Your co-op fee

two students looking at a piece of paper

Co-op at Waterloo is predominately funded by a student-paid co-op fee. 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 at Waterloo, which includes more than 25,000 students. Each year, we review the co-op fee amount to align with projected future 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.

We are committed to providing transparent information about your co-op fee via this webpage. You’ll find the most accurate, 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 2023/2024 co-op fee amount and how it’s spent

The confirmed co-op fee amount for 2023/2024 is $756. Determined through our annual financial analysis and fee-setting process, this amount represents a 1.5% increase from last year’s co-op fee of $745.

As a co-op student, you’ll pay the co-op fee a number of times over the course of your undergraduate academic career. 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 and is spread out over a number of academic terms.

Your academic program determines when the co-op fee appears as a charge on your account in Quest (see below for a breakdown by faculty/program). To minimize the fees you’ll need to pay in any given term, the cost of participating in co-op is spread throughout your degree.

Co-op fee allocation

Here is a breakdown of the $756 co-op fee amount. We’ve sorted every role and expense funded by your co-op fee into seven distinct categories of work/costs.

2023/2024 co-op fee allocation graph

Co-op employment process - $60

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

Student advising, programming, resource development - $196

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, first through last
resource design and development that targets 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, students on their first or second to last work term, or if a student needs 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% ($45 per assessment) goes toward specialized student support
- including pre-first work term programming and international advising
14% ($106 per assessment) 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% ($45 per assessment) goes toward general recruiting term support
- including students who are off-campus for any reason (such as on an exchange)

Employer relationship management - $106

With student enrolment growth comes a higher number of employer relationships. In 2022 we had more than 7,500 active employers. Many of the best employers in the world hire from Waterloo and many hire repeatedly.

In 2022, we were named #2 in Canada for employer-student connections and #1 in Canada for experiential learning. 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 - $23

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 - $86

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 - $134

In 2021, we processed more than 23,500 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
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 - $151

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.

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:

$756* x 8 = $6,048
$756* x 6 = $4,536
$756* x 5 = $3,780
$756* x 4 = $3,024

Note: The $756 co-op fee amount is for the 2023/24 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; Life 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

How the co-op fee is determined and set each year

The co-op fee you pay today actually supports the next fiscal budget. We use a three-year model utilizing projected revenue/expenses to determine the fee. Here is an example of the process and dates used to set the current fee amount of $756.

Year one: Set fee

August-September	Perform financial analysis; includes 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
September-October	Review and consult stakeholders about the proposed fee Stakeholder Review Group (Co-operative and Experiential Education, IAP, Finance, WUSA) Provost
November	Share proposed fee with councils and committees Co-operative Education Council CEE Committee Undergrad Student Relations Committee Graduate Student Relations Committee
January	Send fee proposal to Board of Governors for review
February	Vote on fee proposal at Board of Governors meeting

Year two: Collect fee

Fiscal year from May 1 to April 30

Students pay the approved co-op fee as determined in the previous fiscal year. Frequency and total times paid depend on your program, year and sequence.

Year three: Spend fee