University of Waterloo

Basic Requirements

• Ontario high school diploma with a minimum of 6 Grade 12 U/M courses, including the required courses for the program you have applied to. EAE4U will be treated as equivalent to ENG4U.
• Your admission average consists of the grades from your top 6 Grade 12 U/M courses, including all required courses for the program you have applied to.
• All applicants need to complete a short Declaration of Academic Experience once we receive your application.
• All offers of admission are conditional upon completing the Ontario Secondary School Diploma and maintaining the minimum grades listed on your offer of admission.
• If your first language is not English and you have not studied full-time in an English-language school system for the 4 years immediately before beginning your studies at Waterloo, you will be required to meet our English-language requirements.

Supplemental Application Forms

• The following programs require supplementary application forms (such as the Admission Information Form [AIF]) as part of the application process: All Engineering programs (excluding Architecture), all Faculty of Mathematics programs, Computing and Financial Management, Geography and Aviation, Science and Aviation, Conditional Admission to Pharmacy (CAP), Optometry, Pharmacy, and Bachelor of Social Work.
• For all other programs, the AIF is not used when we review applications.
• For the School of Architecture, invitations for interviews may be based on final Grade 11 marks. See the Architecture website for further details about the Architecture application process.

Failed and Repeated Courses

View Waterloo’s policies on repeated courses and courses taken outside of your day school.

Alternative Offers of Admission

• If you are not admitted to the program you applied to, you may be automatically considered for admission to an alternative program, provided you meet the minimum admission requirements and spaces are available.
• If a program is available in both co-op and regular systems of study and you are not admitted to the co-op version, you may be automatically considered for either the corresponding regular program or another related program, provided spaces are available.
• If you are interested in both the co-op and regular systems of study for Health Sciences, you must apply to both streams.

Timing of Admission Decisions

• Offers of admission are made on a rolling basis between December and May as we receive updated grades from schools.
• The date you may receive an offer of admission depends on the program you applied to, the grades we have received, your grade average and any special entrance requirements (such as video interviews, Admission Information Form and portfolios for some programs). The Faculties of Engineering and Mathematics, as well as the Accounting and Financial Management and Sustainability and Financial Management, make admission decisions beginning in February and ending in May.
• We want to consider all students fairly, so we may wait for updated grades from schools before making many of our admission decisions.
• Most scholarships and bursaries are awarded in May once we receive updated grades from schools.

Applying

You can apply to a maximum of 3 programs at Waterloo, including 1 Engineering program.

Applying to Engineering programs

• You may apply to 1 Waterloo Engineering program on your application.
• If you are not admitted to the Engineering program you applied to, you may be considered for admission to another Engineering program. Using a supplementary information form, you can request consideration for admission to an alternative Engineering program. You will receive instructions for completing this form once you have applied.
• Biomedical Engineering and Software Engineering are not available as alternative choices, so you will need to apply to Biomedical or Software Engineering directly if either program is your main interest.

An online video interview is required for Faculty scholarships and strongly recommended for admission.

Application and document deadlines for Engineering (excluding Architecture):

• Application deadline: January 15, 2027
• Document/AIF deadline: February 1, 2027

Dual Credits/SHSM Programs

• We do not recognize dual credits or SHSM programs, except for agreements with the Waterloo Region District School Board and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board for SES4U.
• In some Waterloo programs, students who complete SES4U with a mark of 75% through a Waterloo Region District School Board or Waterloo Catholic District School Board high school will be eligible to receive Earth Sciences 121 as a transfer credit upon our receipt of their completion certificate.

Deferring an Offer of Admission

High school applicants who are offered admission, accept their offer, meet all conditions and wish to take a year off to work or travel may request a 1-year deferral of admission. You will not be granted a deferral if you study at college or university during the year. You can take high school classes if you wish.

First-year Course Selection

Students will receive instructions in June for selecting their fall courses.

Accessibility Services

We encourage admitted students with disabilities to contact AccessAbility Services: 519-888-4567, ext. 35082 | TTY: 519-888-4040 | Email: [email protected]

Support for Transition to University

Waterloo has an extensive transition program that starts in the summer and continues through first year. Students can expect to receive emails starting in early June.

• Orientation
• Student Success Office
• Tips and advice from Waterloo students
• MTHEL 99: Recommended first-year Mathematics Readiness course for students entering the Faculty of Mathematics
• Bridge to Academic Success in English
• College pathway and transfer students
• Indigenous Student Services

Extenuating Circumstances

If you have significant circumstances that affected your grades and that were not accommodated through your school or relevant services, you can request special consideration for admission to Waterloo. We will review each situation on a case-by-case basis.