Tuition FAQ

Tuition is evaluated and established annually to reflect the value of a Waterloo degree overall and in specific program areas. Several considerations are made including;

• demand for Waterloo programs nationally and internationally,
• alignment with similar programs offered at other universities,
• changes to provincial policies, government funding, and international student recovery taxes,
• and, institutional operating costs, inflation, and student services.

Once tuition fees are evaluated, the proposed fees are presented at the University of Waterloo Board of Governors meeting. The approved increases to international tuition rates will help Waterloo to align with tuition fees at other universities and to continue delivering quality programs and services to students. 

Note: The actual annual increase a student incurs may also be impacted if they:

• change programs (including Co-op to Regular or Regular to Co-op), or
• change work term and academic sequences, or
• take more than one term to complete one academic level, or
• take unscheduled terms off while pursuing their degrees

Once tuition fees are approved by the Board of Governors, the tuition fee schedule is listed on our SFS website.

Institutions were given the flexibility by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) to increase tuition fees for domestic out of province students in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.  The University implemented domestic out of province tuition increases for the first time in 2023-2024, as permitted by the MCU provincial tuition framework.

The tuition framework established by the provincial government applies to domestic fees only. As a publicly funded institution, the University receives government funding for each domestic student enrolled to offset some of the costs of their post-secondary education. This government funding support does not apply to international students.