A student-paid co-op fee predominately funds the delivery of the co-op program at Waterloo. Like tuition, this fee is a requirement of your enrolment in a co-op program. You’ll pay it in installments throughout your time at Waterloo. All undergraduate co-op students pay the fee — as do some graduate students whose co-op programs are supported by the Co-operative Education department (learn more about our graduate co-op programs).
The fee represents the cost of running the co-op program, which includes more than 25,000 students, at Waterloo. Each year, we review the co-op fee amount to align with projected costs and determine whether an increase is needed. Factors such as service improvements, inflation and cost-of-living increases can influence the co-op fee. The review process includes consultation with students and input on the services the co-op fee funds.
Throughout the Co-operative Education unit, we have worked to reduce our costs. However, like most things in our current economy, the cost of securing co-op jobs and running the Co-operative Education program has increased significantly.
2024/2025 cost-saving measures
- Reduction in travel costs - limited in-person employer and student visits and focusing on virtual connections
- Analysis of our business development expenses - ensuring the greatest return possible
- Examination of hiring needs and pausing new incremental hires
- Reduction in expenses including purchasing of promotional materials and printing costs
The co-op fee is the primary source of funding for Co-operative Education. Other funding sources outside of the fee are used for specific projects (e.g., Co-op for Community funding student salaries to work at non-profit organizations).
We understand that students also feel the strain of the current economic situation. Our priority is to keep the co-op fee as low as we can while still offering you valuable service and responsibly managing our costs.
We are committed to being transparent and providing accurate and up-to-date information about your co-op fee on this page. If you have questions about your co-op fee, please contact our co-op student experience team.
Your 2024/2025 co-op fee amount and breakdown
The co-op fee amount for 2024/2025 is $786. This amount represents a $30, or four per cent (4%) increase, from 2023/2024. Co-operative Education determined this amount using our annual financial analysis and fee-setting process, which includes student consultations. The Board of Governors has approved this fee amount.
You’ll pay the co-op fee multiple times throughout your degree. To be clear, the co-op fee is not a "job-finding fee" per work term. Instead, it represents the cost of running the co-op program, annual initiatives, program improvements, and the services available to you as a co-op student.
In 2023/2024, the co-op fee funded a variety of initiatives including:
- WaterlooWorks UI/UX improvements
- EDI-R and IR initiatives
- Faculty of Health recruiting term pilot
- WEAccelerate programming for first work-term students
- accessibility improvements including dedicated co-op accessibility role
- Not Interested increase to five each term
- job posting changes including the addition of compensation information and employment arrangement (in-person, remote or hybrid)
Your academic program determines when the co-op fee appears as a charge on your account in Quest. The cost of participating in co-op is spread throughout your degree to minimize the fees you’ll need to pay in any given term.
Co-op fee allocation
Here is a breakdown of the $786 co-op fee amount. We’ve sorted every role and expense funded by your co-op fee into seven distinct categories of work/costs.
Co-op employment process - $63
Our co-op program grows every term. With so many students and employers, it's critical that the core employment process functions as planned. Some key areas that this funding supports include:
- setting up WaterlooWorks prior to the start of term and ensuring it's ready for the incoming users
- approving jobs and validating which clusters/levels they belong in
- scheduling interviews through WaterlooWorks
- facilitating interview day services including all the support for both students and employers
- running the rank/match process and communicating the results to students and employers
- confirming and approving Arranged Own Jobs (AOJs)
- upgrading and improving WaterlooWorks
Student advising, programming, resource development - $204
Student success is critical to co-op and student advising is an important part of that process. Among other things, student advising includes:
- support for all students while on any work term, from their first through to their last
- resource design and development targeting the changing and emerging needs and challenges of students in diverse situations
- additional support for first work term students through the Centre for Career Development (e.g., résumé critiques, mock interviews, career advising, in-house and custom workshops)
- full consults for any students at a new employer, on their first or second to last work term, or in need of a full consult based on their eCheckin responses
- a focus on student success while on their recruiting term, from the beginning of term until employment
Twenty-six per cent of our operating budget is allocated to co-op student advising, programming and resource development expenses. We’ve broken this down even further:
- 6% goes toward specialized student support
- including pre-first work term programming and international advising
- 14% goes toward work term support and advising
- scheduled student consults for all first work term and second-to-last work term students
- scheduled consults with students working with an employer new to Waterloo
- support and help for students and their supervisors facing issues
- 6% goes toward general recruiting term support
- including students who are off-campus for any reason (such as on an exchange)
Employer relationship management - $110
With student enrolment growth comes a higher number of employer relationships. We work with more than 8,000 active employers; many of the best employers in the world hire from Waterloo.
In 2022, we were named #1 in Canada for experiential learning and #2 in Canada for employer-student connections. Nurturing employer relationships is crucial to the success of our co-op program. To maintain this level of employer partnership, the co-op fee helps to support:
- working with employers to understand their hiring needs
- facilitating info sessions for employers to attract students
- monitoring jobs throughout the process to ensure they are moving toward a hire
Faculty and institutional relations - $24
Academic programming is very much aligned with the co-op program. Communication between faculties and co-op is integral. Co-operative Education maintains strong relationships within the faculties to support more than 120 co-op programs. The co-op fee helps to support:
- feasibility studies for new co-op programs
- program reviews for existing co-op programs
- liaising and strengthening relationships across each of the six faculties and other campus institutions
New job development - $89
The University's employer network stretches across 60+ countries. Our business development team connects with prospective employers at hundreds of events, trade shows and meetings across North America each year.
New business is a priority to ensure the growth of Waterloo co-op. The co-op fee helps to support:
- increasing the number of students hired and the diversity of programs employers hire from
- onboarding of new employers - including coaching on funding opportunities, program options, hiring procedures and effective student coaching/evaluation
- using a research-based approach to explore prospective employers and industries
Infrastructure and administration - $139
In 2022, we processed more than 25,100 co-op work terms in WaterlooWorks. Our infrastructure and administration support all five areas of work listed above. The co-op fee supports infrastructure and administration including:
- technical support for posting, interviewing and hiring co-op students
- WaterlooWorks licensing and maintenance
- management and administration
- process improvement, pilots and new program development
- external relations (e.g., association work, delegation representations)
University central costs - $157
University central costs account for our department’s continuous access to centralized resources and services on campus. This includes overheads such as building management and space costs (Plant Operations), employee benefits (Human Resources), access to university technology networks and tech supports (IST) and more.
The University automatically deducts these costs and does not consider them as part of the operating budget of the co-op program.
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Co-op fee by program
The number of times you pay the co-op fee varies by program. The co-op fee is associated with your enrollment in the co-op program (like tuition). It is not a "job-finding fee" per work term. Instead, it represents the cost of running the co-op program and is spread out over a number of academic terms.
This chart outlines how many terms and which terms you’ll need to pay the fee (per program) throughout your undergraduate career. You can get an estimated total cost by multiplying the current fee by the number of times you pay. For example:
- $786* x 8 = $6,288
- $786* x 6 = $4,716
- $786* x 5 = $3,930
- $786* x 4 = $3,144
Note: The $786 co-op fee amount is for the 2024/25 fiscal year only - it is reviewed annually and is subject to change. Visit the Tuition Fee Schedule to find out your fees based on your program and the current term.
See when and how often you pay based on your faculty and program:
Arts
Programs following 2018 undergraduate calendar & earlier
Program |
When you pay |
Total times paid |
---|
Accounting and Financial Management |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Arts and Business |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Computing and Financial Management |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Economics, Mathematical Economics |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
English (all majors) |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
History |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Political Science; Psychology; Sociology |
2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
5 |
Programs following 2019 undergraduate calendar & forward
Program
|
When you pay
|
Total times paid
|
---|
Accounting and Financial Management |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Arts and Business |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Computing and Financial Management |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Global Business and Digital Arts |
3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
4 |
Honours Arts Co-op |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Sustainability and Financial Management |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Engineering
Program |
When you pay |
Total times paid |
---|
Architectural Engineering |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Architecture (following 2022 undergraduate calendar and earlier) |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Architecture (following 2023 undergraduate calendar and forward) |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Biomedical |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Chemical |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Civil |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Computer |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Electrical |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Environmental |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Geological |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Management |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Mechanical |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Mechatronics |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Nanotechnology |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Software |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Systems Design |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Environment
Program |
When you pay |
Total times paid |
---|
Climate and Environmental Change |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Environment and Business |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Environment and Resource Studies |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Geography and Environmental Management |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Geomatics |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Planning |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Sustainability and Financial Management |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Health
Program |
When you pay |
Total times paid |
---|
Public Health |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Health Sciences |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Kinesiology |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Recreation and Leisure Studies |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Math
Program |
When you pay |
Total times paid |
---|
Actuarial Science; Actuarial Science/Finance Option; Applied Mathematics; Mathematics/Teaching Option; Pure Math/Teaching Option |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Business Administration and Computer Science (Double Degree); Business Administration and Mathematics (Double Degree) |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B |
6 |
Computer Science |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Computing and Financial Management |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Data Science |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Mathematics/Business Administration |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Mathematics/Chartered Professional Accountancy (CPA) |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Mathematics/Financial Analysis and Risk Management |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Mathematical Physics |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Software Engineering |
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
8 |
Science
Program |
When you pay |
Total times paid |
---|
Biochemistry; Biology; Biotechnology/Economics; Chemistry; Earth Sciences; Environmental Science; Medicinal Chemistry; Science and Business |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Biotechnology/Chartered Professional Accountancy |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Physics; Biological and Medical Physics; Mathematical Physics; Physics and Astronomy |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Materials and Nanosciences |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Psychology (following 2020 undergraduate calendar and earlier) |
2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
5 |
Psychology (following 2021 undergraduate calendar and forward) |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B |
6 |
Pharmacy (Doctor of Pharmacy) |
2A, 2B, 3A, 3B |
4 |
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How the co-op fee is determined and set each year
Below, we’ve outlined the process and dates used to set the 2024/2025 co-op fee amount of $786.
Co-op fee process
Spring/fall term |
Perform financial analysis; including
- Assessing current year financial position based on estimated budget, expenses incurred to-date and estimated expenses for the balance of the fiscal year
- Forecasting future years’ financial position based on estimated budget and expenses
|
Fall term |
Review and consult stakeholders about the proposed fee
- Stakeholder Review Group (Co-operative and Experiential Education, IAP, Finance, WUSA)
- Provost
|
Fall term |
Share proposed fee with students through councils and committees
|
January |
Send fee proposal to Board of Governors for review. |
February |
Vote on fee proposal at Board of Governors meeting. |
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