submit a ECE499 Thesis Enrollment request form (PDF) to the ECE Undergraduate Office one week before the last day to add a course for that academic session.
ECE Iris
ECE Iris is a curriculum visualization tool that helps you see the various connections between courses within our flexible curriculum and the paths your degree may take in your third and fourth years. It's an interactive, user-friendly desktop app with course descriptions presented dynamically by focus area.
Note: The app is not configured for mobile devices.
With ECE Iris, you can also filter your course selection by frequently cited and trending application areas in the field, including:
- Wireless / optical / future communications (5G & 6G)
- Smart grid / renewables / power electronics
- Internet-of-Things (IoT)
- Digital/analog and integrated circuit design
- Robotics / control systems
- Digital health
- Electric / autonomous / connected vehicles
- Quantum computing
- Cybersecurity / privacy / trust in networks
- Human interface technology / biomedical / photonics / displays
- Machine learning and artificial intelligence
- Big data
Available Electives
Elective courses are a way for you to shape your degree to explore and develop your interests. They also allow you to investigate the central issues, thought processes and scholarly methods found in disciplines outside engineering, which complements your Core Courses.
You begin the process of selecting electives in your second year, looking ahead to your third and fourth year. In ECE, you are required to take a certain number of electives in these five groups:
- 2 Complementary Studies (CS)
- 2 Humanities and Social Science (HSS)
- 1 Science/Math
- 3 Technical
- 1 Free
The Faculty has more information about each of these electives as well as a Guide to Taking Arts & Science courses. The Academic Calendar will tell you which electives you need to fulfill your program requirements and give you an overview of the courses available.
Trouble picking an elective?
Contact the ECE Undergraduate Office for guidance with eligibility, scheduling, enrolment restrictions and more.
Ineligible Electives
This is not an exhaustive list, as course codes/descriptions often change. Additional courses deemed ineligible will be added once they are identified.
UTM and UTSC equivalents to the courses listed below are also unacceptable. If you are unsure, ask the Undergraduate Office at askece@utoronto.ca.
Note: The ECE department has a separate list of courses that are ineligible (see below, as of February 2021).