New Students

After you accept your offer, you will receive an email from GRAD READY. This is a program  run by grad students, for grad students, through the Student Success Office. It’s all about helping you transition to being a graduate student at the University of Waterloo. In the weeks before you begin class, you can connect with other new grad students, prepare for academics and get ready for life at Waterloo. ​​

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1. Fulfil conditions of your Offer (if applicable)

Any conditions of the offer are clearly laid out on the first page of your offer of admission letter, please read it carefully. In Quest, there is also a “conditions” area that outlines any and all conditions to be fulfilled. These are automatically marked as complete when the conditions are fulfilled.

2. Become "Fees Arranged" ​

Fees are assessed and posted to individual student accounts on Quest approximately three to five weeks prior to the start of lectures each term, for the fall term this will be during the first week of August, and students will be notified by e-mail at that time.  Once your fees are paid, you will have the status of “Fees Arranged”. ​

Find out about the different ways to make payment through the Student Financial Services website. Once awards, scholarships, and other funding for the fall from your supervisor, department or other sources are processed, you can become “Fees Arranged” through Quest.​

For those who have satisfied their conditions of admission, matriculation (make you active into your program to pay fees and enroll courses) takes place approximately six weeks prior to the beginning of the term. The matriculation process continues to take place on a rolling basis as conditions of admission are satisfied.

If you were given a conditional admission, those cconditions must be satisfied before we can matriculate you and your Fees Arranged deadline will be 10 business days after those conditions are met.

Note: If you are considering deferring, please connect with your department coordinator and supervisor (if applicable) before paying your fees. ​

3. Register for courses​:

Students who have become “Fees Arranged” can register for courses and can start to add or drop courses through Quest from this point onwards.​

To ensure you have a spot in your top-class choices, we encourage you to register as soon as you can. ​ For students in PhD and MASc, we encourage you to consult with your supervisor before making your course selections

Course selection also opens typically the first week of the month before the term begins. For example, for spring (May) course enrolment open April 1st. ​For information about course selection, please visit GPSA Course Enrolment page and find the Engineering course options here.

4. Complete Required training:​

Once you have set up your WatIAM user ID and are matriculated you can complete the mandatory training.​
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• Academic integrity module​

• Employee Safety Orientation - SO1001​

• Workplace Violence Awareness - SO1081​

• Employee WHMIS 2015 - SO2017​

• SO2017 - WHMIS 2015​

• Accessibility training​

• Department Graduate Safety Workshop: All graduate students who are going to work in labs must complete the Graduate Safety Workshop within their first two terms. Typically, the delivery of this workshop ins online through Waterloo LEARN.  The students must review the Department’s safety manual and comply with its policies, procedures, rules and instructions. Please contact the Graduate Coordinator of your program to receive access to the course.

IMPORTANT: You may be required to take additional hazard-specific training courses, depending on your research or lab access (granted by your supervisor).​

Please note: If you will be requiring a lab key, you will need to find out from your supervisor what additional safety training is required. The additional training must be completed well before being assigned a lab key.​

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