Have you studied at college or university and are thinking of joining Waterloo to pursue your degree? You’re on the right track.
Waterloo welcomes students from a variety of pathways into the university. Let us show you how to get there!
What you need to know
Eligibility
If you are working towards completing a degree at a college or university, you will be considered as a transfer student when you apply.
Ineligible programs for transfer
We will not be able to process any transfers to our Business Administration (Laurier) and Computer Science (Waterloo) Double Degree, Computing and Financial Management, and Mathematics/Chartered Professional Accountancy programs due to sequencing and scheduling issues.
Competition for admission is extremely competitive with very few spaces (if any) expected to be available for incoming transfer students. Applicants interested in transferring into Computer Science at Waterloo should have outstanding grades, especially in computer science and mathematics courses, and should be studying in a related program. Admissions assessments are performed on a case-by-case basis.
Transfer credit
- If you are transferring from another university, you’re eligible to receive transfer credits for relevant courses in which you have achieved a grade of 60% or better.
- The Faculty of Mathematics also transfers failed courses. Courses where a grade of less than 50% has been achieved will be transferred to your Waterloo record, however grades achieved in these courses will not be included in your Waterloo averages. Failed courses will count as a “transfer failure”.
- Transferred courses will count toward your Waterloo degree; however, grades obtained in these courses will not be included in your Waterloo average.
- To ensure that you’ll be successful in your program, you must have the required Ontario Grade 12 U courses or equivalent, as outlined on the admission requirement pages.
- Transfer credit may vary depending on the program to which you have applied.
- You must meet all requirements of your Waterloo academic plan in order to graduate, regardless of the number of transfer credits that you receive.
Admissions
| Institution | Admissions average |
|---|---|
| High school/college | Minimum 85%; Advanced Functions, Calculus, and English |
| University | Minimum 85% |
Note: Averages listed are the minimum requirements for consideration and do not guarantee admission. Cut offs are subject to change.
All transfer credits will be evaluated at the time of admissions once a formal application has been submitted. If you are admissible, our Director of Admissions will determine how many credits you are eligible in receiving. We will not be able to evaluate credits for transfer prior to an application.
If you are applying from another Canadian university, you can evaluate possible courses for transfer before you apply on the transfer credits for university students webpage.
Co-op eligibility
If you receive more than 6.5 transfer credits, you will not be eligible to participate in our co-op option or any of our co-op only programs including Computing and Financial Management and Business Administration and Computer Science.
- Applications may be considered for co-op during our fall or winter admissions cycle.
- Math and non-math courses will be considered for possible transfer credit.
- You will not be allowed to waive any awarded transfer credits.
Math requirements
To be successful in our program, you will need to show a strong understanding of mathematics.
If you have never completed a grade 12 university-level math course, you will need to take both Calculus and Algebra to be eligible for admissions - you may also be required to take grade 12 English.
Upgrading math courses
If you have not completed any math course in the past three years, you will need to upgrade your marks in Calculus and Algebra for consideration into our program.
| The last time I enrolled in math was... |
High school/College You’ll need to upgrade your high school marks.You're welcome to enrol in these courses offered through another university but these will be challenging if you've never completed Calculus or Algebra previously. |
University You’ll need to upgrade your university marks. |
|---|---|---|
| How can I update these courses? |
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| Can I upgrade courses at Waterloo for credit? | No. We do not offer non-degree enrolment for Computer Science or Math courses at Waterloo. | |
Scholarship eligibility
As a transfer student, you will be ineligible for any of our entrance scholarships. We reserve these for our high school applicants.
If you are requiring financial aid to help finance your studies, you can inquire with our Students Awards and Financial Aid Office regarding our funding options.
How to apply
Future students
- You will need to apply by setting up an account through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC).
- Once you have completed your application, you will need to mail your official high school and university/college transcripts to our Registrar’s Office.
- If you have completed any university courses, we recommend that you submit a hardcopy of your course descriptions so that we can evaluate your classes for possible transfer credit.
- To highlight your academic background, we recommend that you fill out an Admissions Information Form (AIF) with your application.
Waterloo alumni
- If you are a Waterloo graduate who is interested in pursuing a second undergraduate degree in Computer Science, you can fill out a Application for Undergraduate Readmission available through our Registrar's Office.
- If you have already graduated from one of our Faculty of Mathematics programs, you will be ineligible for a transfer.