Come to Waterloo - graduate applications

Graduate exchange eligibility

First you must check with your home institution to see if they have an exchange agreement with the University of Waterloo. Your exchange coordinator at your home university will help determine if you are eligible to come to Waterloo. Your home university will then be able to submit the online student nomination form. Once they have done so, all incoming non-degree exchange students can complete Waterloo's online exchange application.

To meet the eligibility requirements, students applying for the exchange program must:

• have completed an Honours Bachelors’ degree or equivalent and be actively enrolled in a graduate-level program
• 75% (or equivalent) overall standing in the past two years of study
• be currently enrolled at one of Waterloo’s exchange partner institutions
• be nominated by their home institution as an exchange applicant
• meet Waterloo’s graduate English language proficiency (or equivalent)

Application procedure

Submit your online application. There is no application fee for students applying as an incoming exchange student. To have the fee waived, go to the application and under 'Select Programs' choose the 'department', choose 'non-degree' and select the applicable exchange agreement.

• If the relevant admission term is not available, pick a term that is available and we will update the application admit term manually.
• If references are requested, list "gradadmissions@uwaterloo.ca" as references are typically not needed for exchange applications.
• Ensure you declare that you are enrolled in a master's degree at your home institution on your application. 
• Notify The Global Learning Team that you have applied 
  • Email studyabroad@uwaterloo.ca to confirm that you have applied. Include the following information in your email:
    • Name:  
    • UW Student ID: Leave Blank if unknown 
    • Email:
    • Admission Term(s):  
    • Level: Graduate
    • Program:
• Create a quest Account 
   

After submitting, you will receive a welcome email within two business days with instructions to confirm your identity and create an account in Quest—our student information system where you will upload your documents. 

The following supporting documents are required to determine eligibility for your exchange to Waterloo:

• Master’s and bachelor’s transcripts (with English translations, if applicable). If you cannot provide a master’s transcript by the application deadline, include proof of enrollment in a graduate level program as part of your supporting documents. 
• English language proficiency certification (official test score or English language equivalency letter from your home school)
• Resume/CV (if required by the department)
• Reference(s) (if required by the department)
• Supplementary information form listing the graduate courses you wish to take as a part of your exchange (See the course selection guide for assistance)
  • When deciding on courses:
    • Only list courses that are within the department you are applying to. 
    • Picking courses outside of the department could influence the admission decision. If interested in courses outside the admitting department, you could seek permission after you've been admitted.
       

If you would like to improve upon your English language skills, the English Language Institute (ELI) at Renison University College is University of Waterloo's home for English language classes. You can visit ELI to register for credit courses in spoken or written English or to find out more about how to increase your English language proficiency.

Please note that non-degree exchange students may not be approved for some graduate/professional programs/courses. For example, the following programs are restricted: Accounting, Clinical Psychology, Public Health and Health Systems, Social Work and some Master of Engineering courses.

Fields of Study:

• Actuarial Science, Non-degree
• Applied Math, Non-degree
• Architecture, Non-degree
• Biology, Non-degree
• Chemical Engineering, Non-degree
• Chemistry, Non-degree
• Civil Engineering, Non-degree
• Combinatorics and Optimization, Non-degree
• Computer Science, Non-degree
• Earth Sciences, Non-degree
• Economics, Non-degree
• Electrical and Computer Engineering, Non-degree
• English, Non-degree
• French Studies, Non-degree
• Geography, Non-degree
• German, Non-degree
• Global Governance, Non-degree
• History, Non-degree
• Mechanical Eng, Non-degree
• Management Sciences, Non-degree
• Pharmacy, Non-degree
• Philosophy, Non-degree
• Physics, Non-degree
• Planning, Non-degree
• Psychology, Non-degree
• Pure Math, Non-degree
• Recreation and Leisure, Non-degree
• Social and Ecological Sustainability, Non-degree
• Sociology, Non-degree
• Statistics, Non-degree
• Systems Design Engineering, Non-degree
• Vision Science, Non-degree

Note: Courses are subject to restrictions and availability.

Deadlines

Graduate applications must be received by the exchange program deadline below.

Admission results

The application processing time is up to eight weeks or longer from the date that all required documents are received by the departmental graduate coordinator to the completion of the application, according to the departmental review application process. If admissible, once your complete application has been reviewed by the department of choice, an Offer of Admission and a Letter of Acceptance from the Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs will be uploaded to your Quest account. You will be notified via email.

Contact information

Email your questions to Hope Salese, Global Learning Coordinator.