ME 380Mechanical Engineering Design Workshop
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Engineering
- Subject
- Mechanical Engineering
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 5 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
In this course, students study the design process, including needs analysis, problem definition; design criteria and critical parameter identification, generation of alternative solutions; conceptual design, detailed design, optimization; and implementation. Most of the term is devoted to a significant design project in which student groups work independently and competitively, applying the design process to a project goal set by the faculty co-ordinator. The design project typically includes construction of a prototype, and part of the course grade may depend on the performance of the prototype in a competitive test. In exceptional circumstances, the requirement for a prototype may be replaced by a computer simulation, or may be waived. Other mechanical engineering faculty members, particularly those teaching 3B courses, are available to provide advice and supervision to ME 380 students.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Students must be in level 3B or higher
- Enrolled in H-Mechanical Engineering
Antirequisites
- Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
- MTE380 - Mechatronics Engineering Design Workshop (0.50)
Leads to
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 4610 | 85 / 97 | W 08:30–09:20 |
| PRJ 101 | 4611 | 85 / 97 | W 09:30–11:20 |
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 4430 | 0 / 100 | F 13:30–14:20 |
| LEC 701 | 1812 | 94 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
| PRJ 101 | 4881 | 0 / 100 | F 14:30–16:20 |
Reviewed on UW Flow
76% liked it46% easy74% useful
From 41 ratings and 12 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
"Welcome to ME 380: the course where friendships come to die." In all seriousness, if you have a good group, then ME 380 is a fun and useful course that prepares you for your 4th year capstone while also acting as a mark booster in 3B. However, with the workload of your project, along with all the tedious deliverables, this course can definitely take up a huge chunk of time in your 3B term. For Fall 2025, our topic was to make a pick-and-place robot, but this may change for future terms. The nature of this course also means that it is a lot more TA dependent and the prof is pretty uninvolved. Be sure to plan well, be in regular communication with your TAs, and choose a group of hard workers…
Dec 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
We had the term to make a pick and place robot, really fun! Nice grade booster. Make sure you pick a group that you work well with and do stuff early as 3B is nightmare fuel (aside from this course).
Dec 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
fun, grade booster, in your interest to plan to finish things earlier rather than later
Dec 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
This course is only useful as a grade booster. Pick the right group members-you will thanks yourself in the end when you don't have to do the entire design and assembly the night before symposium. Basically a mini FYDP-your class is given an objective and it's up to your group to build a physical solution. It's as hard as you make it-some groups did the bare minimum, others pulled multiple all nighters to make a fully custom robotic arm. I heard through the grapevine that they will be increasing the difficulty of the project in later years, so good luck.
Dec 2024 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
mini capstone basically
May 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
6 posts and comments in 6 threads mention ME 380, April 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.
Spring 2021
Mechanical engineering undergrad retrospective 201 points, 42 comments
u/doAbr00talroll: “… • ME380: We had to make a stewart platform which is very difficult for people like me who are awful at math. …”
Spring 2018
Acceptances Megathread [Fall 2018 Incoming Students] 142 points, 1,897 comments
“Hi all, This thread is specifically for those who got accepted to UW to discuss different issues (residences, courses, student life, etc.) and celebrate the hard work and efforts of those who have …”
u/HoodJamm: “DELL xps or MacBook Pro for Mech eng??”
u/BnWHair: “… I did my entire undergrad with a MacBook Pro and relied on school computers for AutoCAD and SolidWorks (Computer Design ME 100, design courses ME 380 & fourth year design project), as well as programming C++ (ME 101). …”
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 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 720 ME 738 ME …”
3A or 3B Mech Eng Harder 4 points, 14 comments
“I'm going into 3A mech and wanted to get the opinion of upper year mechs on the difficulty of these two terms. Specifically on the basis of which term had more projects and labs. …”
u/Reach_Fam: “3B was definitely more challenging. More labs and ME 380 can suck up a shit ton of time. I've heard from others that they found 3A more technically challenging and 3B just has more work, but personally I found 3B harder both ways.”
Spring 2017
Upper Year Mechs 1 point, 6 comments
“Almost done 3A and was wondering how 3B is in terms of difficulty and work load. How does it compare to other terms? Thanks!”
u/Cantomando: “3B was pretty brutal lol work load is nuts”
u/Cantomando: “Basically except the projects are throughout the term. You also have ME380 too which is time consuming. Expect 0 happiness lol”
Winter 2015
What is the Learn glitch? 0 points, 3 comments
“I heard there was a glitch involving Learn that you can use to find out about your grades early. Can anyone tell me about this glitch?”
u/Pamela-Handerson: “http://www.reddit.com/r/uwaterloo/comments/2pr7c9/willexammarksbeonlearntomorrow/cmzdyja”
u/dumbEng: “Is anything up other than the Heat Transfer Lab and the ME 380 marks, or am i doing learn wrong?”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them