The University of Waterloo School of Architecture is a leader in design education and research.
Offering a fully cooperative professional program, Waterloo Architecture is the only Canadian school of architecture to have a permanent international facility, which has operated since 1979 in Rome, Italy. The school attracts top students from across Canada and around the world and has been rated the greenest architecture curriculum in Canada.
The School of Architecture is located in a beautifully restored historic building in the city of Cambridge, about 30 km from Waterloo's central campus.
Undergraduate studies
The Honours Bachelor of Architectural Studies degree provides the foundation of skills, knowledge, judgement and practical experience required for subsequent professional studies in architecture.
Our pre-professional Academic Program is fully dedicated to imparting to students the culture and practice of design. Design is a synthetic activity. To do it well and serve the needs of the individual and society requires an extremely broad education. Students acquire an understanding of the workings of society and culture, of the principles of physics, of materials and techniques of construction, of the human interaction with the natural and built environment, of historical process, of critical thought and of the diverse forms of creative expression.
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.
In the fall term of 4th year, students can study at our Rome studio, located in Trastevere, one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city.
Graduate studies
The professional Master of Architecture degree prepares graduate students for entry into the profession of architecture. It offers an extension of the knowledge base required of practicing professionals to students with a pre-professional undergraduate degree in Architecture from an accredited university program.
Combining elements of a professional master's program and a research-oriented master's program, the Waterloo Master of Architecture offers a unique opportunity to engage in self-directed research and develop an independent research and design thesis while completing the required coursework for professional preparation.
Options available to graduate students include - co-op opportunities, international research travel, a term in the Rome studio, and the University’s Water Program and Structures Certificate. With the support of our community of internationally-recognized faculty, staff, and students, students have the opportunity to position an architectural design and research thesis in relation to complex contemporary situations informing future architectural practice.