Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

The Faculty of Applied Health Sciences (AHS) is committed to improving the health and quality of life of individuals and communities. With programs in health, gerontology, kinesiology, public health, and recreation and leisure studies, AHS specializes in the prevention of disease and injury, protection and promotion of healthy living, and the optimization of physical ability and well-being throughout the lifespan. The Lyle S. Hallman Institute for Health Promotion supports research on population health, active living, cancer prevention and care, health informatics, and workplace injury prevention. The Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging, a partnership with long-term care communities, facilitates knowledge exchange in areas such as functional abilities and dementia care. AHS is also home to Canada Research Chairs in integrative vascular biology, spine biomechanics and injury prevention, and sensorimotor control.

Faculty of Arts

The Faculty of Arts is the largest and most diverse of UW's six faculties. With a strong traditional foundation, we offer programs in the following core areas: creativity and performance; memory, identity and culture; local and global engagement; society, science and technology; business, policy and management; and cognition and behaviour. Our 17 academic units offer nine doctoral programs, 17 master's programs, and 24 honours programs, including the largest arts co-operative education program in the world. Research in the Faculty of Arts is focused on knowledge acquisition, mobilization and broad impact on local, regional and global communities. We are also home to Canada's leading School of Accounting and Finance and the newly established Balsillie School of International Affairs.

Faculty of Engineering

Waterloo Engineering is widely recognized as Canada’s premier school of engineering, and our Vision 2010 strategic plan aims to earn us a place among the North American leaders in engineering education and research. We offer undergraduate programs in the core disciplines of engineering and in architecture as well as in emerging multidisciplinary areas such as mechatronics, nanotechnology, and management engineering. All 5,500 undergraduates are enrolled in our co-operative education program, the world’s largest. More than 1,400 graduate students study and research here alongside more than 250 leading faculty members. Student teams are an important part of the Faculty of Engineering, and routinely take home top honours. For example, our Midnight Sun solar car finished fourth overall and first among Canadian entries in the 2008 American Solar Challenge. Our growing research portfolio attracted $43.3 million in research funding in 2007-08. RIM, Dalsa, Sirific Wireless, Handshake VR, and Intelligent Mechatronic Systems are just a few of the companies that were founded by Waterloo Engineering researchers.

Faculty of Environment

Professors, students, and staff in the Faculty of Environment develop smart, green solutions in areas such as healthy communities, green business, sustainable energy, and ecosystem resilience. The faculty offers programs in environment and business, environment and resource studies, geography, geography and aviation, geomatics, global governance, international development, knowledge integration, local economic development, planning, and tourism policy and planning. In 2008, the environment and business program and the planning program were ranked No. 1 in national surveys of how well sustainability considerations are integrated into programs and the student experience at Canadian universities. Environment is home to several research centres, including the Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change, which brings together three dozen researchers from across UW to address this urgent issue.

Faculty of Mathematics

The Faculty of Mathematics is the world's largest centre for the mathematical and computer sciences, with teaching and research strength in actuarial science, applied mathematics, bioinformatics, combinatorics and optimization, computational mathematics, computer science, financial risk management, operations research, pure mathematics, software engineering, and statistics. The faculty has a 40-year history of outreach to schools across Canada and beyond, and continues to attract exceptional students who routinely place among the leaders in international mathematics and computing competitions. Members of our research institutes and centres collaborate with partners in academia and industry around the world. Pure and applied research in the UW Faculty of Mathematics has led to breakthroughs in areas ranging from financial services to scheduling and logistics, from health science to high-tech industry.

Faculty of Science

With leading-edge discoveries, state-of-the-art facilities and researchers who typically attract more than $40 million in research funding annually, the Faculty of Science offers opportunities for innovation and experimentation. Our world-class programs include science and business, biotechnology/chartered accountancy, physical sciences, and life sciences. The faculty also houses the Institute for Quantum Computing, dedicated to advancing fundamental experimental and theoretical knowledge. Also based in science are the School of Optometry (Canada’s only English-language optometry school) and the School of Pharmacy — the anchor institution for UW’s new downtown Kitchener health sciences campus and the satellite campus of McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. Distinguished in areas such as aquatic ecology, solid state chemistry, environmental biology, groundwater contamination clean-up, laser science, quantum computing, and astrophysics, researchers in science work closely with industry leaders to address challenging problems and conduct ground-breaking research.

Conrad Grebel University College

Home to UW’s music department and peace and conflict studies program, Conrad Grebel University College offers undergraduate courses in the Faculty of Arts, including Mennonite studies, and a Master of Theological Studies. Grebel also offers a living-learning program in music and peace and conflict studies. Grebel’s residence and apartments provide a dynamic community to 174 undergraduate students. Facilities include a library and archives, “smart” classrooms, a spacious atrium, student lounge and study spaces. The college hosts a variety of public lectures where important ideas are explored and public concerts where musicianship is celebrated.

Renison University College

Renison University College offers courses in arts, social sciences, and language studies. The English Language Institute and the School of Social Work draw students from diverse backgrounds, while the innovative, interdisciplinary Social Development Studies program is one of the arts faculty’s largest majors. Also home to UW’s Centre for East Asian Studies, the Asia Pacific Lecture Series, and a Confucius Institute, Renison offers many international study and learning opportunities. Most first-year classes have fewer than 50 students. Facilities include a new academic wing, multimedia language lab, contemporary, light-filled library, and residence spaces for more than 200 students. A living-learning community for social development studies students is planned for 2009.

St. Jerome's University

A Roman Catholic university federated with the University of Waterloo, St. Jerome’s University offers undergraduate programs in arts, mathematics, legal studies, Italian studies, and medieval studies, and the unique sexuality, marriage and family studies program. A graduate program in Catholic thought is also housed at St. Jerome’s. Major research includes studies of love and hate, urban culture, a project on religion and ethnicity, and historical research into national policy questions. Faculty members also hold research chairs in quantum computing and cryptography. St. Jerome’s provides residence space for 280 students and is home to the St. Jerome’s Centre for Responsible Citizenship.

St. Paul's University College

St. Paul’s University College supports the undergraduate degree program in international development in partnership with the Faculty of Environment, and teaches courses in humanities and social sciences. The college also presents lectureships, including the Kerr-Saltsman Lecture on International Affairs. St. Paul’s is home to UW’s Environment Living-Learning Community, as well as the French residence floor, and provides 190 dormitory residence spaces. St. Paul’s also offers apartments and suites for more than 100 graduate students, and eight hotel-style rooms for visiting scholars and campus guests. The university’s Aboriginal Services Office is based at St. Paul’s.