About University of Waterloo

Just 74 engineering students were granted co-operative education when the University of Waterloo, a public research institution, first started operating in 1957. According to Research Infosource 2021, the University of Waterloo has been the top research university in Canada for 14 years running. The University of Waterloo has four campuses, one each in Ontario, Cambridge, Kitchener, and Stratford. Three of the four campuses—Cambridge, Kitchener, and Stratford—are satellite campuses, with Ontario serving as the primary campus. In total, the campus has a land area of about 1,000 acres.

According to Macleans, the University of Waterloo is ranked first in Canada for experiential learning in the year 2022 national rankings. The University of Waterloo is ranked first among universities for innovation by Macleans. The University of Waterloo is ranked #149 globally by QS - World University Ranking, #199 globally by US News & World Report, and between 201-250 globally by THE (Times Higher Education) - University Ranking for the year 2022.

Six faculties—Arts, Engineering, Environment, Health, Mathematics, and Science—as well as more than 30 Departments and Schools provide courses at the University of Waterloo. Overall, the University of Waterloo provides its students over 190 postgraduate programmes and more than 100 undergraduate majors. Popular courses at the University of Waterloo include those in engineering, business, public health, and computer science, which is ranked first by Macleans for 2022.

According to the University of Waterloo's Fall 2021 admission statistics, 42,500 students were admitted. At the University of Waterloo in 2021, there were 40% of graduates and 21% of undergraduates who were from outside the United States. Out of the 42,500 students enrolled, 8,953 were foreign students overall in Fall 2021. Additionally, there were 6,715 undergraduate students enrolled in total at the University of Waterloo in the fall of 2021. Visit University of Waterloo Admissions for information about admissions.

For on-campus housing, University of Waterloo students can submit an application. Village 1 (V1), Ron Eydt Village (REV), Claudette Millar Hall (CMH), Mackenzie King Village (MKV), UW Place (UWP), Columbia Lake Village South (CLV-South), Columbia Lake Village North (CLV-North), and Minota Hagey are the seven options available (MH). Undergraduates have three options for housing: V1, REV, and CLV-South.

Approximately 96 percent of University of Waterloo co-operative education programme graduates from the 2019–20 academic year were employed within six months of their graduation, working in their respective fields of specialisation. These students worked under Canadian labour laws and received salaries ranging from CAD 8,400 to CAD 18, for an average weekly wage of CAD 12,700. Up to this point, more than 25,000 University of Waterloo alumni have been employed by more than 7,100 cooperative businesses.

The University of Waterloo's alumni network is made up of more than 250,000 graduates. One Nobel Prize winner, five Killam Prize winners, and two Canada 150 Research Chairs are among the university's achievements. Mike Lazaridis, co-founder of BlackBerry, Kevin O'Leary, former dragon on CBC's Dragon's Den, Martha Lenio, first woman to lead a Mars mission, John Baker, president and founder of Desire2Learn, David Cheriton, computer science professor at Stanford University, Steven Woods, senior engineering director at Google Canada, multi-sport athlete Heather Moyse, and many others are notable alumni of the University of Waterloo.

Why University of Waterloo?

• It is one of just 14 universities worldwide to receive five or more stars in the 2016 QS World University Rankings for research, teaching, employability, facilities, and innovation.
• Currently, the institution has 31,380 undergraduate and 5,290 graduate students, with international students making up 17% of the undergraduate and 37% of the graduate populations.
• Rated as the top comprehensive research university for nine years running.
• The university offers more than 100 programmes at different academic levels and the biggest co-op programme in the entire world.

University of Waterloo Rankings

• #151-200 Universities Rankings - ARWU (Shanghai Ranking) 2020
• #149 World University Ranking - QS 2022
• #201-250 University Ranking - THE (Times Higher Education) 2022
• #199 Global Universities - US News & World Report 2022

University of Waterloo Tuition Fees

University of Waterloo Admission Process

For undergraduate level courses, there is only one intake, and the application date is February 1st (except in few cases). Graduate level course application deadlines vary per programme. In a few simple steps, the admissions application procedure is:

• Apply online by creating an OUAC account.
• Select a program of choice (for every program after 3 choices, an additional fee of 36 USD is charged).
• Submit the completed application along with an application fee of 117 USD and an International student fee of 8 USD.
• Keep updated with the inbox of personal email id for application status.

Undergraduate Admission Requirements:

• Minimum final grade of 85% in all standard XII subjects
• Minimum final grade of 90% in 2 major subjects related to the undergraduate program
• An Admission Information Form (AIF)
• English proficiency requirements
  • IELTS: 6.5
  • TOEFL iBT: 90
  • PTE: 63
  • Duolingo: 120
• Personal skills and other course-specific requirements

Graduate Admission Requirements:

• 75% overall score in last 2 years of study
• 2 LOR for masters and 3 LOR for PhD (professional LOR is required for select programs)
• Immigration details
• GRE/GMAT score (optional)
• Personal statement
• English proficiency requirements
  • IELTS: 7.0
  • TOEFL iBT: 90
  • PTE: 63

University of Waterloo English Proficiency Requirements

Receiving favourable results enables international applicants to prove their English language competence. Due to the pandemic, UWaterloo will also accept the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition, Duolingo English Test, and EFAS scores in order to meet ELP criteria in addition to EFAS. The tests that the university recognises as proof of linguistic proficiency are listed below:

University of Waterloo Higlight

Unversity of Waterloo Living Expenses

To get by during a term at the university, in addition to tuition, the chart below provides an approximation of the cost of living in Canada.

Know more about Studying in Canada