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ME 360Introduction to Control Systems

Units
0.50
Faculty
Engineering
Subject
Mechanical Engineering

When it runs

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

Ran in 6 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Open loop and feedback control, controller design: proportional (P), integral (I), derivative (D), and lead/lag control. Modelling of mechanical and electrical systems. Review of Laplace transform methods. Analysis of engineering control systems using block diagram algebra. Time and frequency response of first, second, and higher order systems; transient and steady-state operation. Concept of stability and its analysis through analytical and graphical methods, for example, root locus, and/or Bode plots.

Prerequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Must have completed the following:
      • ME203 - Ordinary Differential Equations (0.50)
      • ME321 - Dynamics of Machines and Mechanical Vibrations (0.50)
    • Students must be in level 3B or higher
    • Enrolled in H-Mechanical Engineering

Antirequisites

  • Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
    • BME356 - Control Systems (0.50)
    • ECE380 - Analog Control Systems (0.50)
    • MTE360 - Automatic Control Systems (0.50)
    • SE380 - Introduction to Feedback Control (0.50)
    • SYDE352 - Introduction to Control Systems (0.50)

Leads to

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 00144250 / 100MW 15:00–16:20
LEC 701181094 / 9999Online or by arrangement
LAB 10144260 / 25M 08:30–11:20
LAB 10249780 / 25T 08:30–11:20
LAB 10349790 / 25Th 08:30–11:20
LAB 10449800 / 25F 08:30–11:20
TUT 20144270 / 100Th 16:30–17:20

Reviewed on UW Flow

49% liked it33% easy68% useful

From 37 ratings and 12 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • This is a somewhat difficult course that builds heavily on ME 321. How useful it is really depends on if you are going down the controls and automation route (which is not for me, personally). The content can be hard to grasp at first, but once you work through the practice problems and tutorials, it becomes fairly manageable. The biggest downside is the workload from the labs, which are long, confusing, and time-consuming. Bill Owen making tutorial attendance 5% of your grade was also annoying af, but it was also free marks so can't complain too much. The midterm and final were fair, and Bill Owen reused questions from previous exams. If it were not for these long-ass labs, this course…

    Dec 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • It was a bit confusing at times and there seems to be way too much content to cover in a term. Overall, you need to put a lot of effort doing practice in this class and you will get a pretty favourable outcome. It isn't an easy course, but I found it to be really interesting at the end of the day.

    Dec 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Control systems is an acquired taste. Most people hated it since you don't actually learn how to program a control system-you just learn how to swear at your exam when the Bode plot you drew doesn't line up with the Transfer function. Tons of formulas for this one too. Melek is a great dude but he didn't teach the course in 15 years and his rust was showing. He glossed over the important stuff in controls and yapped about useless things that made no sense. His midterm was ok but the final was BRUTAL, only exam I've failed in engineering so far. reminded me of my Phys115 days. I'd recommend watching YT control systems videos.

    Dec 2024 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Professor Melek is quite awful at teaching this course, he will just teach you how to derive models and plot root locus and bode plots with no explanations on how any of this applies to the real world. Professor Melek also likes to rant about our cohort, wasting the first 10-30 minutes of each class. He even refuses to learn how to operate the classroom lights and just expects us to deal with these bright lights that prevent students from seeing anything on the projector, seriously. The labs are also incredibly useless. Overall, I came out of this class not knowing what any of this was about.

    Dec 2024 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course and its concepts should have been interesting but the way it was taught just confused everyone. Lectures were unclear and had way too many slides, examples were not explained with detail. The labs required a lot of plotting in MATLAB and were very time consuming. Final exam was much more fair to make up for the midterm.

    Dec 2023 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

8 posts and comments in 8 threads mention ME 360, June 2014 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.

Winter 2022

Should I give up? 14 points, 9 comments

“2A ArchEng here. I'm very confused and I need advice. This term has been hell for me. I've never really liked my program. …”

u/cs_research_lover: “Mech seems slightly more related to circuits because there are courses like ME262, 269, 360 which are related to electricity/circuits. Also you might be able to do the mechatronics option but I don’t know anyone who completed it. …”

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Spring 2021

Fall 2020

Upper years and anyone else really ,what is ECE 4B like? 8 points, 8 comments

“Hi guys, hope your co-op/study term is winding down nicely and you're getting ready for the safe and festive season ahead. …”

u/mathematicalengineer: “I took ECE 488 and it was an amazing course with Davison. He's one of the best profs I've ever had. Even when things turned online at the end of Winter 2020, his course still operated smoothly with …”

u/mathematicalengineer: “… 481 or 484 last term), but it's completely manageable if you haven't as I had only taken ME 360 beforehand, which didn't even have Nyquist plots. The "multivariable" part of the course really only begins in the second half of the course throughout chapters 4 and 5. …”

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Fall 2018

Fall 2017

Any way to disable UWCourseLinker from posting? 16 points, 26 comments

“posting a reply to my comment I find the bot annoying.”

u/Jackhofmann: “PSYCH 483 PSYCH 484 PSYCH 485 PSYCH 486 PSYCH 490R PSYCH 499A PSYCH 499B PSYCH 499C PSYCH 621 PSYCH 630 PSYCH 677A PSYCH 704A PSYCH 704B PSYCH 707 PSYCH 710 PSYCH 714 PSYCH 717 PSYCH 720A PSYCH 721A …”

u/Jackhofmann: “… ME 203 ME 212 ME 219 ME 220 ME 230 ME 235 ME 250 ME 262 ME 269 ME 300B ME 322 ME 351 ME 353 ME 360 ME 362 ME 380 ME 400A ME 401 ME 423 ME 435 ME 436 ME 456 ME 459 ME 481 ME 482 ME 548 ME 559 ME 561 ME 566 ME 599 ME 620 ME 627 ME 632 ME 651 ME 659 ME 662 ME 673 ME 680 ME 682 ME …”

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Winter 2016

Waterloo Mechanical Engineering 0 points, 17 comments

“Hey, So I was accepted early into mechanical engineering coop at Waterloo, and just want to ask students in mechanical (or mechatronics, thinking of transferring) how the program at Waterloo is and …”

u/IbaJinx: “It's up to you. I find things are a lot more catered towards Mech Eng and all the similar 'classical' engineering studies, so you can always have someone practically holding your hand the whole way …”

u/IbaJinx: “… ME 360 (Introduction to Control Theory): This is more of a calculus-heavy course, but it has roots in control theory. …”

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Spring 2014

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

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