Co-operative (co-op) education is a great opportunity for students to apply their Computational Mathematics skills as they complete a full-time, paid work placement in a reputable company or government service. Please visit the graduate co-op informational website for general information.
We strongly encourage all students to apply to our co-op program during the application process, unless they are certain that co-op is not needed as part of their academic or professional development plan within the CM program.
Participating in the co-op program impacts your program progression by adding one or two terms to the program length. By default, the program includes two co-op terms. If you plan to take only one co-op term during the program, please complete and submit the Graduate Student Sequence Change form one week before the fees arrangement deadline without a late fee for your fourth term. For individual circumstances, you are encouraged to contact the program coordinator for case-by-case discussions.
See below for more information on opting out of the co-op program, degree requirements, and available opportunities and support.
Co-op program change guidelines
Students enrolled in the co-op program will be charged a co-op fee during their first academic term (the pre-recruitment term), and during each work term. Students who opt out of the co-op program before the financial refund deadlines are eligible for a refund of the co-op fee that term and will not be charged co-op fees for future terms. If you wish to opt out of the co-op program, please submit a completed program/plan change form to compmath@uwaterloo.ca.
In exceptional cases, students who were not initially admitted to the co-op program and wish to transfer in after enrolment may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Such requests can only be considered if the student already holds the necessary work authorization to participate in co-op in Canada. If a discussion is required, please contact compmath@uwaterloo.ca.
Securing a co-op job
The University of Waterloo runs one of the largest co-op programs in the world and Waterloo students are in high demand with leading employers in the technology and financial sectors, both in Canada and in the USA.
As a co-op student, you can either search for opportunities through WaterlooWorks or arrange your own co-op job.
You are not required to secure a co-op position related to your research project. However, to write an adequate work report, your job should be relevant to your studies in Computational Mathematics.
Co-op degree requirements
1. WIL 601: Career Foundations for Work-Integrated Learning
WIL 601 is a required course for both your degree and co-op designation. This course provides you with the tools, strategies and resources to effectively prepare for your upcoming WIL experiences (co-op work terms, internships or other forms of WIL) and future career endeavours after graduation. In this course, you will practice applying career development techniques, learn industry tips from external partners and explore workplace preparation strategies to support your success.
You are expected to complete this course during your first academic term, and will be automatically enrolled in the course for that term.
2. Graduate WIL Reflective Report (GRR)
You are required to complete a Graduate WIL Reflective Report prep module and the report asynchronously in LEARN.You will be notified of the Graduate WIL Reflective Report milestone requirement at the start of a work term by CEE. Details for the report milestone can also be found at the GRR informational webpage. If you have any questions, please contact gradwilreports@uwaterloo.ca.
3. Milestone Completion Form
Once you have completed your work term and the Graduate WIL Reflective Report, you will need to fill out a milestone completion form for the milestone, “Graduate Studies Co-op Work Report.”
The form, along with detailed instructions, will be sent to you by the Program Coordinator near the end of your co-op term.
The form will need to be signed by:
- Your research supervisor(s), as the first reader of your work report
- Your employer, as the second reader of your work report
- The Graduate Officer
Supports for co-op students
| Centre for Career Action Advising | Student Advising | Graduate Program Coordinator |
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Previous co-op positions and industry sectors
Computational Mathematics Master's co-op students commonly work in positions such as:
- Data scientists and data analysts
- Machine learning developers and engineers
- Investment, trading, and business analysts
- Software developers
Co-op students have opportunities to work in a wide variety of industries. Some of the industry sectors where Computational Mathematics students have found co-op positions include:
- Banking and finance
- Insurance and investment
- Technology and software
- Research and development
- Manufacturing
- Government
Previous co-op employers
See below for a sample of companies who have previously employed Computational Mathematics Master's co-op students:
- Applied Brain Research Inc.
- Bank of Montreal
- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
- Canadian Intellectual Property Office
- Capital One
- DealerCorp Solutions Inc.
- Dynacare
- Environment and Climate Change Canada
- FAIRVentures (A Fairfax Company)
- FaithLife Financial
- Huawei Noah's Ark Lab research center
- Industrial Alliance Insurance & Financial Services
- Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada
- Intact Financial Corporation
- Killi
- National Bank Financial
- Natural Resources Canada
- Nissan Canada Inc.
- Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
- Ontario Ministry of Finance
- TD Bank Group
- The Co-operators
- The Economical Insurance Group
- Thomson Reuters
- University of Waterloo
- Venbridge Ltd.