Graduate Studies at Waterloo would not be the same without the hundreds of faculty and staff who support graduate students. The information below has been compiled to guide Graduate Co-ordinators, Graduate Officers/Chairs, Associate Deans, supervisors and other faculty in assisting grad students.

Help us keep track of who you are!  Use the Graduate department contact change form to officially notify Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs of a change to graduate administrative staff/faculty within your department/Faculty.  The form also includes information on how to gain access to Quest/Sharepoint.

 

Academic reviews/new programs

The Office of the Associate Vice-President, Academic (AVPA) and the Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies (AVPGS) are responsible for a broad range of matters including overseeing the University of Waterloo’s Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP) (PDF) and the review and approval of:

  • new academic programs
  • cyclical reviews
  • proposals to change existing academic programs (major modifications)
  • expedited reviews and
  • closure of existing degrees and programs

For more information on the above topics, visit the Academic Reviews website.

Approved Doctoral Dissertation Supervisor Status (ADDS)

The Approved Doctoral Dissertation Supervisor (ADDS) status is governed by a series of regulations governing how faculty members gain the privilege of sole-supervising PhD students.  

  • For more information surrounding ADDS status, visit the organization of graduate studies page.
  • The Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE) and the GSPA offer a series of workshops on graduate supervision practices, primarily for those seeking Approved Doctoral Dissertation Supervision (ADDS) Status.  
    • Workshops are offered twice a year in the fall and winter terms. Fall term workshops include in-person components on the first and last Friday's in October. Winter term workshops inculde in-person components on the first Friday's in February and March
    • For more information visit the CTE website.

Chairing a PhD Examination

For information on chairing a PhD examination, visit our Guide for chairing a PhD examination webpage.

Data requests

For any data inquiries related to Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, please use this data request form and we will contact you within two business days for confirmation.

Graduate Studies Resources website

The Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs Resources website is a CAS-authenticated site designed specifically for graduate studies staff and faculty. It is currently under construction. Stay tuned!

Graduate student communications

GSPA communicates to graduate students using the following platforms:

Guide to Graduate Research and Supervision

The Guide for Graduate Research and Supervision has been developed as a resource to define the roles/responsibilities of various stakeholders in graduate education at UWaterloo.
 
The Taskforce on Graduate Supervision and the University of Waterloo Student Experience Review may provide additional information and refinements to this guide.  Further suggestions about the Guide are welcome; an online form has been set up to capture feedback.

Guidelines for creating extracts of student data

It is important that student data is protected in compliance with appropriate legislation, regulations, and standards, as outlined in Policy 46. Visit the Guidelines for creating extracts of student data web page on the Quest website to learn more about how to appropriately manage data.

International Visiting Graduate Students (IVGS)

The International Visiting Graduate Student (IVGS) acceptance process facilitates the acceptance of an international graduate student attending a university outside of Canada to participate in research activities at the University of Waterloo and be recognized as a legitimate visitor under the supervision of a University of Waterloo faculty member and academic unit.

IVGS procedures and resources for faculty and department use are posted to the Graduate Studies Admissions SharePoint. Your nexus\WatIam User ID and password are required.

For more information on the IVGS program, contact Stephanie Forsyth.

Postdoc communications

The Postdoc e-news is sent on the first and third Tuesday of each month to all postdocs. This contains relevant information submitted by campus partners, including news, events, opportunities, and resources for postdocs. It is the best method for communicating important information for the upcoming month with the entire UWaterloo postdoc community. If you have content to promote, please make a submission through our webform

Program and course/milestone changes

For information about making changes to graduate programs and course milestones, visit the Graduate program and course/milestone changes web page.

Managing difficult situations

As a supervisor, instructor or graduate administrator, you may encounter difficult situations with graduate students. Here are some resources on campus to support you as you navigate these situations: 

Rooms on campus with video conference capability

The following rooms on campus have video conferencing capability.

Supporting graduate students

There are a variety of resources and training opportunities on campus available for faculty and staff to assist you in supporting graduate students, including: 

Task force on Graduate Student Supervision

A Task Force on Graduate Student Supervision has been established to investigate the mechanisms by which the quality of graduate supervision at both the master's and doctoral levels are assessed at the university.  Visit the Task Force web page for more detailed information.

Verifying a University of Waterloo degree

The University of Waterloo has partnered with MyCredsTM, a leading digital credential expert and platform for certifying, sharing, and verifying academic credentials. MyCredsTM is owned by the Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada (ARUCC). It is a national credential wallet for post-secondary learners that has been created by Canadian higher education leadership. For more information on the process, visit The Centre website.