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
Students in the Faculty of Arts are encouraged to go abroad in a number of different ways: academic exchanges, co-op jobs, summer programs, service learning, and more.
Through Waterloo Passport, you'll be able to explore the exchange programs and destinations available to Waterloo Arts students.
Going on an academic exchange allows you to broaden your world view, enhance your cross-cultural understanding and communication skills, while learning to be adaptable and innovative. All of this while earning credit toward your UW degree!
If you're interested in participating in an academic exchange or study abroad your next step is to attend a mandatory information session. Please visit the Go Abroad Application Steps website for upcoming information sessions and make sure to submit your application by the posted deadlines. The first deadline is October 31 this year.
GBDA Students: Please see the GBDA Go Abroad website to learn more about how an exchange can compliment your degree.
Students selected for an exchange serve as UW ambassadors. As such, successful candidates must have:
Arts academic advisors should consult with the arts exchange coordinator when reviewing an application where a student has an INC grade as it will impact a student’s overall average.
Arts academic advisors should consult with the arts exchange coordinator when reviewing an application where a student has a conditional (CNDS, CNDP) academic standing. If a student’s academic standing is CNDW the application cannot be endorsed.
For international exchanges, you pay your normal tuition fees (for 2.5 units) to Waterloo. There is no extra tuition charged to participate in an exchange program.
You can also take your OSAP with you. It is important to research application, travel, and living costs (which vary by country). To help you calculate how much an exchange might cost, please review the Waterloo Passport program pages. Please note that your tuition for an exchange term does not change if you take a lighter course load at your host school.
Summer programs through the University of Waterloo vary. For some summer programs, you pay the program fee directly to the host school and for others, you pay your tuition fees (for 1.5 units) to Waterloo. You can find this information, as well as the program cost, on the program's summary page in Waterloo Passport.
There are a variety of scholarships and bursaries available for students who are going on exchange.
See the Application Steps tabs on the Student Success Office's Go abroad page.
We recommend you research your courses early and have them assessed before you leave for your exchange so that you know which transfer credits you can expect to receive when you get back to Waterloo.
You are welcome to take any course that your host university will allow you to enrol in, and recognise that an exchange is a cultural experience just as much as an academic one, so don’t be afraid to try something new!
After you’ve been matched for an exchange, book an appointment with your academic advisor(s) first, to determine your course needs and review your study plan. Your academic advisor must approve any courses towards a major, minor, diploma or specialization. The exchange advisor may also approve specific and generic courses where possible. If you do not get your courses approved before departing for exchange, you risk not meeting your degree or academic plan requirements.
Please review the destination in Waterloo Passport you plan to study at to determine how many courses you need on exchange. It's important you understand the credit system of the host institution to complete a full-term course load or the equivalent of 5 UW courses.
You can now begin to research and browse the host university’s course offerings online and determine courses of interest. This research should include priority courses you want and some backup courses.
For non-Arts Students: Please connect with your home faculty Exchange Representative and use this form to send requests for possible Arts course equivalencies.
For AFM Students: Please contact your academic advisor in the School of Accounting and Finance to review your eligibility for an exchange – safadvisor@uwaterloo.ca.
For GBDA Students: Please see the GBDA Go Abroad website - Course Selection for your course approval process. Do not follow the instructions below.
For all other Arts Students: Once you have determined your course needs, required course load and courses of interest at the host university, please submit your course approval request by e-mail to your academic advisor and copy artsinternationalexchange@uwaterloo.ca.
You must include the following information:
Faculty of Arts students are expected to enroll in the number of courses required to be considered full-time status at the host school but you can decide to do fewer than five courses on exchange if the Host institutions allows it. It is important to follow those guidelines as they are connected to the validity of your study visa. Please be aware that doing less than the equivalent of five courses at UW does not impact your tuition. You will still pay for a full course load at UW.
Courses are transferred back to UW on a Pass/Fail basis (CR/NCR). As such, numerical grades will not appear on your UW transcript, and will not be included in the calculation of your overall UW averages. In other words, the averages you achieved before you go on an international exchange will remain the same once your transfer credits are applied to your transcript.
If you have any questions about course approvals, please contact Sarah Robertson the Arts Outbound Exchange Advisor at artsinternationalexchange@uwaterloo.ca
Sarah Robertson
artsinternationalexchange@uwaterloo.ca
PAS 2439 | 519-888-4567, ext. 45870
Advising Hours:
Monday to Friday
10:00 a.m. to noon | 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
On campus: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays
Working remotely: Wednesdays and Fridays
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.