Where innovation and opportunity meet
- The University of Waterloo has 42,000 full and part-time students cumulatively between undergraduate and graduate programs (fall 2022)
- 1000-acre main campus, 100+ buildings with six faculties
- 1957: University of Waterloo opens with 74 students, with engineering and co-operative education as cornerstones
Nobel Prize in Physics
On October 2, 2018, Physics and Astronomy professor Donna Strickland was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics, making her the third woman in history to receive the prestigious honour.
Dr. Strickland was recognized for her breakthrough work on chirped pulse amplification in lasers, allowing for the development technology used for eye-laser surgery, within laser printers, and scanners sold in retail stores.
Strickland conducted her Nobel-winning research while a PhD student under French laser physicist Gérard Mourou in 1989 while attending the University of Rochester in New York.
Academic strength
Building academic success starts in the classroom but doesn't end there. Waterloo nurtures community, contributing to a positive and successful student experience.
- 200+ student clubs, pitch competitions and hackathons
- 100+ student support and wellness programs
- 19% undergraduate and 41% graduate students are international (2022/23)
Experience-rich education
World-class scholarship deepens with work-based learning in the world's leading co-operative education program.
- Students graduate with up to 2 years of paid work experience
- Students earn on average $14,000 on a co-op student work term
- 96% of co-op grads employed six months after graduation worked in positions related to skills they acquired at Waterloo compared to 79% of Ontario graduates
Entrepreneurship driving innovation
Waterloo students, faculty, alumni and staff have founded more than 1,000 ventures — finding solutions to some of the world's most complex challenges.
- Waterloo's flagship Velocity has supported 400+ companies since 2008
- Home to the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business and the GreenHouse Social Impact Incubator
- Creator-owns intellectual property (IP) policy grants students and researchers full ownership of their work and innovations
World-changing research
Changing the world begins with a passion for discovery, broad research intensity and focus on frontier disciplines.
- 1 Nobel Laureate
- 5 Killam Prize winners
- 71 Canada Research Chair, 1 Canada Excellence Research Chair and 2 Canada Excellence Research Chair Laureates
- 25+ university and senate-approved centres and institutes with world-leading expertise that includes:
- Artificial intelligence
- Automotive
- Cybersecurity and privacy
- Energy
- Global governance
- Nanotechnology
- Population health
- Quantum information
- Water