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GENE 404Interdisciplinary Design Project 2

Units
0.50
Faculty
Engineering
Subject
General Engineering

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 5 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

This is the second course in a two-course sequence where students from more than one engineering plan work together to solve an interdisciplinary engineering problem. At the end of this course students will be able to re-formulate and re-communicate an engineering problem or opportunity (as appropriate); revise and communicate a feasible design project plan; revise solutions that address the formulated problem (as appropriate); implement and verify design solutions by analysis, test or prototype; communicate design solutions using accepted data formats, working documents and oral presentations; address safety, regulatory, sustainability and professional ethics requirements, as appropriate; effectively manage and communicate design project plans, technical and non-technical risks, using project management tools and techniques; work effectively as an interdisciplinary team member and/or team leader.

Prerequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Must have completed the following:
      • GENE403 - Interdisciplinary Design Project 1 (0.50)
    • Students must be in level 4A or higher
    • Complete 1 of the following

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
PRJ 00151170 / 5Online or by arrangement

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
PRJ 00146450 / 100TTh 16:00–17:20
PRJ 701189411 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Reviewed on UW Flow

33% liked it33% easy25% useful

From 3 ratings and 3 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • This is worse than a PD course. The 'reflections' are massive time-drains and the deliverables aren't relevant to most projects. Structuring a software project as a scientific research project was frustrating given this isn't a thesis course and we already did our research in GENE 403. The entire capstone feels messy and needs to be better coordinated. To the instructional team, I highly recommend assigning a professor/TA to consult with teams every class and discuss a development plan with milestones at the start of the term

    Jan 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Damn this course was painful but that's just capstone in general. Choose ur groups wisely and try to learn as much as you can. Rayside provided significant freedom to explore topics as we wished and is a goat for that.

    Apr 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I was right to dread capstone since first year. This is the worst undergraduate course.

    May 2022 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

6 posts and comments in 6 threads mention GENE 404, August 2015 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

Spring 2022

FYDP with students from different programs? 3 points, 3 comments

“Does anyone here know if we can do the capstone / fydp project with students from a different (engineering) program? What if they're in a different stream? …”

u/Legitimate-Data-3764: “Yes for different programs: GENE 403/404 Primary contact: https://uwaterloo.ca/mechanical-mechatronics-engineering/profile/oscar I don't think different streams would work or be accepted.”

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Winter 2022

Spring 2019

Can you have people from other faculties as a team member in the engineering 4th year design project? 4 points, 2 comments

“Can you have people from other faculties as a team member for the engineering 4th year design project? Such as CS or Science?”

u/crono760: “… The only course that allows you to have students from different disciplines is GENE403/404 ( http://www.ucalendar.uwaterloo.ca/1819/COURSE/course-GENE.html ). They are the intedisciplinary fourth year project courses. …”

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Winter 2017

Engineering FYDPs 4 points, 12 comments

“What are all you 3B engineers on co-op saying rn? I don't want to end up like the group that made a desk last year. …”

u/wanTron_Soup: “Multidisciplinary projects are often very impressive, but it requires a bit more coordination. Is gene 403 and 404 still offered? …”

u/Albereon: “GENE 403 and 404 are still around, but I know some people who tried to do a mech/syde offstream group and it was disallowed. Not sure if that came from one or both departments or the course instructor though.”

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Spring 2015

Free Talk Friday 24 points, 116 comments

“Welcome to Free Talk Friday, where you are able to talk about whatever you want. Please keep it respectful and remember that subreddit rules still apply.”

u/Victawr: “Still don't have an FYDP group or idea...”

u/wanTron_Soup: “If you happen to know people in other programs or have an idea that requires a variety of skills that weren't necessarily taught in SYDE, you can look into GENE 403/404. It's a new course for cross discipline fydps. I took it last year, which was the first time it was offered. …”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar