Academic programs

Undergraduate studies                             

Architects are largely responsible for the quality and beauty of our constructed environment. Recognized as one of the best in North America, our School of Architecture provides you with a creative, international education and 2 years of paid co-op work experience with design firms in Canada and abroad. You’ll enjoy a small community with a vibrant intellectual atmosphere. Our cultural history courses, which examine the close relationship between architecture and society, and our environmental courses add depth to core courses in design. You’ll spend the fall of fourth year at our studio in Rome, one of the world’s great cities for culture and architecture.

Find out more about our undergraduate programs.
 

Graduate studies

The University of Waterloo offers a graduate program leading to a Master of Architecture (MArch) degree. This program is designed to prepare students for professional qualification as architects. The Masters program in Architecture combines elements of a professional masters program and a research-oriented masters program. It offers preparation for entry into the profession of architecture, and an extension of the knowledge base required of practicing professionals, to students with an undergraduate degree in pre-professional architecture, such as a Bachelor of Architectural Studies.

Find out more about our graduate programs.
 

Rome program

Offered to students in the fall term of 4th year, the Rome studio is located in one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city, Trastevere. The main focus of the studio is to offer students a different perspective of design methods from those offered in Waterloo. Therefore, the studio involves Italian professors and critics to complement the process of designing in Rome. Every year, the questions asked become more challenging. How do we, as architects design in a place like Rome, one so dense with history. Students are invited not only to design in the eternal city but to also evolve in the eternal city. It offers students the chance to immerse themselves in a culture which operates in a way far different from that of Canada.

Find out more about our Rome program.
 

Co-op program

Co-operative Education is one of the keystones of the Architecture program at the University of Waterloo.

Beginning in second year, students alternate 4-month school terms with 4-month paid co-op terms working for architects and designers. The Co-operative Program allows students to experience first hand the nature and variety of the work the profession offers. Work terms also make it possible to acquire a wide array of specific skills, discipline and experience which are placed in a balance with the more exploratory and speculative work which goes on in the Design Studio program.

Find out more about our co-op program.