Bachelor of Engineering in Biological Engineering

at University of Guelph Canada

The Bachelor of Bio-Resource Management (B.B.R.M) program is Canada's first degree program to offer a specialization in equine management. The unique program combines learning the biology, physiology and behaviour of horses with developing competencies in handling horses and knowledge of the economic and managerial aspects of the equine industry. It features a hands-on approach to managing horses and provides a solid foundation in business principles and ethics with a focus on the environment and sustainability.

Explore the music, literature, cinema, art and politics of France, Quebec and the Francophone world. Do an internship teaching French in a local school, contribute to international research or support organizations in need of translation services. Exercise your knowledge in a small classroom environment, spend a semester in France and become bilingual and acquire intercultural skills.

Sample Careers:

• Communication officer
• Language editor
• French teacher
• Technical writer

Water Resources Engineering focuses on the use and management of land and water resources in rural and urban watersheds.

A growing population and the need for clean water demands Water Resources Engineers to develop solutions that are environmentally sustainable and economically viable.  Water Resources Engineering combines elements of other disciplines such as civil engineering, environmental engineering, agriculture, planning and geography in a unique combination ideally suited to address society's concerns and needs surrounding water.

Students design and develop creative solutions to protect groundwater, soil, wetlands, streams and lakes to ensure that the development of new water supplies not disrupt natural processes.  Students learn to apply engineering analysis and computer models to identify water resources problems and design engineering solutions to these challenges.

Co-op
The Co-op program in Water Resources Engineering is a five year program, including five work terms. Students must complete a Fall, Winter and Summer work term and must follow the academic work schedule as outlined below.

To be eligible to continue in the Co-op program, students must meet a minimum 70% cumulative average requirement after second semester, as well as meet all work term requirements. Please refer to the Co-operative Education program policy with respect to work term performance grading, work term report grading and program completion requirements.

Explore the powerful inner workings of the human mind, how it works and how it affects behaviour. Analyze the emotions and motivations of individuals and groups. You'll gain a broad understanding of psychological theory and methodology including courses in research methodology, social psychology, cognitive psychology and behavioural neuroscience. Learn what makes us human and how the principles of psychology can be used to improve life.

The Marine and Freshwater Biology major capitalizes on Guelph’s recognized excellence in aquatic research and provides a broad perspective on aquatic environments based on the physical as well as the biological sciences. In this major, students will build upon core courses in ecology, evolution, genetics, and physiology of aquatic biota as they study freshwater and marine environments and work with aquatic organisms experimentally in the field and in the lab. They will have the opportunity to perform independent research projects under a variety of field and laboratory conditions to enhance their learning experience. The major prepares students for post-graduate work in the aquatic sciences, and provides a sound scientific background for students wishing to pursue careers in academia, government service, private sector (e.g., NGOs, fisheries, aquaculture, biotechnology, consulting), conservation, education and research.

Plant science is the study of the intricacies of plant diversity, growth and development, plant-environment interactions, advances in molecular biology, and the wide variety of economic uses for plants.

Explore the intricacies of plants through the study of their diversity, growth, development, environmental interactions, and various economic uses. Gain knowledge of advances in molecular biology, plant ecology, systematics, physiology, botany, genetics, agriculture, ethnobotany and biotechnology. Opportunities exist for hands-on experience in labs, field courses and individual research projects, and access to an active herbarium, special growth facilities and a renowned arboretum. Become a leader in the field of plant science and contribute to society's need for the efficient production of healthy foods and improved environmental management.

Learning Outcomes
You can expect to learn how to:

• Demonstrate knowledge in mechanisms related to the molecular, biochemical, physiological, organismal and ecological levels of plant organization from systems-based approaches
• Demonstrate knowledge in the fundamental vegetative, reproductive and genetic attributes of plants
• Demonstrate knowledge in the ecological interaction of plants with biotic and abiotic factors in natural and agricultural systems
• Demonstrate knowledge in plant diversity and genetic variability and their relationship to evolution, speciation and adaptation
• Demonstrate knowledge in the role of plants and their improvement to impact global, cultural and societal issues

CTS offers a unique and flexible path to explore the role of culture and creativity in an increasingly digital world, using various technologies as part of the process. It emerges from the understanding that technology is inextricably linked to human experience, culture, and society. CTS courses tackle the complex relationships among power, knowledge, digital cultures, the representation of data, and the ethical questions surrounding the development, application, and accessibility of technologies. CTS students learn to intervene in and contribute to the contemporary world as agile creators, curators, communicators, and citizens.

In addition to completing the Bachelor of Arts with a Major in CTS, you can add an optional Areas of Emphasis in: Performance, Making & Design | Storytelling & Public Humanities |  Power, Identities, & Equity.  Each emphasis curates a unique set of courses that will allow you to apply and explore digital methods in a way that is meaningful to you. These may inspire interest in a specific career path, further research, or allow you to combine your studies in CTS with another subject (Minor or Double-Major).

Performance, Making & Design
Students in this area of emphasis learn to integrate their knowledge from core CTS classes into a variety of methods of making, creating, and performance.
Using digital technologies, students explore everything from printmaking to 3D design, from podcasting to the production of digital music. Students in this area develop skills in critique and creation: they learn to develop digital projects in a range of contexts while also developing a critical vocabulary by which to articulate the goals and achievements of the things they make.

Storytelling & Public Humanities
Students in this area of emphasis focus on the relationship between digital culture, data, public discourse, and narrative.
Analyze digital forms of storytelling from a variety of perspectives while also thinking critically about how narrative can be used to publicly disseminate knowledge. Investigate a range of digital forms of storytelling including podcasts, video games, and electronic literature. Seize opportunities to develop projects using emerging, digital technology to tell stories. In addition to thinking about how technology transforms ideas of narrative—what is a digital text and how can we read one—students also engage with the public on projects related to history, public discourse, and community work.

Power, Identities & Equity
Students in this area of emphasis focus on the intersection of identities such as gender, sexuality, race, class, (dis)ability and Indigeneity as they are reimagined in digital culture and by digital technology.
Both investigations of the past and analyses of power and difference in the present provide an important framework for understanding the role and potential of technologies. Students in this area of emphasis learn how to frame analysis of digital artifacts, digital production of knowledge, and exploration of modes of civic engagement to bring considerations of equity and diversity to the fore.

Biological and Pharmaceutical Chemistry is a fascinating interdisciplinary area of growth. Located at the interface of chemistry and biology, this discipline brings opportunities to combine the powers of chemistry with exciting developments in biology.

This major combines the University of Guelph’s strength in the biological sciences whilst maintaining a strong chemistry-oriented understanding of the molecular basis for biological structure and function. At the University of Guelph, Learning Centres are staffed by teaching assistants to support students in addition to classes sizes in modern, well-equipped laboratories. U of G is well known for the breadth of its biological science programs, and students can avail themselves of the opportunity to take biology courses in a number of areas as part of the Biological and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Program. All students graduate with exceptional laboratory experience in analytical instrumental laboratories and exploring molecular structures with the undergraduate nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer.

Students take an integrated MATH and PHYS course in first year along with the chemistry and biology taken by other science students. Second through fourth year, students take courses that focus on organic synthesis and analytical tools of relevance to both chemistry and biology. The major provides an option in third year to select hands-on training in pharmaceutical analysis, pharmacology and applied toxicology biopharmaceuticals through Seneca College.

Learning Outcomes
You can expect to learn how to:

• Gather, critically assess, and utilize primary scientific literature to research a topic
• Evaluate the limitations of and troubleshoot experimental approaches.
• Demonstrate advanced, contemporary and relevant knowledge in chemistry
• Demonstrate knowledge of the environmental, health implications of scientific discovery and technological innovation.
• Work safely and effectively in the laboratory to generate reproducible and reliable results
• Conduct research effectively and reliably with relevant computational tools and modern chemical instrumentation

In Psychology, human behaviour and cognition are studied to explore the ways people act as individuals and in groups. You will participate in core areas of research methodology, development, social psychology, learning, perception, cognition, neuropsychology, physiological psychology, personality, psychopathology and organizational behaviour. Throughout your degree, you will gain strong analytical, statistical and research skills. Many undergraduates combine Psychology with studies in another academic area such as Child, Youth & Family, Business, Economics, Consumer Studies, English or Computer Science to gain additional practical and theoretical skills throughout their degree. Guelph’s Psychology major will allow you to gain insights and skills that will serve you well in any career or prepare you for graduate studies. 

WHY CO-OP?
As a co-op student, you will gain relevant work experience, build professional networks and develop essential interpersonal skills needed to succeed in the workplace; all while getting paid and earning your university degree. Guelph’s co-op program is unique due to the exceptional level of support provided, including an inclass preparatory course, a personal connection with a Co-op Coordinator to assist you during the employment process, and access to senior student mentors.

Understanding how we conserve organisms within an ecosystem by understanding the role they play in the ecosystem. 

Wildlife Biology and Conservation focuses on both the ecological and evolutionary factors that influence the sustainability of species and communities and an understanding of how these factors can be used to manage natural systems or species that are at risk or invasive.

The objective of the Wildlife Biology and Conservation major is to provide students with an integrated foundation in three disciplines necessary to understand the origins, interactions, and protection of plant and animal diversity: evolution, ecology, and conservation biology. The Wildlife Biology and Conservation curriculum reflects the current interdisciplinary nature of the study of plant and animal diversity that builds on the depth and breadth of expertise in the Department of Integrative Biology.

This major will provide students with a unique interdisciplinary opportunity to study the causes, consequences, and conservation of plant and animal diversity. There is currently no other major in Canada that explicitly integrates ecology, evolution, and conservation into a 4-year major. This major also builds on the University of Guelph’s long-standing reputation in the areas of biology and natural resources management. Although there are a series of required courses associated with each of the ecology, evolution, and conservation core themes, the major offers a significant amount of flexibility from years 2-4 that allows students to focus on 1 or 2 streams. In their 4th year, students will take a 1.0 credit capstone course (BIOL*4110 Ecological Methods) that focuses on the development and execution of a research problem by building of the different skills students have acquired in each of these streams.

Learning Outcomes
You can expect to learn how to:

• Recognize the origins and current methods of protection of plant and animal diversity.
• Develop detailed knowledge of ecological and evolutionary factors that influence the persistence of species and communities.
• Understand how to manage natural and impacted systems (e.g., invasive species, species at risk) and apply scientific approaches to adaptive management strategies in wildlife conservation.
• Assess the complex interplay between science, socioeconomic factors and public opinion in the forging of public policy decisions and the value of interdisciplinary approaches to understanding complex problems in wildlife biology.
• Gain “hands on” experience in the field working with plants and animals in a variety of ecosystems.