Website: www.unbc.ca/engineering/meng-integrated-wood-design

Wood is the world’s most common and sustainable building material. Known for its aesthetic beauty, durability, and ease of machinability, wood is becoming the leading building material in a new paradigm of sustainable and healthy building practices. Significant renewable wood resources in British Columbia and an international wood culture provide a strong impetus for UNBC, the province, and industrial partners to develop a leading education program centered on sustainable, healthy building practices using wood.

In order to meet the needs of the profession, the Master of Engineering, Integrated Wood Design develops students’ understanding of wood as a versatile and sustainable building component that can be used in applications far beyond what could be achieved using concrete and steel. Students investigate wood at the micro and macro levels and explore the science and art of designing and building wood structures.

The one-year interdisciplinary Master’s program is built on four main pillars:

1. Wood Mechanics and Timber Structures: Students gain a deep understanding of wood. Starting with an understanding of the supply chain, students come to appreciate the sustainable nature of wood, its unique structure, its living nature, and its strengths and weaknesses, in relationship to other commonly used building materials.
    
2. Hands-on Experience: The only way to experience wood is to work with it, as it is one of the most complex building materials. Students build small-scale structures to explore the versatility and complexity of wood structures. Community or industry internships may be included.
    
3. Team Work: At the core of successful design teams is the ability to communicate effectively and integrate different points of view. Students undertaking this program are immersed in the science and art of design team work. Multi-disciplinary teams work together throughout the program to build effective communication skills by working with individuals with diverse backgrounds and a wide range of experts such as technical experts, professional engineers, architects, and community members.
    
4. Sustainability: Students study and come to appreciate a range of state-of-the-art sustainable designs and how those designs fit within the broader social and political context of sustainability.

Admission Requirements

In addition to the admission application requirements outlined in General Admission of the Graduate Academic Calendar, applicants are required to hold a four-year (120 credit hours) baccalaureate degree in Civil Engineering from a recognized institution.

For entry into the Master of Engineering, Integrated Wood Design degree program, students who do not meet the exemptions indicated in English Language Requirements in Admissions and Regulations must fulfill the English Language Requirements outlined below.

Score requirements must meet one of the following criteria:

• IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of at least 7.0 overall, with not less than 6.5 in any of the four modules;
• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 100 in the internet-based test, with not less than 25 in any of the Reading, Listening, Writing or Speaking components; or equivalent other TOEFL score;
• or the equivalent Master of Engineering, Integrated Wood Design level on other test score accepted by the University

Exceptional Admission

Applicants who have a four-year (120 credit-hour) baccalaureate degree (or equivalent) may be granted admission to the program if sufficient related engineering content can be demonstrated.

The Pre-Entry program as outlined in Pre-Entry Program in Admissions and Regulations is not applicable for applicants to gain entry to the Master of Engineering, Integrated Wood Design Program.

Requirements

IENG 611-3	Introduction to Wood as a Building Material
IENG 613-3	Wood Design I
IENG 624-3	Envelope Design
IENG 722-3	Project Design II
IENG 723-3	Wood Design II
IENG 727-3	Prefabrication and Digital Manufacturing in Wood Construction
IENG 731-9	Master of Engineering Project

Electives

Two of the following:

ENGR 639-3	Advanced Structural Fire Engineering
IENG 614-3	Engineering Vibration and Acoustics
IENG 626-3	Sustainable Design I
IENG 650-3	CAD/BIM in the Construction Industry
IENG 729-3	Structural Dynamics and Seismic Design
IENG 738-3	Finite Element Analysis and Computational Engineering

_{Updated: July 2, 2024}