Engineering Science: International Year One (ELC Pathway Entry)

How do you reach an engineering degree when your English is not yet at university level? Start with the ELC-FIC Pathway, a 16-week, full-time English course from SFU English Language and Culture, then continue into Engineering Science, International Year One (UTP Stage II) at FIC in Burnaby. Three terms of first-year engineering follow the English stage.

ELC classes focus on group conversation, interaction with teachers and practical English, and in the second term of that programme you take the FIC Language Assessment Test. Then comes engineering: programming in CMPT130, calculus in MATH151 and MATH152, linear algebra in MATH232, studio physics in PHYS140 and PHYS141, and technical communication in ENSC105, which looks at process, form and convention in professional genres. Those scoring under 26 on the FIC Math Check start with the Engineering Science Fundamentals Program.

FIC follows SFU course outlines and uses SFU-approved teaching staff. A CGPA of 2.40 is required by your second term to continue, and 2.67 over ten courses, none below C-, guarantees you a move into year two of an SFU engineering programme: Engineering Science, Mechatronic Systems or Sustainable Energy. Three full-time co-op placements with pay form part of every SFU engineering degree.

After graduating, you could work as a hardware design engineer, sustainable energy engineer, systems engineer, research and development engineer, electrical engineering technologist or engineering physicist. The ELC route suits students with good maths and science results who need a focused English stage before starting technical study, and who are comfortable with a slightly longer overall timeline. Paid co-op terms later help turn classroom theory into workplace experience.