Deciding is difficult. So don't.
With so many different sciences to love, why limit yourself? Honours Science at Waterloo lets you keep your interests broad.
Take a range of courses in chemistry, biology, physics, earth sciences, and more in the most flexible program within the Faculty of Science. Because you don’t have to commit to a specific discipline, more than half of your courses are electives. Choose additional science courses, or take advantage of offerings from other faculties or departments across the university.
Once you graduate, an Honours Science degree gives you an excellent foundation for many science-related careers. It also makes it easy to meet the requirements for professional programs such as medicine, dentistry, optometry, and more.
Program highlights
- Choose your own courses. In Waterloo’s most flexible science program, there’s only one restriction: six of your 10 courses each year must be science related. After that, it’s up to you!
- Pick your science major later. If you end up falling in love with a particular subject in science, you can switch into a more specialized program at any time up to third year.
- Available as a regular program only
- Graduate with a Bachelor of Science
- Offered by the Faculty of Science
Discover Science at Waterloo
What will you learn?
First-year courses
In your first year, you'll take a mixture of Faculty of Science and Mathematics courses to give you the foundations for your upper-year classes. After first year, most of your classes will be courses in the Faculty of Science.
Learn more about courses you'll take for your Honours Science degree.
Customize your Honours Science degree
You can add additional areas of expertise to your degree by including one or more of the minors available to all Waterloo students, or our Bioinformatics Option. In fact, most of our Honours Science graduates complete their program with at least one minor, often two. Popular areas of focus for Honours Science students include biology, psychology, and chemistry.
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Questions? Ask a student!
Contact a Science student ambassador to learn about their experience.
Ask them questions such as why the chose their program, what the classes are like, and how you can get involved on campus.


Honours Science admission requirements
Ontario students: six Grade 12 U and/or M courses including
- English (ENG4U) (minimum final grade of 70% is required)
- Advanced Functions (minimum final grade of 70% is required)
- Calculus and Vectors (minimum final grade of 70% is required)
- Two of Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, Mathematics of Data Management, and Physics
Admission averages: Low 80s
Not studying in Ontario? Search our admission requirements.
How to apply?
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Questions about courses, programs, requirements, or careers?
Please contact Alisia, our Science recruitment coordinator who can answer any questions you have.