Declare Your Economics Major

Three students looking at a cell phone.

In your first year at the University of Waterloo you are admitted to a general program, such as Arts and apply to be  admitted to the economics major by the beginning of April at the end of your first academic year (1B term). This provides you enough time to select the appropriate courses for the fall term of your second year. 

You should attend the Faculty of Arts information session, which takes place in March. For more information on how to declare your major and specific dates for information sessions and submissions, see the Faculty of Arts Declare your major page.

The Economics Advising Team will also host a departmental Declare Your Major Event to answer any questions about our major plans and the supports and activities available to Economics students. We have two information videos below to help you understand our plans and what Economics has to offer. You can also read up on our ECON-nection mentorship program and the UW Economics Society.

Note: the videos below were made for the Fall 2021 incoming 2A students and some information has changed. Please note the co-op sequence is wrong in these videos. See the correct sequence here.

Remote video URL
Remote video URL

Economics has a team of advisors available to help you with the declaration of your major or minor. If you have questions at any point about your Economics degree, please contact us.

To declare your Economics major after your 1B term:

If you are an Arts student, complete the Plan Modification form. For guidance, there is an instructional video, which walks you through how to fill out the on-line form. Once your form is completed, please email it to the economics advising team to be reviewed.

If you are in another faculty and wish to transfer to the Faculty of Arts to major in Economics, please read through the Internal Transfer to Arts page for more information.