Your co-op fee | Co-operative Education

two students looking at a piece of paper

What is the co-op fee for?

Your student-paid co-op fee funds the delivery of the co-op program at Waterloo. Like tuition, this fee is required for all students enrolled in a co-op program.

The co-op fee is not a job-finding fee per work term. It is a pro-rated fee that, throughout a student's degree, recovers the full costs associated with running the co-op program.

The costs of running the co-op program include staff salaries and benefits, space occupancy (e.g. heat, electricity), technology, supplies, marketing and advertising, and other job development costs. Co-operative Education practices fiscal responsibility and works to reduce costs to keep the co-op fee as low as possible while delivering a quality co-op program.

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. donations for the Co-op for Community program fund student salaries to work at non-profit organizations).

As a co-op student, you pay the fee in installments throughout your time at Waterloo. All undergraduate students in a co-op program pay the co-op fee. All graduate students in a co-op program supported by Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) pay the fee.

Your proposed 2026/2027 co-op fee

The proposed co-op fee for 2026/2027 is $836, an increase of $19 or 2.4% from the 2025/2026 fee.
The fee change reflects increased costs due to inflation and annual salary increases.
Like the rest of the institution, Co-operative Education is reducing expenses.
Learn more about our annual co-op fee review process, which includes communications with student representatives.
The fee will be presented to the Board of Governors in February 2026.

$836

2026/2027 proposed co-op fee

Your 2025/2026 co-op fee amount and breakdown

The co-op fee amount for 2025/2026 is $817. This amount represents a $31, or four per cent (4%), increase from 2024/2025.

Co-operative Education determined this amount using our annual financial analysis and fee-setting process, which includes student consultations. The fee was approved by the Board of Governors in February 2025.

As a co-op student, you’ll pay the co-op fee multiple times throughout your degree. 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.

We are committed to transparency, fiscal responsibility 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 use this form.

How is the co-op fee set?

CEE reviews the co-op fee each year to align with projected costs and determine whether an increase is needed. Factors such as inflation/costs, improvements in service and salary changes can influence the amount of the co-op fee each year. The co-op fee review process includes consultation with students and input on the services that the co-op fee funds. Learn more about the review process.

Across CEE, we continuously work to reduce our costs and practice fiscal responsibility to keep the co-op fee as low as we can while delivering a quality co-operative education program.

Pie chart graph dissecting the co-op fee. See the distribution specifics below this image.

Co-op employment process - $70

With thousands of students and employers, the core employment process must function effectively. Some key areas that funds in this category support include:

setting up WaterlooWorks before the start of term and ensuring it's ready for the incoming users
approving jobs and validating the appropriate clusters/levels
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
paying salaries and benefits for staff focused on this work

Co-op advising, program and resource development - $225

Student success is critical to co-operative education and advising students to support their success is an important part of that process. Among other things, co-op advising includes:

a dedicated, faculty-aligned support person for all co-op students throughout their co-op career including during recruitment and work terms.
resource design and development targeting the changing and emerging needs and challenges of students in diverse situations
consults for any students working with a new employer, on their first or second to last work term, or in need of a consult based on their eCheckin responses
salaries and benefits for staff focused on this work

Twenty-eight per cent of our operating budget is allocated to advising co-op students, programming and resource development expenses. We’ve broken this down even further:

6% of our operating budget goes toward specialized student support including pre-first work term programming and international advising
16% of our operating budget goes toward work term support and advising scheduled and requested student consults support and help for students and their supervisors when facing issues
6% of our operating budget goes toward general recruiting term support including students who are off campus for any reason (such as on an exchange)

Employer relationship management - $123

We work with more than 8,000 active employers. Many of the top employers in the world hire from Waterloo. 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 and resources for employers to attract students
monitoring jobs throughout the process to ensure they are moving toward a hire
paying salaries and benefits for staff focused on this work

Faculty and institutional relations - $27

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
paying salaries and benefits for staff focused on this work.

New job development - $99

The University's employer network stretches across 60+ countries. Our business development team engages with hundreds of prospective employers through virtual events, networking, industry association partnerships and targeted promotions and advertising. New business is a priority to ensure the growth of Co-operative Education at Waterloo. 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 understand key job market trends and emerging industries, roles and opportunities to engage new employers
seeking external funding opportunities (e.g., CEWIL iHUB, Mitacs)
paying salaries and benefits for staff focused on this work.

Infrastructure and administration - $155

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
systems management and administration
process improvement, pilots and new program development
external relations (e.g., association work, delegation representations)
paying salaries and benefits for staff focused on this work.

University services and occupancy costs - $118

This category represents the cost of the Co-operative Education department’s use of the University’s services (e.g., Finance, Legal and Immigration Services, Central Stores, Information Systems & Technology, Procurement, Safety Office etc.) and the space to do our work. The administrative fee charged to Co-operative Education is based on total costs incurred.

Space occupancy costs represent the costs of utilities and maintenance for campus space Co-operative Education uses and are calculated based on net-assignable square metres at specified rates.

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 terms.

The following information shows when you’ll start to pay the fee and for how many times you’ll need to pay the fee (per program) throughout your undergraduate or graduate career. If you don’t see your CEE-supported graduate program listed, check out the information for graduate students section for a list of graduate co-op programs supported by their respective program/department.

If you extend your program for additional academic terms, you will not pay additional co-op fees. The number of times you pay the fee (per program) is shown in the “Total times paid” column below. You can get an estimated total cost by multiplying the current fee by the number of times you pay. For example:

$817 x 8 = $6,536
$817 x 6 = $4,902
$817 x 5 = $4,085
$817 x 4 = $3,268
$817 x 3 = $2,451
$817 x 2 = $1,634

Note: The $817 co-op fee amount is for the 2025/26 fiscal year only (May 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026) - 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

Undergraduate programs

Programs following 2019 undergraduate calendar forward:

Program	When you will begin paying	Total times paid
Accounting and Financial Management	2A	6
Arts and Business	2A	6
Computing and Financial Management	1A	8
Global Business and Digital Arts	3A	4
Honours Arts Co-op	2A	6
Sustainability and Financial Management	2A	6

Programs following the 2018 undergraduate calendar or earlier can connect with an academic advisor for co-op fee information.

Graduate programs

Students beginning their program in Spring 2025 (or earlier)

Connect with your graduate co-ordinator for co-op fee information.

Students beginning their program in Fall 2025 and beyond

Grad co-op fees are assessed on the program's first study term, with the remaining fee(s) assessed during each subsequent work term:

Program	When you will begin paying	Total times paid
Economics – MA (Co-op)	First study term	2-3*
Economics – MA (Water) (Co-op)	First study term	2-3*
English – MA (Experimental Digital Media) (Co-op)	First study term	3
English - MA (Literary Studies) (Co-op)	First study term	3
English - MA (Rhetoric and Communication Design) (Co-op)	First study term	3
Political Science – MA (Co-op)	First study term	3
Political Science - PhD (Co-op)	Two terms prior to first scheduled work term	4
Public Service - MPS (Co-op)	First study term	3
Social and Legal Studies - MA (Co-op)	First study term	3
Sociology - MA (Co-op)	First study term	3
Sociology – PhD (Co-op)	Two terms prior to first scheduled work term	4

*The total number of co-op fees assessed to the student is dependent on the number of work terms.

Engineering

Undergraduate programs

Programs following 2019 undergraduate calendar forward:

Program	When you will begin paying	Total times paid
Architectural Engineering	1A	8
Architecture (following 2022 undergraduate calendar and earlier)	2A	6
Architecture (following 2023 undergraduate calendar and forward)	1A	8
Biomedical	1A	8
Chemical	1A	8
Civil	1A	8
Computer	1A	8
Electrical	1A	8
Environmental	1A	8
Geological	1A	8
Management	1A	8
Mechanical	1A	8
Mechatronics	1A	8
Nanotechnology	1A	8
Software	1A	8
Systems Design	1A	8

Graduate programs

Students beginning their program in Spring 2025 (or earlier)

Connect with your graduate co-ordinator for co-op fee information.

Students beginning their program in Fall 2025 and beyond

Grad co-op fees are assessed on the program's first study term, with the remaining fee(s) assessed during each subsequent work term:

Program	When you will begin paying	Total times paid
Architecture - MArch (Co-op)	First study term	2
Chemical Engineering - MEng (Co-op)	First study term	2-3*
Civil Engineering - MEng (Co-op)	First study term	2-3*
Electrical and Computer Engineering - MEng (Co-op)	First study term	2-3*
Master of Applied Science in Management Sciences - MASc (Co-op)	First study term**	3
Management Sciences - MMSc (Co-op)	First study term	3
Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering - MEng (Co-op)	First study term	2-3*

*The total number of co-op fees assessed to the student is dependent on the number of work terms.

**First study term upon admittance to the Co-op program.

Environment

Undergraduate programs

Program	When you will begin paying	Total times paid
Climate and Environmental Change	2A	6
Environment and Business	2A	6
Environment and Resource Studies	2A	6
Geography and Environmental Management	2A	6
Geomatics	2A	6
Planning	2A	6
Sustainability and Financial Management	2A	6

Health

Undergraduate programs

Program	When you will begin paying	Total times paid
Public Health	2A	6
Health Sciences	2A	6
Kinesiology	2A	6
Recreation and Leisure Studies	2A	6

Mathematics

Undergraduate programs

Program	When you will begin paying	Total times paid
Actuarial Science; Actuarial Science/Finance Option; Applied Mathematics; Mathematics/Teaching Option; Pure Math/Teaching Option	1A	8
Business Administration and Computer Science (Double Degree); Business Administration and Mathematics (Double Degree)	1A	6
Computer Science	1A	8
Computing and Financial Management	1A	8
Data Science	1A	8
Mathematics/Business Administration	1A	8
Mathematics/Chartered Professional Accountancy (CPA)	2A	6
Mathematics/Financial Analysis and Risk Management	1A	8
Mathematical Physics	1A	8
Software Engineering	1A	8

Graduate programs

Students beginning their program in Spring 2025 (or earlier)

Connect with your graduate co-ordinator for co-op fee information.

Students beginning their program in Fall 2025 and beyond

Grad co-op fees are assessed on the program's first study term, with the remaining fee(s) assessed during each subsequent work term:

Program	When you will begin paying	Total times paid
Computer Science - MMath (Co-op)	First study term**	3
Computational Mathematics - MMath (Co-op)	First study term	2-3*
Data Science and Artificial Intelligence - MDSAI (Co-op)	First study term	2-3*
Applied Mathematics – MMath (Co-op)	First study term**	3

*The total number of co-op fees assessed to the student is dependent on the number of work terms.

**First study term upon admittance to the Co-op program.

Science

Undergraduate programs

Program	When you will begin paying	Total times paid
Biochemistry; Biology; Biotechnology/Economics; Chemistry; Earth Sciences; Environmental Science; Medicinal Chemistry; Science and Business	2A	6
Biotechnology/Chartered Professional Accountancy	2A	6
Physics; Biological and Medical Physics; Mathematical Physics; Physics and Astronomy	2A	6
Materials and Nanosciences	2A	6
Psychology (following 2020 undergraduate calendar and earlier)	2B	5
Psychology (following 2021 undergraduate calendar and forward)	2A	6
Pharmacy (Doctor of Pharmacy)	2A	4

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

We’ve outlined the process and dates used to set the 2025/2026 co-op fee amount of $817.

Time	Item
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 Provost Stakeholder Review Group (Co-operative and Experiential Education, IAP, Integrated Planning and Budgeting Office, Finance, WUSA, GSA)
Fall term	Share proposed fee with students through councils and committees Co-op Student Council (WUSA, GSA, student society representation) Co-operative and Experiential Education Council (CEEC) 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.