This Waterloo-related list is provided in the hope that it will be useful to bewildered readers. (Even if every student knows what CECA is, there are 7,000 newcomers a year who don’t.)
Emphatically, writers are not advised to use these acronyms. However, they are likely to be encountered in university publications (official or unofficial), on web pages, in email messages and memos, and sometimes even in conversation. Often it is possible to write "the research group" or "the committee" and improve understanding.
This list does not include abbreviations of buildings (see campus map) or course codes (see undergraduate studies calendar and graduate studies calendar).
See our section on conventions for recruitment materials for admissions-related acronyms.
A
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| ACE | Arts Computer Experience |
| ACE | Association of Cultural Executives |
| ACE | Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment |
| ACE | University of Waterloo Angel Course Environment (was replaced by LEARN) |
| ACO | Arts Computing Office |
| ACOE | Accreditation Council on Optometric Education |
| ADMI | Advanced Design and Manufacturing Institute |
| AFIW | Affiliated and Federated Institutions of Waterloo |
| AFM | Accounting & Financial Management |
| AFMNet | Advanced Foods and Materials Network (NCE) |
| AFSA | Accounting & Finance Student Association |
| AHS | Applied Health Sciences |
| AHSUM | Applied Health Sciences Undergraduate Members |
| AIDL | Advanced Interface Design Lab |
| AODA | Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act |
| APC | Automotive Partnership Canada (federal) |
| AquaNet | Network in Aquaculture — ceased (NCE) |
| ASCO | Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry |
| ASEC | Accounting Students Education Contribution |
| A-SiDIC | Amorphous Silicon Devices and Integrated Circuits Group (now G2N) |
| ASU | Arts Student Union |
| ATOP | Access to Opportunities Program |
| AUCC | Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada |
| AUTO21 | The Automobile of the 21st Century (NCE) |
B
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| BBCR | Broadband Communications Research Group |
| BEG | Building Engineering Group |
| BGSA | Biology Graduate Student Association |
| BHEC | Biotechnology and Health Engineering Centre |
| BISRG | Business and Industrial Statistics Research Group |
| BoG | Board of Governors |
| BOSS | Biomaterials and Ocular Surface Science Group |
| BUGS | Biology Undergraduates Society |
C
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| C&D | coffee and doughnut (shop) |
| C&O | Combinatorics and Optimization |
| C&PA or CPA | outdated. Communications and Public Affairs is now University Communications. |
| CACEE | Canadian Association of Career Educators & Employers |
| CACR | Centre for Applied Cryptographic Research |
| CAEL | Canadian Academic English Language Assessment |
| CAFCE | Canadian Association for Co-operative Education |
| CAG | Conflict Analysis Group |
| CAGS | Canadian Association for Graduate Studies |
| CAHR | Centre for Applied Health Research (ceased) |
| CAMJ | Centre for Advanced Materials Joining |
| CANEX | Canada Exchange Scholars Award Program |
| CAPDS | Centre for Advanced Photovoltaic Devices and Systems |
| CARE | Centre for Accounting Research and Education |
| CARL | Canadian Association of Research Libraries |
| CASE | Council for Advancement and Support of Education |
| CASF | Centre for Advanced Studies in Finance |
| CASIOPA | Centre for Applied Science in Ontario Protected Areas |
| CATT | Centre for Advancement of Trenchless Technologies |
| CAUBO | Canadian Association of University Business Officers |
| CBB | Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology |
| CBET | No longer in use. see CCBET |
| CBRPE | Centre for Behavioural Research and Program Evaluation (now Propel Centre for Population Health Impact) |
| CC | Canada Council |
| CCA | Replaced . Used to stand for Centre for Career Action |
| CCAE | Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education |
| CCARD | Centre for Core Area Research and Design |
| CCAT | Canadian Centre of Arts and Technology |
| CCBET | No longer in use. Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre is now referred to as the Conrad Centre on second use. |
| CCCI | Canadian Centre for Cultural Innovation |
| CCEC | Centre for Control of Emerging Contaminants |
| CCFSRG | Canadian Cold Formed Steel Research Group |
| CCIN | Canadian Cryospheric Information Network |
| CCIT | Centre of Excellence for Communications and Information Technology (OCE) |
| CCLR | Outdated. Used to stand for the Centre for Contact Lens Research, which is now the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) |
| CCM | Centre for Cultural Management |
| CCMIC | Centre for Computational Mathematics in Industry and Commerce |
| CDMN | Canadian Digital Media Network |
| CE | Centre of Excellence for Energy (OCE) |
| CEC | Canadian Engineering Competition |
| CECA | Co-operative Education & Career Action (was Co-operative Education & Career Services) |
| CECR | Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (federal) |
| CECS | Co-operative Education & Career Services (now CECA) |
| CEET | Centre of Excellence for Earth and Environmental Technologies (OCE) |
| CEL | Centre for Extended Learning (was Distance and Continuing Education) |
| Cellnet | Cell Factory Bioprocessing Research Network |
| CEMC | Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing |
| CERC | Canada Excellence Research Chair |
| CFI | Canada Foundation for Innovation |
| CFM | Computing and Financial Management |
| CFPF | Centre on Foreign Policy and Federalism |
| CHIP | Computing Help and Information Place |
| CIA | Canadian Institute of Actuaries |
| CIAR | Canadian Institute for Advanced Research |
| CIARS | Centre for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems |
| CIGI | Centre for International Governance Innovation |
| CIHR | Canadian Institutes of Health Research |
| CIPC | Chanchlani India Policy Centre |
| CIPI | Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations (NCE) |
| CIRFE | Centre for Integrated Radio Frequency Engineering |
| CITO | Communications and Information Technology Ontario — now CCIT (OCE) |
| CKI | Centre for Knowledge Integration |
| CLLRNet | Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network — ceased (NCE) |
| CMHR | Centre for Mental Health Research |
| CMM | Centre of Excellence for Materials and Manufacturing (OCE) |
| CMS | Cultural Management Specialization |
| CnD | coffee and doughnut (shop) |
| CNIB | Canadian National Institute for the Blind |
| COFU-UO | Council of Finance Officers—Universities of Ontario |
| ConGESE | Consortium for Graduate Education in Software Education |
| CORE |
Centre for Ocular Research & Education (Formerly the Centre for Contact Lens Research) |
| COS | Community of Science |
| COU | Council of Ontario Universities |
| CP | Centre of Excellence for Photonics (OCE) |
| CPA | Outdated. Communications and Public Affairs is now University Communications |
| CPAMI | Centre for Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence |
| CPATT | Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology |
| CPSA | Canadian Political Science Association |
| CR | Congregation of the Resurrection |
| CRAIG | Contracts Research and Industrial Grants (Office of Research) |
| CRC | Canada Research Chairs |
| CRC | Centre for Responsible Citizenship (SJU) |
| CRE-MSD | Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders |
| CRESTech | Centre for Research in Earth and Space Technology — now CEET (OCE) |
| CRG | Civics Research Group |
| CS | Computer Science |
| CSC | Co-op Students’ Council |
| CSC | Computer Science Club |
| CSCF | Computer Science Computing Facility |
| CSE | Centre for Sight Enhancement |
| CSG | Computer Systems Group |
| CSRGC | Centre for the Study on Rapid Global Change |
| CSSBI | Canadian Sheet Steel Building Institute |
| CSTV | Centre for Society, Technology and Values |
| CTE | Centre for Teaching Excellence |
| CTN | Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience |
| CURA | Community-University Research Alliances (federal) |
| CUT | Certificate in University Teaching |
| CWC | Centre for Wireless Communication |
| CWN | Canadian Water Network (NCE) |
| CWS | Community and World Service |
D
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| DAC | Digital Arts Communication |
| DASL | Design Analysis and Simulation Laboratory |
| DC | Deans’ Council |
| DTA | Distinguished Teacher Award |
| DTRS | Distinguished Teaching by a Registered Student Award |
E
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| E&CE | Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| E Co-op | Enterprise Co-op |
| EC | Executive Council |
| ECE | Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| ECEC | Early Childhood Education Centre |
| EGFD | Environmental and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics group |
| ELAS | English Language for Academic Studies |
| ELPE | English Language Proficiency Exam |
| ELPP | English Language Proficiency Program |
| EngSoc | Engineering Society |
| EP3 | Education Program for Photonics Professionals |
| EPHIP | Education Program for Health Informatics Professionals |
| ER | External Relations |
| ERA | Early Researcher Awards |
| ERA | Centre for Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation |
| ERCnet | Engineering Remote Classroom network |
| ERG | Ecological Restoration Group |
| ERS | Environment and Resource Studies |
| ESCS | Ergonomics and Safety Consulting Services |
| ESGA | Earth Sciences Graduate Association |
| ESL | English as a second language |
| ESQ | Engineering Science Quest |
| ESS | Environment Students Society |
| EWB | Engineers Without Borders |
| EWO | Education at Work Ontario |
F
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| FANS | Funding Agencies & Non-profit Sponsors (Office of Research) |
| FASS | University of Waterloo Faculty Association |
| FAUW | University of Waterloo Faculty Association |
| Feds | Federation of Students |
| FLEX | Lab Flexible Learning Experience Laboratory |
| FOC | Federation Orientation Committee |
| FRSC | Fellow of Royal Society of Canada |
| FSF | Faculty of Science Foundation |
| FSO | Financial Services Office (now Finance) |
| FTE | full-time equivalent |
G
H
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| HMLVD | HeadMounted Low Vision Devices (clinic) |
| HR | Human Resources |
| HRC | Heritage Resources Centre |
| HRM | Human Resources Management Program |
| HRMS | Human Resources Management System |
| HSG | Health Studies and Gerontology |
| HSR | Health and Safety Representative |
I
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| IAP | Institutional Analysis & Planning |
| IBMB | Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
| IC3 | Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change |
| ICR | Institute for Computer Research |
| ICVDM | Integrated Centre for Visualization, Design and Manufacturing (ceased) |
| IEEE | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers |
| IELTS | International English Language Testing System |
| IGR | Institute for Groundwater Research (now WIGR) |
| IIPR | Institute for Insurance and Pension Research |
| IIQP | Institute for Improvement in Quality and Productivity (now BISRG) |
| IIR | Institute for Innovation Research |
| INFORMS | Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences |
| IOBP | International Optometric Bridging Program |
| IP | intellectual property |
| IPACS | Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies |
| IPMG | Intellectual Property Management Group (now WatCO) |
| IPO | International Programs Office |
| IPR | Institute for Polymer Research |
| IQC | Institute for Quantum Computing |
| IQFI | Institute for Quantitative Finance and Insurance (now WatRISQ) |
| IRC | industrial research chair |
| IRIS | Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems (NCE) |
| IRR | Institute for Risk Research |
| ISIS | Intelligent Sensing for Innovative Structures — ceased (NCE) |
| ISO | International Student Office |
| IST | Information Systems and Technology |
| ITC | International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project |
| ITMS | Instructional Technologies and Multimedia Services (was AV Centre) |
| ITS | International Trade Specialization |
J
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| JHSC | Joint Health and Safety Committee |
| JIF | job information form |
L
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| LED | light-emitting diode |
| LED | Local Economic Development |
| LEED | Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design |
| LIF | Learning Initiatives Fund |
| LIFT | Leadership in Faculty Teaching awards |
| LRI | Office of Learning Resources and Innovation (now CTE) |
| LRT | Light Rail Transit. ION is the name of the light rail system in Kitchener-Waterloo |
| LT3 | Centre for Learning and Teaching Through Technology (now CTE) |
M
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| MAD | Mapping, Analysis and Design |
| MAREP | Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program |
| MARGOT | Moyen Age et Renaissance: Groupe de recherche — Ordinateurs et Textes |
| MathSoc | Mathematics Society |
| MCRC | Mid-size City Research Centre |
| MEF | Mathematics Endowment Fund |
| MELAB | Michigan English Language Assessment Battery |
| MEMS | micro-electromechanical systems |
| MET | Ministry of Education and Training (now MTCU) |
| MFCF | Mathematics Faculty Computing Facility |
| MIAMI | Medical Instrument Analysis and Machine Intelligence |
| Micronet | Microelectronic Devices, Circuits and Systems — ceased (NCE) |
| MITACS | Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems (NCE) |
| MMO | Materials and Manufacturing Ontario — now CMM (OCE) |
| MRC | Medical Research Council of Canada |
| MRG | Motion Research Group |
| MSC | Outdated. Marketing and Strategic Communications (formerly CPA) is now two units: Marketing and Strategic Initiatives (MSI) and University Communications. |
| MSI | Marketing and Strategic Initiatives (part of University Relations) |
| MTCU | Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities |
| MUR | Marketing and Undergraduate Recruitment |
| MVS | Museum of Vision Science |
N
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| NARP | Neurobehavioural Assessment and Rehabilitation Program |
| NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.) |
| NCAR | National Center for Atmospheric Research (U.S.) |
| NCE | Networks of Centres of Excellence (federal) |
| NEMS | nano-electromechanical systems |
| NERAM | Network for Environmental Risk Assessment and Management |
| NIH | National Institutes of Health (U.S.) |
| NMR | nuclear magnetic resonance |
| NNI | Nortel Networks Institute for Advanced Information Technology |
| NRC | National Research Council of Canada |
| NSERC | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council |
| NSF | National Science Foundation (U.S.) |
| NSSE | National Survey of Student Engagement |
O
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| OAC | Ontario Academic Credit |
| OCE | Ontario Centres of Excellence |
| OCGS | Ontario Council on Graduate Studies |
| OCUA | Ontario Council on University Affairs |
| ODAA | Office of Development and Alumni Affairs (now Advancement) |
| OEC | Ontario Engineering Competition |
| OED | Centre for the New Oxford English Dictionary and Text Research |
| OGL/EML | Organic Geochemistry and Environmental Microbiology Lab |
| OGS | Ontario Graduate Scholarships |
| OGSST | Ontario Graduate Scholarships in Science and Technology |
| OHSA | Occupational Health and Safety Act (Ontario) |
| OIT | Ontario Innovation Trust (now ORF-RI) |
| OLRC | Optometry Learning Resource Centre (now WLRC) |
| OPD | Office for Persons with Disabilities |
| ORC | Ontario Research Chairs |
| ORDCF | Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund (now ORF-RE) |
| ORE | Office of Research Ethics |
| ORF | Ontario Research Fund |
| ORF-RE | Ontario Research Fund — Research Excellence |
| ORF-RI | Ontario Research Fund — Research Infrastructure |
| ORTC | Ontario Rehabilitation Technology Consortium |
| OSAP | Ontario Student Assistance Program |
| OSC | Ontario Synchrotron Consortium |
| OSS | Ontario Secondary School |
| OTSS | Ontario Trust for Student Support |
| OUAC | Ontario Universities’ Application Centre |
| OUF | Ontario Universities’ Fair |
P
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| PACS | Peace and Conflict Studies |
| PACSC | Provost’s Advisory Committee on Staff Compensation |
| PAC-SMH | President's Advisory Committee on Student Mental Health |
| PAMI | Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence Group |
| PD | professional development |
| PDEng | Professional Development for Engineering Students (now WatPD — Engineering) |
| PEO | Professional Engineers Ontario |
| PHR | Population Health Research Group |
| PI | Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics |
| PLG | Programming Languages Group |
| PMRI | Porous Media Research Institute (ceased) |
| PREA | Premier’s Research Excellence Awards (now ERA) |
| PRFO | Parks Research Forum of Ontario (now CASIOPA) |
| PRO | Photonics Research Ontario — now CP (OCE) |
| PSSA | Political Science Student Association |
Q
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| QNC | Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre |
| QSI | Quaternary Sciences Institute (ceased) |
R
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| R&D | research and development |
| RAIC | Royal Architecture Institute of Canada |
| REEP | Residential Energy Efficiency Project |
| RF | radio frequency |
| RIA | Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging |
| RIM | Research In Motion (now BlackBerry) |
| RLS | Recreation and Leisure Studies |
| RPW | Rhetoric and Professional Writing |
S
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| SAC | Students Advising Co-op (ceased) |
| SAF | School of Accounting and Finance |
| SBSA | Science and Business Students Association |
| SCB | Students Council of Biotechnology |
| SCC | Student Catholic Community |
| SciSoc | Science Society |
| SCN | Stem Cell Network (NCE) |
| SCRUBS | Science C’tee of Revolutionary Undergraduate Business Students (now SBSA) |
| SCUBA 2 | Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array 2 |
| SD | Systems Design |
| SDS | Social Development Studies |
| SEED | School of Environment, Enterprise and Development |
| SEEPAC | Sight Enhancement Equipment Pool and Assessment Centre |
| SERP | Special Early Retirement Program |
| SFF | Sandford Fleming Foundation |
| SFM | Sustainable Forest Management Network (NCE) |
| SGRC | Senate Graduate and Research Council |
| SHARCNET | Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network |
| SiDIC | Silicon Devices and Integrated Circuits Group |
| SIN | Sir Isaac Newton (exam) |
| SISP | Student Information Systems Project |
| SJCCE | St. Jerome’s Centre for Catholic Experience (now CRC) |
| SJU | St. Jerome’s University |
| SLC | Student Life Centre |
| SLEF | Student Life Endowment Fund |
| SMF | Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies |
| SOA | School of Accountancy (now School of Accounting and Finance) |
| SOCC | State of the Canadian Cryosphere |
| SOTU | Informal name of the State of the University Report. Used internally only. |
| SOTY | Co-op Student of the Year Award |
| SRC | Survey Research Centre |
| SSHRC | Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council |
| SSND | School Sisters of Notre Dame |
| SSO | Student Success Office |
| STEC | Solar Thermal Engineering Centre — ceased |
| STEP | Sustainable (formerly Solar) Technology Education Project |
| STS | Science Technical Services |
| SWAG | Software Architecture Group |
| SWEN | Software Engineering Group |
| SWORDC | Southwestern Ontario Research Data Centre |
| SyDE | Systems Design Engineering |
T
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| T&D | training and development |
| TASSEP | TransAtlantic Science Student Exchange Program |
| TBRG | Teaching-Based Research Group |
| TLA | three-letter acronym |
| TOEFL | Test of English as a Foreign Language |
| TRACE | Teaching Resources and Continuing Education (now CTE) |
| TTLO | Technology Transfer and Licensing Office (now WatCO) |
| TUG | TriUniversity Group of Libraries |
U
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| UAE | United Arab Emirates (use U.A.E.) |
| UCC | University Catholic Community |
| UCIST | University Committee on Information Systems and Technology |
| UFA | University Faculty Awards (NSERC) |
| UFE | Uniform Evaluation |
| UMRG | Uncertainty Management Research Group |
| UNENE | University Network of Excellence in Nuclear Engineering |
| URL | universal (or uniform) resource locator |
| USRA | Undergraduate Student Research Awards (NSERC) |
| UW-ACE | University of Waterloo Angel Course Environment (was replaced by LEARN) |
| UWAFT | University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team |
| UWAEG | University of Waterloo Aquatic Ecology Group |
| UWOSS | University of Waterloo Optometry Student Society |
| UWRA | University of Waterloo Retirees Association |
| UWSA | University of Waterloo Staff Association |
| UWSP | University of Waterloo Sustainability Project |
| UW-URI | University of Waterloo — Undergraduate Research Internship program |
W
| Acronym | Full name |
|---|---|
| WAC | Waterloo Advisory Council |
| WAC | Web Advisory Committee |
| WACE | World Association for Co-operative Education |
| WARG | Waterloo Aerial Robotics Group |
| WASA | Waterloo Architecture Student Association |
| WatAIR | Waterloo Atmosphere-land Interactions Research group |
| WatCACE | Waterloo Centre for the Advancement of Co-operative Education |
| WatCAR | Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research |
| WatCo | Waterloo Commercialization Office |
| WatForm | Waterloo Formal Methods research group |
| WATER Lab | WATerloo Environmental change Research Lab |
| WATLab | Waterloo Advanced Technology Lab |
| WatLEO | Waterloo Laboratory for Earth Observations |
| WATMIMS | Waterloo Management of Integrated Manufacturing Systems group |
| WatPD | Waterloo Professional Development program |
| WatRISQ | Waterloo Research Institute in Insurance, Securities and Quantitative Finance |
| WatSEE | Waterloo Sight Enhancement Engineering |
| WatSEF | Waterloo Science Endowment Fund |
| WATSPEC | Waterloo Mass Spectrometry Facility |
| WCAG | Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Current version is 2.0, but 2.1 will be introducing guidelines specific to mobile. |
| WCAS | Waterloo Centre for Atmospheric Sciences |
| WCGR | Waterloo Centre for Groundwater Research (now WIGR) |
| WCGS | Waterloo Centre for German Studies |
| WCMS | Waterloo Content Management System |
| WDR | Waterloo Engineering Endowment Foundation |
| WE | Waterloo Engineering |
| WEEF | Waterloo Engineering Endowment Foundation |
| WESEF | Waterloo Environment Students Endowment Foundation |
| WHMIS | Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System |
| WICI | Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation |
| WIGR | Waterloo Institute for Groundwater Research |
| WIHIR | Waterloo Institute for Health Informatics Research |
| WIHS | Waterloo Institute for Hellenistic Studies |
| WIN | Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology |
| WISC | Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre |
| WISE | Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy |
| WISIR | Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience |
| WLRC | Witer Learning Resource Centre |
| WORC | Waterloo Organizational Research and Consulting Group |
| WoRK | Workflow Research and Knowledge Group |
| WPIRG | Waterloo Public Interest Research Group |
| WPPG | Water Policy and Governance Group |
| WRAP | Waterloo Research in Aging Participant Pool |
| WSIB | Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario) |
Additional resource: Council of Ontario Universities Common Acronyms
