How to Apply to Engineering at McMaster University: Direct Entry to a Specific Engineering Track or the Discovery Track for Fall 2027, a Common First Year, a Required Video Supplementary Application and Flexible Co-op, with Requirements for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, offers its engineering degrees through the Faculty of Engineering. Here is what you need to know for September 2027 entry, based on the Faculty of Engineering and Registrar websites, for domestic applicants (Canadian citizens and permanent residents), international applicants, applicants from China and transfer students. Computer Science (BASc) sits in the Faculty and has its own article on this site.

Note: McMaster’s admissions site (future.mcmaster.ca) does not permit access by the tool we use, and the Undergraduate Calendar is a third-party catalogue system we did not access. This guide therefore does not include provincial or Chinese prerequisite equivalents, English score requirements, the OUAC fee and application deadline, or tuition amounts. Please check the admissions site and the Registrar fee schedule.

1. Programs and how admission works

• Degrees: the Faculty lists Engineering 1 (Bachelor of Engineering, BEng; Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering is BEngBioSci), iBioMed 1 (Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences, jointly with Health Sciences; BEngBME or Honours BHSc), plus Computer Science (BASc) and the Bachelor of Technology with Mohawk College. Engineering & Management and Engineering & Society are five-year options you apply for at the end of first year.
• New for fall 2027: from the fall 2027 entrance class, applicants to Engineering or iBioMed can apply to the Discovery Track and choose a program at the end of the common first year, or apply directly to a specific track, which McMaster calls a “program guarantee” (11 Engineering and 9 iBioMed tracks, with or without co-op). You may rank up to two specific tracks in one application; the alternate is considered only if the first choice is not offered. You cannot rank iBioMed tracks in an Engineering application or the reverse.
• Engineering tracks (2027 page): Chemical, Chemical and Bioengineering, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Engineering Physics, Materials, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Nuclear and Software Engineering, plus the Discovery Track. Some tracks have no iBioMed version (for example Chemical and Bioengineering, Computer, Nuclear).
• Common first year: whatever your track, first year is common and program-specific courses start in second year. Engineering 1 includes Chemistry (CHEM 1E03), Engineering Mathematics (MATH 1ZA3, 1ZB3, 1ZC3), waves/electricity/magnetism (PHYSICS 1E03), mechanics (PHYSICS 1D03), two complementary studies electives and the year-long Cornerstone Design Projects course ENGINEER 1P13.
• Moving into Level II: the admissions FAQ (written for 2026 entry) says Engineering 1 and iBioMed 1 students must maintain a 4.0 GPA on the 12-point scale (about 60–62%). For the Discovery Track, McMaster says students in good standing who complete first year have a place in second year, with the actual program assigned competitively on first-year cumulative GPA, preference and capacity.
• “Free Choice”: applicants with a high enough admission average can be guaranteed their choice of discipline in second year (not for Chemical & Bioengineering or the Management and Society options). The cut-offs listed for fall 2026 are 97% for Engineering 1 and 98.7% for iBioMed 1, changing each year. The 2027 page replaces this with the direct-track guarantee; how the two relate is not explained, so rely on your offer letter and the Faculty.
• Accreditation and licensing: the pages read do not mention CEAB accreditation; the co-op FAQ says co-op experience can count toward PEO certification if you meet the qualifications. CEAB status is not published there; ask the Faculty’s recruitment team.

2. Admission average, prerequisites and the supplementary application

• Average: the fall 2027 page states that applicants need an 87% average and a completed supplementary application to be considered; consideration does not guarantee admission, and high school courses required for admission will not change. (Our Computer Science article quotes the Calendar’s 90% for CS, which is different.)
• Prerequisites: the Faculty site only says required courses do not change; the specific provincial and national equivalents are on the admissions site and not available on the pages we could read. For reference, the internal transfer page for Engineering 1 requires ENG4U, MCV4U (or McMaster MATH 1F03), SCH4U and SPH4U, but that is a transfer condition and not the complete new-applicant requirement.
• Supplementary application (required) for Engineering, iBioMed, Computer Science and BTech; one is enough if you apply to several. It has three video questions (10 seconds to prepare, 2 minutes to answer) and one written question on the Kira Talent platform, with no technical questions; it looks at engagement, collaboration, innovation & creativity and resilience. Questions are not shared in advance and cannot be redone. The fee is CAD 50, paid with your OUAC application. Answers must be entirely your own.
• Supplementary timing: you receive the invitation within 10 business days of submitting OUAC; the final deadline for high school applicants is 28 January 2027, 11:59 p.m. ET. Recommended early dates are 12 November 2026 for OUAC and 26 November for the supplementary application, which may speed review but does not guarantee an earlier offer. The written question time appears as 10 minutes on the page and 7 minutes in the FAQ.
• Offers: two main rounds, early to mid-March and early to mid-May, with no earlier offers; each program is reviewed separately and alternative offers are not sent; the order you rank McMaster on OUAC does not matter. The diploma and required courses must be finished by 30 June.
• Repeated courses: up to two repeats use the highest mark; more than two, or one course three or more times, may require an explanation letter.

3. Domestic applicants (Canadian citizens and permanent residents)

• Route: apply through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC). The base OUAC fee covers up to three programs, and an Engineering or iBioMed application counts as one program whether you rank one or two tracks. We did not visit OUAC; the fee amount is not published on the pages read.
• Ontario and out-of-province students: tuition differs for Ontario residents and “Out of Province” students (Canadian citizens and permanent residents who finished high school outside Ontario); amounts are in the Registrar fee schedule and are not available on the pages read. Prerequisite equivalents are not published there either.
• References and tests: admission itself does not mention reference letters or standardized tests on the pages read; the entrance scholarship application asks for two referees.
• Scholarships: every new student is automatically considered for McMaster Entrance Awards by final admission average (amounts not read). The Faculty’s entrance awards (over CAD 2.5 million on the scholarship page; the FAQ says over CAD 1 million) need one AwardSpring application, due 19 February 2027, 11:59 p.m. ET (references 21 February), and are for students coming from high school. An automatic CAD 3,000 award goes to students with an admission average of 97% (Engineering 1) or 98% (iBioMed 1), domestic and international. The Dean’s Excellence Entrance Scholarship is CAD 7,500 (typically about 94%+), and other named awards of CAD 2,500 to 15,000 ask for 90%+, leadership and references. Research Experience Awards may be included in offers.

4. International applicants

• Requirements: prerequisites, national equivalents, English scores and exemptions are on the McMaster admissions site; the Faculty FAQ tells international applicants to choose “Attending a Secondary School outside Canada” and their country there, and to see the language page. Not available on the pages we could read.
• Transcripts: include a school profile with the grade scale when submitting international transcripts.
• Supplementary application: same as for domestic applicants.
• Deadlines: international application deadlines are not published on the pages read; the supplementary deadline is 28 January 2027.
• Scholarships (for full-time students paying international fees): Award of Excellence CAD 35,000 a year for four years, five available, at least one for a Caribbean student, by AwardSpring application; Dean’s Global Distinction Award CAD 7,500 a year for four years, by application, ten reserved for Caribbean students; Engineering International Scholar Award for Engineering 1, a one-time CAD 10,000, automatic (iBioMed 1 also CAD 10,000). The Registrar says over CAD 20 million is available to international students, ranging from CAD 7,500 to 210,000. Need-based bursaries are open to international students in Level 2 or higher.
• Co-op and work permits: international students have the same access to short and long co-op placements, in Canada or abroad. McMaster lists conditions: a study permit with the on-campus work condition, a letter from McMaster confirming co-op is a program requirement, full-time study, a program of at least six months, and work placement of 50% or less of the program. Policies change, so check Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and McMaster’s international services for the latest.

5. Applicants from China

• Gaokao and Chinese high school requirements: the admissions site has country pages; the Faculty site does not repeat them. Whether gaokao results are considered is not published on the pages we could read. Select the overseas high school option and China on the admissions site.
• Documents and verification: send transcripts with a school profile and grade scale; whether a verification body such as CHSI is required is not published on the pages read.
• A-level, IB and AP: score requirements are on the admissions site, not on the Faculty pages.
• Required supplementary application: three videos and a written question, due 28 January 2027, CAD 50, needing a computer with a webcam and microphone.
• Interviews or country-specific pages from the Faculty: none stated.

6. Timeline

• 12 November 2026: recommended early OUAC submission; 26 November: recommended early supplementary application;
• 28 January 2027: final supplementary application deadline for high school applicants;
• 19 February 2027: Faculty entrance award application (references 21 February);
• Offers in early to mid-March and early to mid-May; finish your diploma and required courses by 30 June;
• The OUAC application deadline is not stated on the pages read; check the admissions site and OUAC.

7. Costs and co-op

• Tuition: the Registrar publishes a 2026–27 undergraduate fee schedule and cost estimator, but the figures are not on the pages we could read. Tuition is charged per unit (a full year is 30 units), and engineering courses carry more units than a typical 3-unit course.
• Co-op is optional for Engineering, iBioMed and Computer Science (mandatory for BTech). The OUAC co-op and non-co-op codes are the same program; do not apply to both. If you did not choose co-op you can opt in by contacting your advisor in August or early September. The co-op designation needs at least 12 months of co-op.
• Structure: four-year engineering allows up to 24 months of co-op (up to 28 months for five-year programs), in 4-, 8-, 12- or 16-month terms. In first year you may only do one four-month term in the spring after Level 1. Typical sequences are spring terms in years 1–3, or spring terms in years 1–2 and a 16-month placement from third-year spring to fourth-year spring. All co-op students take the preparation course ENGINEER 1EE0.
• Co-op fee: the co-op fee page gives two figures: CAD 1,322.10 for the first four-month work term with no further fee, and a table of annual increases reaching CAD 525 per work term from fall 2026. Both appear on the same page; check your Mosaic account and the page itself.

8. Transfer students

• Internal transfer into Engineering 1: first-year only. You need at least 18 units in fall and winter, a cumulative GPA in good standing (no guarantee), and ENG4U, MCV4U (or MATH 1F03), SCH4U and SPH4U, with calculus, chemistry or physics replaceable by McMaster Level I courses. Spaces are limited and requirements must be done by the end of the winter term. Requests open 1 April and close at 11:59 p.m. on 1 June for fall entry only. Other faculties’ courses cannot be used to skip into Level II (iBioMed excepted).
• After acceptance: your transcript is reviewed for transfer credit.
• University and college transfer from outside McMaster: the Faculty site only links to the admissions site, where the conditions are not available on the pages we could read; the supplementary application for upper-level transfer and second-degree applicants is due 15 April 2027, 11:59 p.m. ET and is also required.
• Changing track within the Faculty: possible between Engineering or iBioMed programs depending on space, by competitive cumulative GPA, not guaranteed.

Checklist

Domestic applicants:

• Check your province’s prerequisite courses on the admissions site; aim for at least the 87% average McMaster lists as the consideration threshold
• Apply through OUAC and pick a direct track or the Discovery Track; finish the supplementary application by 28 January; apply for entrance awards by 19 February

International applicants (including China):

• On the admissions site, pick the overseas high school option and your country; check prerequisites, English scores, deadlines and tuition
• Include a school profile and grade scale; finish the supplementary application by 28 January; apply by 19 February for the CAD 35,000 Award of Excellence

Transfer students:

• Internal: submit between 1 April and 1 June with the high school prerequisites; external transfer conditions are on the admissions site, and the supplementary application is due 15 April

Sources: McMaster University, Applying to Mac Eng for 2027; Undergraduate programs and degrees; Engineering 1 common first year; How to apply; Admissions FAQs; Supplementary application; International students and awards; Entrance scholarships; Co-op for international students; Undergraduate co-op; Co-op fees; Program change and transfer requests; Undergraduate fees (Registrar); International student aid (Registrar); McMaster admissions site. Information is for September 2027 entry. The admissions site could not be read, as explained in the text. Check McMaster for the latest details.