Dean of Arts Office:
PAS building, room 2401
Tel 519 888-4567 ext. 48246
Arts Undergraduate Office:
PAS building, room 2439
Tel 519 888-4567 ext. 45870
Arts faculty and staff resources
Arts computing support for students, faculty, and staff
About | Scholarship and learning goal | International experience goal | Entrepreneurship goal | Social justice goal | Health and technology goal | Sustainability goal | Lifelong learning goal | Student learning goal | Glossary
The University of Waterloo’s ethos of experiential learning, entrepreneurship, and problem-based scholarship translates into an uncommonly high degree of institutional connectivity with society at large. Waterloo’s distinctiveness as an institution that is focused on having an impact on the challenges facing humanity and our world is well-deserved; the University’s planning prioritizes the role it can play in bringing about effective change. The institutional strategic plan (Connecting Imagination with Impact, 2020-2025) emphasizes the institution’s goal of leading nationally and globally at the interface of health, society, and technology. Moreover, current discussion around the vision for the University when it reaches its hundredth anniversary (Waterloo @ 100) features a “Five Global Futures” framework: societal, sustainable, health, technological, and economic. Arts will be a key player in bringing about the goals to which the institution is committed.
The Faculty of Arts has a keen awareness of the impact of our work on individual and community wellness, both locally and globally. Research in Arts addresses problems of global importance in the areas of equity, mental health, climate change, governance, conflict, refugees, racism, poverty, finance, cybersecurity, and reconciliation, to name but a few. Beyond the direct impact of scholarship and learning in such fields, the foundational education provided by the study of the humanities, the social sciences, and the creative arts inspires critical thinking and prepares our students for active civic engagement in a civil society. Our programs emphasize the critical and reflective skills necessary to confront a fast-changing environment, while the dissemination of our scholarship and our creative work educates and challenges our citizens, shapes ethical debate, builds cultural awareness, contributes to the development of public policy, and informs the economic and financial framework that guides our society, while addressing a host of other issues integral to the health and well-being of humanity.
In concert with the rest of the University of Waterloo, the Faculty of Arts will set a world-class standard for social impact in scholarship and teaching. Science and engineering expertise will play a significant role in the technology and health futures to which Waterloo has committed itself, but the profound knowledge and understanding of humanity – its successes and its failures – brought to the table by arts disciplines is equally crucial. The Faculty’s Lupina Foundation Postdoctoral program, targeting researchers in the area of social determinants of health, and the new diploma in Health Humanities initiated by St. Jerome’s University are recent examples of the blending of disciplines that holds the most promise for profound and lasting real-world impact. Furthermore, the “Tech for Good” focus of the Arts-founded Critical Media Lab is one among several Arts initiatives that emphasize the importance of ethical leadership in technological innovation. Increasingly, interdisciplinary teams feature a breadth of proficiencies, from physics to philosophy, computers to communication, engineering to English.
In curricular settings such as the Global Engagement Seminar, Peace and Conflict Studies, Global Business and Digital Arts, and Sustainability and Financial Management, our students have shown themselves to be deeply committed to tackling the global challenges that face us today. We will continue to expand student opportunities to effect change, and will assist them in readying themselves to face the challenges of tomorrow.
We will continue to engage in scholarship and learning that emphasizes social impact.
We will enhance opportunities for international learning experiences that focus on bettering globalized society.
We will explicitly develop and enhance the concept of social entrepreneurship in our scholarly activities.
We commit to programming, scholarship, and community-building founded on principles of social justice.
We will continue to contribute humanizing perspectives to health and technology research and programming.
We will continue to contribute to the University’s sustainability goals.
We will employ lifelong learning opportunities to expand and diversify our contributions to social and economic well-being.
We will enable our students to have direct social impact through their research, curriculum, and work-and volunteer-integrated learning.
Dean of Arts Office:
PAS building, room 2401
Tel 519 888-4567 ext. 48246
Arts Undergraduate Office:
PAS building, room 2439
Tel 519 888-4567 ext. 45870
Arts faculty and staff resources
Arts computing support for students, faculty, and staff
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Office of Indigenous Relations.