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Master of Engineering in Industrial Ecology

The Master of Engineering in Industrial Ecology (INEC) is a one-year program aimed at students seeking sustainable solutions to global environmental challenges. This applied science program focuses on addressing issues such as climate change and resource inefficiency by optimizing energy and material use across industries, cities, and economies.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• Develop sustainable technologies to reduce environmental impacts.
• ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ industrial ecology principles, including industrial metabolism and systems modeling, to optimize resource use.
• Analyze the economic, political, and regulatory factors shaping sustainable development.
• Conduct research through a mandatory MEng project, applying methods for ecological restoration and climate strategy.

Curriculum: The program includes six core courses covering topics like industrial metabolism, sustainable cities, and green chemistry, plus a project. Students can choose two electives from areas such as energy decarbonization, environmental modeling, and green building design.

Co-op Option: INEC students may choose to complete one or more co-op terms.

The INEC program prepares students to lead in sustainability, equipping them with the expertise to drive environmental change across various sectors.

Program details

The INEC program is one year in duration (3 academic terms of 4 months each). You may choose to pursue one or more optional co-op placement terms after the completion of the program.

The program requires 16.5 course credits to be completed, and consists of:

7 compulsory academic courses, one of which is a project course:

• CIVE510 - Industrial Metabolism and Global Environmental Change (1.5)
• CIVE512 - Industrial Symbiosis, Biomimicry and Green Chemistry (1.5)
• CIVE513 - Urban Metabolism and Sustainable Cities (1.5)
• CIVE515 - Methods, Tools and Data for Industrial Ecology (1.5)
• CIVE516 - Climate Strategy (1.5)
• ES 582    - Seminar in Ecological Restoration (1.5)
• INEC598 - MEng Project in Industrial Ecology (3)

 And 3.0 units of technical electives, options of which may include:

• ADMN 331 - Governance for Planetary Health
• ADMN 504 - Government and Governance
• ADMN 509 - Economics for Policy Analysis
• ADMN 512 - Public Financial Management and Accountability
• ADMN 548 - Special Topics in Public Policy
• CIVE 412 - Infrastructure Engineering for Indigenous Communities
• CIVE 503 - Simulation and Optimization of Designs and Flows
• CIVE 511 - Resilient Smart Cities
• CIVE 517 - Systems and Complexity Modeling
• CIVE 542 - Environmental Modeling
• CIVE 544 - Water and Sanitation for Low Resource Contexts
• CIVE 547 - Water Treatment Processes
• CIVE 550 - Green Building Design
• CIVE 565 - Energy Systems Decarbonization
• CIVE 566 - Energy System Transitions
• EOS 460 - Earth System Science
• EOS 550 - The Climate System
• ES 405    - Climate, Energy and Politics
• ES 580    - Sem: Political Ecology: Indigenous and Decolonizing Methodologies
• GEOG 520 - Introductory GIS for Graduate Research
• MECH 542 - Energy Systems
• MECH 547 - Wind Power Systems
• PHIL 500    - Topics in Philosophy: Philosophy Climate and the Anthropocene

 Full program information can be found in the graduate calendar.

Admissions information

 Please ensure that you meet the minimum graduate school admission requirements.

Application deadlines

September start:

International students—apply by April 30

Domestic students—apply by June 30th

Visa processing times for international students may vary, and it is important to apply as soon as you are able to ensure that you can receive a student visa in time to attend. The capacity of this program is limited. Applications open on September 1st, 2025 and are processed in the order they are received and until the program is filled. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible to secure their space in the program.

Tuition and fees

Program fee

You can a view the tuition fee estimator or you can find a per-term breakdown of tuition and related program fees in the academic calendar.

Application fee

Acceptance deposit

Upon receiving an offer of admission a $2,000 (CAD) acceptance deposit will be applied to your first term tuition. If you are an international student and your study permit is denied, we will address the potential of deferring your acceptance to a later term or refunding your deposit on a case-by-case basis.

Co-op

Students in the Industrial Ecology program may apply for one or more terms of co-op after completion of the program.

Please see the Engineering and Computer Science Co-op site for further details.

How to apply

You can apply through the graduation admissions application portal.

Please note that you do not need to find a supervisor to apply for the Master of Engineering, Industrial Ecology program.

FAQs

 My undergraduate degree isn’t in Engineering. Can I still apply?

Most students in this program hold an undergraduate degree in engineering. However, students with backgrounds in science, geography, environmental studies, business or economics may also be eligible. Strong math and calculus skills are required.

Can you please review my transcript and let me know if I am eligible to apply?

We can only evaluate completed applications once they have been submitted. Please refer to Graduate Admissions for admission requirements to Faculty of Graduate Studies and to the MEng in Industrial Ecology. 

Can my employer write a reference?

Yes. We require two assessment reports from professional or academic contacts. We strongly recommend that your referees attach a reference letter to the assessment report. Reference letters must be on official letterhead and signed by the referee.

Can I apply before finishing my undergraduate degree?

You can apply before finishing your undergraduate or another graduate degree if the degree is completed before the entry point for which you are applying. You will be required to submit unofficial transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended including the in-progress degree.

Applicants who receive a provisional offer of admission will need to submit all official documentation before being granted full admission and being allowed to register in courses.

Is there a minimum word length for the statement of intent?

Please keep your statement of intent to one page (normally 200-250 words double-spaced on size 12 font).

What happens after I submit my application?

Graduate Admissions and Records will review your application. If it meets the minimum requirements of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, your application will be forwarded to the program for review and a decision.

How can I defer my start date?

You must have provisional, conditional or full offer of admission to request a deferral. Please contact the Graduate Secretary with your request for an entry point change. Deferrals are only granted once per student. If you need to change a second time, you will have to pay the application fee again.

What scholarships are available to me?

While UVic offers some  and  to students in professional graduate programs, there are many more external sources of funding that you may be eligible to apply for and receive. Some further opportunities are listed on the Professional Programs site and we encourage you to seek other funding that may be available to you. 

Contact us

For questions pertaining to this program, please contact the graduate secretary at: inec_meng@uvic.ca

If you would like to be informed of any program updates, and notified when the application portal is open, please click here.