Graduate student resources

Program updates including co-op adjustments

For information about program changes and adjustments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, please speak with the Graduate Chair in your department and visit the COVID-19 updates for graduate students site.

Your home department

While you’re a grad student at Waterloo, your home department will be your first point of contact for graduate issues. Feel free to talk to your program’s Graduate Officer and the Graduate Administrative Coordinator, or you can always visit your home department’s website.

The Arts Graduate Office 

The Arts Graduate Office, led by the Associate Dean of Arts, Graduate Studies, oversees all graduate programs in Arts. Once in a while, your home department may refer you to the Arts Graduate Office with certain issues or questions about graduate procedures. Business handled by the Arts Grad Office  includes: final approval of all graduate admission offers, overall management of graduate funding, presentation of the Academic Integrity Workshop, handling disputed cases of academic offense, and student recruitment for all Arts graduate programs.

Waterloo's Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs

Also, all Waterloo graduate students will occasionally visit or refer to the Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs and the Graduate Studies Calendar.

Academic Integrity Workshop

All incoming graduate students in the Faculty of Arts are required to participate in the Academic Integrity Workshop and complete the online module. Scheduled during Orientation Week every September and presented by the Associate Dean, Graduate Studies, the workshop provides a review and explanation of UWaterloo policies for academic integrity. Your home department will advise you of the date and location of the workshop.

Research centres, institutes and groups

There is an ever-growing number of research centres in, or affiliated with, Arts. Research centres present another excellent resource for you to engage with Waterloo’s academic community, from participating in research projects to attending events and presentations.

Centre for Teaching Excellence

The Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE) offers free workshops for graduate students who work as Teaching Assistants and Lecturers, including Fundamentals of University Teaching for masters and doctoral students and the Certificate in University Teaching program for all Waterloo PhD candidates.

Centre for Career Action 

An excellent resource to help you prepare for the work force, whether in academia or not. The Centre for Career Action offers free seminars and information on topics such as: Teaching philosophy statement; Writing CVs and cover letters; Interview skills for academic positions; Successfully negotiating academic job offers; Careers beyond academia; Project management; Leadership as a bridge to employment; Non‐academic work search and networking.

Graduate Studies Endowment Fund

Grad students at Waterloo can submit funding proposals to the Graduate Studies Endowment Fund for initiatives that enhance the learning, research, and overall experience of graduate students. Examples of funded projects include improvements to graduate student common space, academic events organized by graduate students, and improvement of physical and electronic resources for graduate students.

GRADventure

GRADventure is a central hub of professional development resources designed specifically for graduate students at the University of Waterloo.

It's a "one-stop shop," where you'll find relevant resources, special events listings, and details about upcoming workshops that were designed for you. We know that graduate students have unique needs when it comes to professional development; that's why GRADventure events and resources are open exclusively to graduate students.

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