The University of Waterloo is a public institution that was founded in 1957. The Canadian university's main campus is in Waterloo, Ontario, not far from several of the Great Lakes and the U.S. border. The university also has satellite campuses in nearby Cambridge, Kitchener and Stratford. More than 30,000 students attend the university. Tuition is generally higher for international students, though a handful of graduate programs charge domestic and international students the same rate. University housing is available for both undergraduate and graduate students.
The university has six main academic divisions: applied health sciences, arts, engineering, environment, math and science. The main campus has four affiliated university colleges – Conrad Grebel University College, Renison University College, St. Jerome’s University and St. Paul's University College – where students can pursue a Waterloo degree in a smaller academic community. The language of instruction is English, and the university's academic calendar consists of three terms. Many of the university's students participate in a co-op program that allows them to alternate academic terms with terms spent in in the workforce. More than 120 of Waterloo's undergraduate programs offer a co-op option. The university also offers joint degree programs with global universities in several countries, including China's Tsinghua University, Taiwan's National Chiao Tung University and the U.K.'s University of Warwick. A sampling of the university's research institutions includes the Water Institute, the Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research and the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre.
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's technology hub, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 35,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs.
Waterloo, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow.
In the heart of Waterloo Region, at the forefront of innovation, the University of Waterloo is home to world-changing research and inspired teaching. At the hub of a growing network of global partnerships, Waterloo will shape the future by building bridges with industry and between disciplines, institutions and communities.
From quantum computing and nanotechnology to clinical psychology, engineering and health sciences research, ideas that change the world are at the heart of who we are.
The University of Waterloo has been ranked Canada’s most innovative university for the past 25 years. More than 16,000 undergraduates participate in the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program where students alternate school and work terms, gaining experience with employers such as Google, Facebook, Amazon. Located about 110 km west of Toronto, the University of Waterloo welcomes 35,000 students from 120 countries.
