Canada’s engineering programs continue to show growth in both enrolment and degrees awarded, according to Engineers Canada’s new report, Engineers for Tomorrow: Trends in Engineering Enrolment and Degrees Awarded 2017-2022. Over the past five years, engineering degrees awarded have increased 8.7 per cent, with a notable increase in participation from female-identifying students and international students.
As of 2022, female-identifying students represent 25.2 per cent of the undergraduate engineering student enrolment. This is an all-time high, having increased every year since 2011 when enrolment was under 18 per cent.
In addition, international student enrollment has also experienced steady growth, representing 18.1 per cent of the total student body in 2022. The proportion of international students enrolled in undergraduate engineering programs has increased more than 11 per cent since 2017.
Postgraduate programs have also grown, especially at the master’s level where the number of degrees awarded have increased 53.5 per cent since 2017. Doctoral degrees awarded have grown by 5.7 per cent in that same time.
Despite the overall growth across undergraduate and postgraduate studies, the representation of Indigenous students remains critically low, with only 0.6% of engineering undergraduates identifying as Indigenous. This underrepresentation calls for a continued and concerted effort to foster inclusivity and support within the engineering community to mirror the nation's demographic makeup.
The data for this report was provided by Canada’s higher education institutions. Engineers Canada thanks all those who submitted, reviewed, and verified the data.
