Schulich School of Engineering

Schulich School of Engineering
Name	Schulich School of Engineering
Established	1965
Type	Faculty of Engineering
Parent	University of Calgary
Location	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Dean	Philip S. Jardine
Students	approx. 6,000

Schulich School of Engineering is the engineering faculty of the University of Calgary located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The school offers undergraduate and graduate programs across multiple engineering disciplines and maintains research institutes, industry partnerships, and student organisations. It is named for philanthropist Seymour Schulich following a major gift, and it contributes to regional energy, infrastructure, and technological innovation through teaching and research.

History

The school traces its origins to engineering courses delivered at the University of Calgary campus expansion in the 1960s and formal establishment as a faculty in 1965, contemporaneous with provincial development projects such as the Trans-Canada Pipeline era and the growth of the Alberta oil sands industry. Major milestones include naming after Seymour Schulich in 2007 following a transformational endowment, curriculum expansion during the technology boom associated with firms like Suncor Energy and Canadian Natural Resources Limited, and infrastructure development aligned with initiatives from the City of Calgary and Government of Alberta. Over decades the faculty has engaged in partnerships with institutions including Natural Resources Canada, Alberta Innovates, and multinational corporations such as Schlumberger and Honeywell.

Academic programs

The school administers professional degrees including the Bachelor of Science in Engineering, concurrent and dual degrees with institutions like Haskayne School of Business and interdisciplinary programs linked to the Cumming School of Medicine. Undergraduate offerings span traditional disciplines such as Civil engineering, Mechanical engineering, Electrical engineering, Chemical engineering, Petroleum engineering, and emergent programs in Software engineering and Biomedical engineering. Graduate programs lead to Master of Engineering, Master of Science, and PhD degrees, with thesis and coursework pathways often supervised jointly with institutes like the Owerko Centre and collaborators at McGill University and University of British Columbia. Accreditation aligns with professional bodies such as Engineers Canada and provincial regulatory authorities exemplified by Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.

Research and institutes

Research activities are organized through centres and institutes addressing energy, materials, systems, and biomedical applications. Notable entities include the Schulich School of Engineering-affiliated centres (names omitted by constraint), collaborative units working with national labs such as CanmetENERGY and research networks like Mitacs. Research themes intersect with companies and projects such as Cenovus Energy, Pembina Pipeline Corporation, and technology initiatives associated with TELUS and Calgary Economic Development. Faculty secure funding from agencies including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, producing outputs cited alongside conferences hosted by organizations such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and American Society of Civil Engineers.

Campus and facilities

Facilities occupy multiple buildings on the University of Calgary campus, with laboratories, fabrication shops, and field-testing sites supporting collaborations with industry partners including Boeing and General Electric. Dedicated spaces include computer clusters, cleanrooms, wind tunnels, geotechnical centrifuges, and high-bay workshops used by student teams and research groups linked with initiatives such as Creative Destruction Lab and incubators affiliated with Platform Calgary. The campus connects to regional infrastructure projects involving the Calgary International Airport corridor and municipal research collaborations with Alberta Health Services and urban development programs.

Student life and organisations

Student governance and extracurricular engineering culture are expressed through entities such as the Engineers Without Borders (Canada), discipline-specific societies, and design teams that compete in events like Formula SAE, Canadian Engineering Competition, and Solar Decathlon. Student groups collaborate with charitable and professional organisations including IEEE Student Branch, Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta student chapters, and entrepreneurial clubs that liaise with Venture Alberta and accelerators such as Creative Destruction Lab Rockies. Activities include outreach to schools in partnership with Science Alberta Foundation and participation in regional hackathons and conferences such as Calgary Innovation Forum.

Notable faculty and alumni

Faculty and alumni have taken leadership roles across academia, industry, and government with ties to organizations including Department of National Defence (Canada), Canadian Space Agency, TransAlta Corporation, ATCO, Imperial Oil, and universities such as University of Toronto and McMaster University. Distinguished individuals have received awards from bodies like the Royal Society of Canada and lead projects in areas connected to Syncrude, Nova Chemicals, and national energy strategy discussions. Alumni occupy executive positions at multinational firms such as Shell plc and ExxonMobil and hold academic chairs at institutions including University of Waterloo and Queen's University.

Category:University of Calgary Category:Engineering schools in Canada