THE FACULTY
DICLAIMER
The information on this website is not official to Queen’s University. Rather, it’s advice and opinions given from various upper years. Consult the Faculty’s official website for more up-to-date and accurate information.
WHAT IS THE FACULTY AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?
In my way of describing things, the Faculty of Smith Engineering is essentially all of the professors, lecturers, and other academic staff who are employed by the university. The faculty is typically usually responsible for teaching, conducting research, and providing academic guidance to students.
While the faculty is mostly academic based, there are many involvement opportunities for first years that you should look into! I had great experiences with the faculty and would highly recommend getting involved.
MENTORSHIP
QSuccess is a Queen’s-wide mentorship program for first years. This program is not engineering specific, so I find that there is slightly less emphasis on the eng life, and more emphasis on Queen’s life in general. To me, these mentors are great for developing academic study habits and help you prep to get involved in great extracurriculars.
QSUCCESS
As a part of the QSuccess program, the International Student Mentor Program is a great place to meet other international upper-year students. It’s is dedicated to help first year engineering international students with academics, the Queen’s life, and the cultural transition. Upper years have said that students tend to work directly with an upper year engineering student. They also run great events throughout the year! Learn more through the link below:
QSUCCESS - INTERNATIONAL MENTOR
Image sourced from Ideogram
PRO TIP: MAKE SURE TO ATTEND THE FACULTY’S CAREER FAIRS AND DISCIPLINE NIGHTS.
CAREER
RESOURCES
Engineers can do pretty much anything… I’ve seen people go into banking, consulting, law, medicine, entrepreneurship, energy, construction, oil & gas… and pretty much everything you can think of. That’s because, to me, engineering is a way of thinking; people want you for your analytical skills and your ability to solve complex/technical problems with a very logical approach.
Reaching out to the Faculty’s career resources is (in my humble opinion) a great way to explore what your options are and knowing where to start. Career advisors, career fairs, and other resources can help you with your professional development and know where to start for job searching. Visit the official website at the link below for more information:
SCHOLARSHIPS
Every year, the Faculty offers scholarships for current students. My biggest piece of advice is: APPLY.
You’ll have to check your emails and visit the website for official information about the scholarships (I’ve attached the link below). From what I’ve seen, many students will skip out on these scholarships because they don’t have time to fill out the application or they don’t feel that they are qualified enough to apply. In reality, many students can receive scholarships and the application process can help you recognize your strengths, work on your resume, and improve your communication skills.
Make sure to budget lots of time for these applications; you’ll procrastinate applications due to tests and midterms, so starting early can really make a difference.
I found that getting involved with school activities also helped when writing the application. I also noticed certain scholarships asked for academic achievements, but not all of them necessitate that. I think there’s a scholarship out there for everyone to apply to, so make sure you’re submitting your application!
When I was looking at undergrad programs in grade 12, I remember some people telling me to “go into any engineering program because you like math and science.” While that’s true to a certain extent, I feel like the term “engineering” encompasses a lot of career paths, and you can’t just group them into “math and science.” For example, you can’t really say that Computer and Geological Engineering are the same thing because they’re both “math and science.”
All of that rambling to say: make sure you pick your discipline carefully. The Faculty will host lots of great events to help you make your decision. In my year, we had a lot of discipline nights and mentors to help guide us with our choice!
A great place to start looking for info is on the Smith Engineering website. I’ve attached the link below so that you can start exploring!
Talking to upper years (your FRECs!!!) is another way to hear about the decision making process. While they are excellent mentors for navigating all the activities for each discipline, keep in mind that they’re only in second/third year, so sometimes I find it’s better to talk to TAs or soon-to-be-graduating students to hear more about the QUIP/jobs/grad school opportunities that people have taken on in each discipline.
DISCIPLINES
MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES
For me, first year was one of the hardest, most intense, most fun, and most important parts of my life. Managing various elements of the program, like meeting new people, doing well in classes, and getting involved with the culture can be really difficult.
Multiple mental health resources called EngWell, made specifically for engineering students, are available on Smith Engineering’s website. If you’re wanting to seek help, resources, or involvement opportunities, please check out what the EngWell platform has to offer. I find it’s genuinely so easy to navigate and find what I need: