About Waterloo Engineering

A global leader in engineering education and research

When local entrepreneurs established our university, with Engineering as the founding faculty, they approached the task from a business perspective, knowing creativity and innovation were the keys to problem solving. Co-op education, as we now know it, was born. 

Waterloo Engineering at the University of Waterloo is Canada’s largest engineering school and a pipeline for top engineering talent to the world’s leading companies. Ranked among the top 50 engineering schools in the world, our reputation for excellence is built on the foundation of co-op education and a bold history of innovation.

We are renowned as a university that embraces differentiation. We are trailblazers, laying the ground work for others to follow – the most sought after engineering school in Canada.

The Waterloo Engineering Strategic Plan 2020-2025 has embedded at its core a commitment to diversity and equity throughout all programs, policies and processes, with particular emphasis on under-represented communities. During these tumultuous times, that commitment is more important to us than ever.

Waterloo Engineering offers 15 bachelor degree programs, including degrees in emerging multidisciplinary areas such as architectural, biomedical, environmental engineering, management engineering, mechatronics, and nanotechnology.

All undergraduate programs are 100% co-op, more than 7,600 co-op positions are arranged for students annually. Each year, we graduate the largest number of engineers at both the undergraduate and graduate level in Canada. 

In 37 graduate degree programs, including course-based and research masters, and doctoral studies, our graduate students benefit from a robust and innovative research environment including:   

• more than $86.8 million in research funding in 2019/2020

• 195 industry partners

• 23 Canada Research Chairs

• 19 University Research and endowed Chairs

• 8 NSERC design chairs and industrial research chairs

• Award winning faculty and staff including 57 Early Researcher Award recipients

• more than a dozen research centres and institutes

• a unique, inventor-owned intellectual property policy 

We are proud of our reputation for leadership, innovation, and excellence.