Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA)
Needles Hall, second floor, room 2201
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.
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:
For more information on the above topics, visit the Academic Reviews website.
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 information on chairing a PhD examination, visit our Guide for chairing a PhD examination webpage.
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.
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!
GSPA communicates to graduate students using the following platforms:
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.
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.
For information about making changes to graduate programs and course milestones, visit the Graduate program and course/milestone changes web page.
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:
The University of Waterloo has many policies that may relate to situations of conflict, including:
The following rooms on campus have video conferencing capability.
There are a variety of resources and training opportunities on campus available for faculty and staff to assist you in supporting graduate students, including:
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.
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.
Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA)
Needles Hall, second floor, room 2201
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Office of Indigenous Relations.