Knowledge Integration Degree
More than an arts and science degree
If you're looking for a rigorous program that provides the flexibility to combine your many interests, Knowledge Integration (KI) may be the perfect fit.
More customizable than a typical arts and science program, Knowledge Integration is built to be flexible. You can explore and specialize in your many diverse interests while gaining the key skills you’ll need for a fulfilling career in almost any industry.
At its core, KI is a skills-based program that prepares you for a changing workforce facing global challenges like climate change, healthcare, cybersecurity, inequity, hunger, and other impacts that bring together experts from different fields. These interdisciplinary problems require skills such as understanding and solving problems, communicating effectively, thinking critically, and collaborating within teams – all of which are the backbone of the KI program.
You'll develop these skills while specializing in arts, science, technology, environmental issues, design-thinking, psychology, business, or any other topic you find interesting. KI’s close community provides a supportive environment to learn how to integrate knowledge from different disciplines and offer creative novel solutions to real-world problems. Through hands-on projects and group work, you’ll learn side by side with curious and attentive peers who want to make a difference in a rapidly changing world.
What courses will you take in Knowledge Integration?
First-year courses
In first year, you'll take courses in creative problem-solving, collaboration, public speaking, and critical thinking in addition to courses specific to your interests.
In upper years, you’ll collaborate with your KI classmates on real-world projects; deepen your skills in research, communication, and decision-making; and use your electives to explore or specialize in your passions.
September to December
- INTEG 10 – Knowledge Integration Seminar
- INTEG 120 – The Art & Science of Learning
- COMMST 223 – Public Speaking
- Three electives
This is a sample schedule. Courses or when a course is offered may change depending on availability.
Knowledge Integration is designed to be flexible. As early as your first year, you can take courses across all 7 faculties to explore your interests. You're encouraged to use four of your first-year electives to begin completing some of your breadth requirements, particularly the computer science, math, language, and natural/physical science requirements.
After first year
You’ll take a quarter of your classes with your Knowledge Integration peers to develop skills like collaboration, critical thinking, public speaking, and creative problem solving. You’ll have the freedom to use your remaining classes to specialize in topics that interest you and explore new fields you never knew existed from the 100 subjects taught at Waterloo.
View a list of all the courses required for your degree.
Sample upper-year courses
INTEG 220 – Nature of Scientific Knowledge
INTEG 221 – The Social Nature of Knowledge
INTEG 230 – The Museum Course: Preparation and Field Trip
INTEG 320 – The Museum Courses: Research and Design
INTEG 420 A/B – Senior Honours Project
Customize your degree
Include one or more of the minors available to all Waterloo students or choose to complete a joint major (sometimes referred to as a double major).
You can add additional areas of expertise to your degree by including one or both of the specializations within Knowledge Integration.
- Collaborative Design
- Science, Technology, and Society
Faculty:
Faculty of Environment
Degree:
Bachelor of Knowledge Integration
Available as a co-op program?
No
Available as a regular program?
Yes
Available as a minor?
Yes
Specialize in your many interests. Customize your degree by choosing from 120+ areas of specialization. With more electives than any other program at Waterloo, you can pick from over 300 courses across 60 departments.
Get 16+ months of experiential learning opportunities. In your upper years, you’ll travel abroad, build an interactive exhibit in small groups, and design your own independent project fueled by your passions and skills.
What can you do with a degree in Knowledge integration?
What can you do with a degree in Knowledge Integration?
Graduates pursue a broad range of careers depending on what they choose to explore and specialize in. As a result, Knowledge Integration graduates work in financial institutions, consulting firms, law firms, hospitals, research centres, non-profits, high schools, and much more. They are well suited for dynamic work that allows them to think on their feet, problem solve, manage projects, think critically, and work with others. Many also further their education through medical school, law school, teacher's college, and other graduate studies.
Read about what some of our KI graduates are doing.
Sample graduates
- Director of Policy – Government of Ontario
- UI/UX designer – Descartes Systems Group
- Senior consultant – Deloitte
- Lawyer – Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General
- Program Manager – Lumos Clean Energy Advisors
- Senior design researcher – RBC Royal Bank
- Professor – York University
- Events & Partnerships Officer – Southlake Foundation
- Data scientist – Shopify
- ESL Teacher – College de Montreal
Further education
While the full range of further education depends on your individual interests, these are common areas that our graduates pursue. Learn about the types of graduate studies KI grads choose.
- Professional programs: medicine and other health professions, law, business, and teaching
- Master's and PhDs: anatomical science, anthropology, biology, digital experience innovation, environment, global innovation design, international relations, mathematics, neuroscience, planning, philosophy, political science, science and technology, speech language pathology, statistics, vision science
- College programs: concept art for animation and video games, environmental visual communication, event management, publishing
Tuition fees for programs in the Faculty of Environment
First-year tuition
Type of fees | Tuition (8 months of school) |
---|---|
Domestic (Ontario residents) | $9,000 |
Domestic (Out of province students) | $9,000 |
International (visa students) | $50,000 |
- Estimated amounts listed include incidental fees. Fees based on 2024-25 tuition rates.
- Visit our financing page to learn about scholarships, estimate your total expenses, and see how co-op can help pay for your education.
Admission requirements
Ontario students: six Grade 12 U and/or M courses including
- Any Grade 12 U English (minimum final grade of 70% is required)
- Any Grade 12 U Science (minimum final grade of 70% is required)
- Any Grade 12 U Mathematics (minimum final grade of 70% is required)
Admission average: High 70s to low 80s
Not studying in Ontario? Search our admission requirements.
How to apply?
Apply directly to this program on your application.
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Ask a Faculty of Environment student about their program, classes, getting involved on campus, and more!
Curious about Knowledge Integration? Sign up to attend the KI Info session & Q&A Webinar: Solve global challenges by going beyond the Arts and Sciences with Knowledge Integration.
Connect with us
Questions about courses, programs, requirements, or careers?
Ask the environment recruitment team who can answer any questions you have.
From the Missing Manual
Visit our Missing Manual website for tips and advice from Waterloo students and staff. Topics include
More than a museum
Can a shift in perspective alter, or even improve, your mental health. It’s a question Victoria and four classmates studied for eight months — across two continents, no less — as part of The Museum Course,
One degree, endless opportunities
What can you do with a degree in Knowledge Integration (KI) from the University of Waterloo, you ask? A better question is: what can’t you do?
How to study multiple interests at university
With more than 100 programs at Waterloo, it can be hard to choose just one major. Fortunately, many programs offer the flexibility for you to customize your program.