Waterloo Arts offers 37 distinct graduate programs that advance understanding and practice in diverse fields including digital media, cognitive neuroscience, global governance, philosophy of science, and public issues anthropology – among many others. As a faculty based in a university dedicated to global views and connections, Arts leads the conversation about how people and society can thrive in a technology-driven and globalized context.
Value of an Arts graduate degree
Whether traditional research-based or professional cross-disciplinary, Arts graduate studies are relevant for today. You may find graduate students in languages applying gamification, students in anthropology documenting impacts of climate change, students in political science examining security issues via social media, or students in digital media working at Google Canada.
Among our many disciplines in Arts, the traditional fields of inquiry often provide a springboard from which our faculty and students approach current and topical concerns. We seek and create original approaches, ask new questions, and foster dialogue about some of the most daunting challenges facing us today.
Learn more about the research by Arts graduate students through Arts graduate theses and dissertations.
Arts grad studies facts
- 37 programs within 18 disciplines
- Master’s program length:1 to 2 years
- PhD program length: typically 4 to 5 years
- Waterloo offers competitive funding packages for PhD and research-based Master's programs
- Funding types: teaching and research assistantships, research studentship, scholarships, departmental awards
Exemplary graduate student research
Each year, graduate students from across Arts are encouraged to participate in the annual Arts Three Minute Thesis (3MT) heat. Students compete by presenting their research to a general audience in three minutes or less, and using only one static slide. Winner(s) of the Faculty of Arts heat move on to the university finals.
