New graduate student information

Waterloo data science students networking at an event

Welcome to the University of Waterloo. We're excited to have you on board. As you prepare for the start of your graduate academic career, you will receive communications from Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, your Data Science Graduate Program Administrator, and some of our campus partners. 

Waterloo Grad Ready is a virtual program and space to support you as you begin your graduate program. It will offer you opportunities to build connections with students, faculty, and staff; resources to help you transition to graduate life; and workshops to support your ongoing graduate experience. Our graduate studies community has come together to support you in this new online environment and will add new information and programming throughout the coming months. 

Information before your arrival

Getting started
  1. Your UWaterloo email account (ending in @uwaterloo.ca) is created automatically after you are matriculated (made active in your program). Visit the Information Systems & Technology website for instructions. Check your UW email regularly.
  2. The Data Science computer lab and lounge in M3 are fully open and availble for use. Please email the Program Administrator for your fob access.
    1. Data Science computer lab located in connected rooms M3 2219 and M3 2102.
    2. Data Science Grad Lounge located in room 2103.

MMath DS:

  1. Students will receive information about their home unit orientation, TA, office space and funding from their home department. If you have not heard about this by the start of term, please reach out to your respective department co-ordinator in Computer Science, Statistics or Combinatorics and Optimization.

Mandatory training checklist

All new graduate students are required to complete the following training modules within the first 2 months of study:

All MDSAI & MMath in DS

  1. Graduate Academic Integrity Module 
  2. Ethics Milestone Workshop
  3. Safety Office Training Modules

MDSAI Co-op

  1. WIL 601: Career Foundations for Work-Integrated Learning

MMath in DS (students assigned a TA)

  1. TA Workshop | This is mainly for MMath in DS students and/or those assigned a Teaching Assistantship (TA). 

  2. Teaching Assistant Manual & CMARHO | Review the information in the Teaching Assistant Manual for the Faculty of Mathematics and complete the Conflict Management & Human Rights Office (CMAHRO) training.

Mandatory Training Checklist

Graduate Academic Integrity Module 

The Graduate Academic Integrity Module on Waterloo LEARN. The module will take approximately 2 hours to complete.

Ethics Milestone Workshop

Students must complete a 3-day workshop on “Ethics in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence” that will be offered once a year (Fall term only). You will receive an information email from your Coordinator at the start of Fall term. 

Workshop 

Date Options:  

Attend 1 date per workshop 

Time 

Ethics Workshop 1  

Monday, September 30, 2024 

Wednesday, October 2, 2024 

8:30am – 11:30am ET  

8:30am – 11:30am ET  

Ethics Workshop 2 

Monday, October 7, 2024

Wednesday, October 9, 2024 

8:30am – 11:30am ET  

8:30am – 11:30am ET 

Ethics Workshop 3 

Monday, October 21, 2024 

Wednesday, October 23, 2024 

8:30am – 11:30am ET  

8:30am – 11:30am ET 

Safety Office Training Modules

All students must complete three online Safety Office Training Modules. Additional courses may be required if you are working in a lab environment. Your supervisor will inform you of any additional training that is required. The mandatory online safety courses are:

Delivery

Course ID

Duration

Online – Safety Office

Employee Safety Orientation (SO1001)

~60 min

Online – Safety Office

WHMIS 2015 (SO2017) 

~45-60 min

Online – Safety Office

Workplace Violence Awareness (SO1081)

~60 min

Online – LEARN (for TAs only)*

*MMath in DS: Accessibility Training module provided by Human Resources. Students assigned a TA (typically only MMath in DS students) must complete this, but it is available to all interested students.

Accessibility Training module

~30 min

MDSAI Co-op

WIL 601: Career Foundations for Work-Integrated Learning is a new course for MDSAI co-op students to help prepare them for co-op at the University of Waterloo. Student must enroll in WIL 601 through Quest. Details of how to enroll can be found on the WIL 601 page. 

All MDSAI co-op students are advised to enroll in the course for Fall 2024. If you have any questions, please email us or Zac Mercer zmercer@uwaterloo.ca who is our students Co-op Advisor. 

TA Workshops

Students assigned a TA must also complete a TA workshop. The Faculty of Math hosts TA training workshops and/or individual departments host their own workshops depending on the department.  Home units will contact those assigned a TA to complete the workshops.

Teaching Assistant Manual & CMAHRO

TAs are required to complete both the CMAHRO Harassment and Discrimination online module and the quiz by the end of their first term as a TA. Review the information in the Teaching Assistant Manual for comprehensive information for TAs in the Faculty of Mathematics and for steps on how to self-enroll in the Conflict Management & Human Rights Office (CMAHRO) training.

Other relevant links and information

Once you've gone through the above information and materials, please feel free to browse ahead and learn more about your program components and other resources available. We will also discuss these items during orientation. 

Key program information

  • Please refer to our courses webpage for information about data science core and elective courses, tentative course offerings, schedule of classes, and course enrolment for your first term.
  • For full-time students in the Master of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (MDSAI) Co-op program, your scheduled work term will be in the Spring term. Please refer to our co-op webpage for more information about co-op requirements, workshops, co-op support, and other resources.

Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA)

GSPA provides support to students, postdocs, staff and faculty who are engaged in graduate work and research at the University of Waterloo. GSPA keeps the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar (GSAC) updated, which is the main contractual document between the student and the University. You will find general information and regulations as well as your specific program degree requirements, including core/elective courses and milestone requirements.

Student Portal

The Student Portal is highly recommended and is designed to make your UWaterloo life easier, providing mobile-friendly access to a suite of customizable real-time information, updates and features relevant to all students.

Student Success Office (SSO)

The SSO is a one-stop shop of resources to help you along your academic career. International students will be interested in their international student resources. Their team is equipped to assist international students in all aspects of their transition to living and studying in Canada.

Data Science Graduate Student Job Board

Jobs exclusive to current Data Science Graduate Students (MDSAI & MMath DS).

To make sense of the huge amounts of data generated every day by business, scientific, and social activity taking place all around us, industry is looking for trained professionals with degrees like the ones you have or are working on!

Find exclusive job opportunities from our partners in industry on the on the Data Science Job Board.

Unlike WaterlooWorks which posts jobs available to all students, jobs posted on this webpage are exclusively available to Data Science Graduate students.

Graduate Orientation

In advance of your first term, stay tuned for an email invitation to your mandatory data science graduate Orientation event that will contain specific details for your session. The Faculty of Mathematics will also hold a mandatory orientation session to provide new math graduate student information.

You can view our most recent recorded presentations below as a reference. Please note that it is mandatory to attend your own orientation scheduled sessions as information and requirements may change for each cohort. 

Fall 2023 Presentation

Course curriculum

Past Orientation Events