Co-op student earnings

Co-op students must be paid at least the minimum wage of the applicable work location.

Disclosing compensation and benefits helps to attract the right candidate! When you submit a co-op job in our WaterlooWorks recruitment system, include compensation and benefit information for the position. Doing so can give you a competitive edge and helps ensure you get the right student for your position. Enter a salary amount or range to help inform students as they make application decisions.

Keep in mind, students are also facing increased cost of living expenses and many rely on their co-op earnings to help subsidize the costs associated with their education. Providing salary details helps students to understand what to expect, budget accordingly, and make them more likely to apply for your role.

Funding, tax credits and grants are available.

Need help financing your new student hire? There are several grants, tax credits and funding programs available to Canadian employers that may subsidize or cover the cost of your hire, regardless of your business size. Explore our  funding opportunities webpage to learn more.

Undergraduate Canadian hourly earnings information

The University of Waterloo publishes co-op student earnings information annually. We’ve compiled the following information using student-reported earnings from 2023.

In the tables below, the top figure represents the average hourly earnings for the given co-op program and work term level. The low and high of the hourly salary range is included below the average hourly earnings.

This information is intended as a guideline. Use it, along with known market conditions, for informational purposes only. Our co-operative education team does not establish or recommend pay levels for co-op students. The data is for Canadian work terms and reported in Canadian dollars.

All Canadian work term data reported in Canadian dollars.
Faculty or program	Work term 1	Work term 2	Work term 3	Work term 4	Work term 5	Work term 6
Faculty of Arts (All Arts programs including Accounting & Financial Management)	$20.85 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $30.00}	$22.09 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $33.33}	$23.51 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $40.00}	$23.92 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $42.00}	$23.46 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $35.00}	N/A
Faculty of Engineering (All ENG programs including Software Engineering but excluding Architecture)	$20.54 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $30.00}	$22.57 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $36.92}	$24.65 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $40.00}	$26.52 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $46.00}	$29.04 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $50.00}	$30.72 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $55.00}
Faculty of Engineering - Architecture	$20.66 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $26.00}	$23.76 ^(average) _{Low: $20.00} ^{High: $28.00}	$22.67 ^(average) _{Low: $16.95} ^{High: $26.85}	$23.77 ^(average) _{Low: $20.00} ^{High: $27.50}	$24.03 ^(average) _{Low: $20.00} ^{High: $37.50}	$24.28 ^(average) _{Low: $18.00} ^{High: $28.00}
Faculty of Environment	$19.63 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $27.51}	$21.12 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $30.00}	$22.06 ^(average) _{Low: $16.35} ^{High: $36.52}	$23.28 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $37.50}	$23.99 ^(average) _{Low: $16.25} ^{High: $37.50}	N/A
Faculty of Health	$18.17 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $25.00}	$18.59 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $25.52}	$19.41 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $28.01}	$19.42 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $28.00}	$20.04 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $30.00}	N/A
Faculty of Mathematics (All Math programs including Computer Science and Computing & Financial Management but excluding Actuarial Science)	$21.20 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $31.45}	$25.06 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $46.00}	$27.43 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $48.00}	$29.12 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $50.00}	$31.88 ^(average) _{Low: $16.75} ^{High: $55.00}	$33.64 ^(average) _{Low: $16.50} ^{High: $60.75}
Faculty of Mathematics - Actuarial Science	$24.99 ^(average) _{Low: $19.48} ^{High: $30.52}	$25.68 ^(average) _{Low: $18.00} ^{High: $41.04}	$28.13 ^(average) _{Low: $20.00} ^{High: $35.00}	$30.82 ^(average) _{Low: $19.00} ^{High: $40.86}	$31.08 ^(average) _{Low: $17.10} ^{High: $38.08}	$33.21 ^(average) _{Low: $23.25} ^{High: $42.00}
Faculty of Science (All Science programs excluding Pharmacy)	$19.14 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $29.00}	$19.81 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $28.00}	$21.19 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $33.70}	$21.54 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $31.00}	$22.30 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $33.78}	N/A
Faculty of Science - Pharmacy	$19.72 ^(average) _{Low: $16.16} ^{High: $28.50}	$21.13 ^(average) _{Low: $17.00} ^{High: $32.00}	$20.87 ^(average) _{Low: $17.00} ^{High: $30.00}	N/A	N/A	N/A

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Graduate Canadian hourly earnings information

All Canadian graduate work term data is self-reported by students in Canadian Dollars over the period of January-December 2023.
Faculty	Master's students
Arts (Master of Arts, Master of Public Service)	$22.57 ^(average) _{Low: $16.00} ^{High: $32.54}
Engineering (Master of Engineering, Master of Management Sciences)	$29.22 ^(average) _{Low: $16.75} ^{High: $45.00}
Engineering – Architecture (Master of Architecture)	$24.38 ^(average) _{Low: $18.00} ^{High: $30.00}
Mathematics (Master of Mathematics, Master of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence)	$30.75 ^(average) _{Low: $16.80} ^{High: $50.00}

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Additional student earnings information

Vacation, statutory holiday, and overtime pay

Ontario employers are not required to give co-op students vacation pay, statutory holiday pay, or overtime pay (Ontario Employment Standards Act). However, most employers include compensation for these as part of the student’s salary.
Students should receive time off on statutory holidays if they are employed by an industry under federal jurisdiction such as banks, airlines, railways and television stations (Canada Labour Code).
Your student may ask to take a few days off during the work term. You’re free to negotiate it with your student but are not required to provide vacation days.

Unpaid and volunteer work terms

Students must obtain financial compensation for their co-op work.
Rare or unusual circumstances may allow for the approval of an unpaid co-op job for credit. Contact your account manager for more information

Workplace Safety & Insurance Board coverage

Most Ontario employers must include co-op students (paid and unpaid) in their Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) coverage.
If you’ve been approved for an unpaid co-op work term, we will connect with you to fill out the appropriate forms so that your student can be covered by WSIB.

International work terms

International employers may have unique circumstances and considerations when hiring students. As a result, compensation structures may be different. Reach out to your international account manager to discuss further.

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