Queen's Smith Engineering admission requirements: averages, direct entry and the guaranteed discipline choice

Queen's asks for an Ontario Secondary School Diploma and six 4U or 4M courses. Every Smith Engineering route needs English 4U, Advanced Functions 4U, Calculus and Vectors 4U, Chemistry 4U and Physics 4U. Your sixth course can be any 4U or 4M course.

Students in French-language schools may offer EAE4U or FRA4U in place of ENG4U. Map your courses with our course planner.

Queen's publishes the minimum average, based on your prerequisite courses, that it needed to consider an applicant last September. For the general first year (QE) it was the mid 80s. For Computer Engineering (QEC) and Mechatronics and Robotics (QEM) it was the high 80s.

Queen's says these minimums change each year and could be higher. Meeting one gets you considered, not admitted. Preference goes to the strongest applicants. Queen's doesn't list a separate minimum for the other direct-entry codes and doesn't publish an Engineering acceptance rate. See our Queen's acceptance rate page for what Queen's does publish.

You can apply to the general first year or to a direct-entry program. In the general first year, you learn engineering basics with faculty from every department. In January, Discipline Nights show you each field. In February you pick one of 10 disciplines.

Queen's calls this a no-cap, no-quota choice. If you pass all your first-year courses and choose by the deadline, you get your first choice. Because no one is competing for spots, first year is more about working together.

Direct-entry programs put you in your discipline from day one: Computer, Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Mining, and Mechatronics and Robotics. Their first year includes a customized curriculum and more upper-year electives. If you switch out of a direct-entry program later, the guaranteed choice doesn't apply.

First-year students are split into sections of 20 to 60 who take every class and lab together. Projects are done in groups of four.

After the general first year you choose from Chemical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Mechanical or Mining Engineering, Engineering Chemistry, Engineering Physics, Geological Engineering, or Mathematics and Engineering. Queen's says Engineering Chemistry graduates are accredited as both chartered chemists and engineers, and Mathematics and Engineering is offered by a mathematics department.

Queen's lists these first-year courses: an engineering practice course with a design project, Physics I and II, Chemistry and Materials, Chemistry and Its Applications, two programming courses, Earth Systems Engineering, Engineering Graphics, Calculus I and II, Linear Algebra and Applied Engineering Mechanics. Computer Engineering and Mechatronics students take their own programming course.

An English proficiency course for engineers (APSC 199) is integrated with the first-year practice course (APSC 101), so you work on technical writing from the start.

Queen's requires a supplementary application only for Commerce, Health Sciences and Nursing. Smith Engineering isn't on that list, so your grades carry your application.

Queen's still says admission is competitive and that preference goes to the strongest overall applicants. Check your Queen's to-do list after you apply in case anything else is requested.

Queen's combines co-op into one optional, paid internship of 12 to 16 months through the Queen's Undergraduate Internship Program (QUIP). Most students go after third year, though second year is possible. You can join any time before third year.

The internship adds a year to your degree. You keep student status, earn an elective credit and graduate with a Professional Internship designation. Eligible work may count toward your P.Eng. licence.

For 2026-27, Queen's lists Engineering and Applied Science tuition of $12,152.92 for Ontario students, or $13,788.75 with the student levy and ancillary fees. International students pay $59,283.74 in tuition. Queen's hasn't posted 2027-28 fees yet.

Every applicant is considered automatically for a $7,000 Principal's Scholarship, given to the top 3% of each program's admission average. For larger awards, submit the Major Admission Award application by December 8, 2026. Queen's says you need a cumulative average of 90% or more to be competitive, and awards are worth up to $72,000.

Queen's works out a separate awards average from the same prerequisite courses it uses for admission. For Ontario students it uses final Grade 12 marks when they exist, and any Grade 12 midterm marks available when you're offered admission.

See where your marks land with our Top 6 average calculator.

Queen's deadline is March 1, later than many Ontario schools. If your child wants a Major Admission Award, though, the real deadline is December 8, 2026.

The general first year is the safer bet for a student who isn't sure. Direct entry gives an earlier start but gives up the guaranteed choice if they change their mind.