FAQ for Families & Supporters

As the only program of its kind in the world, the Bachelor of Knowledge Integration (BKI) is an interdisciplinary program that allows its students to explore and specialize in their diverse interests through elective courses, while gaining the key skills and knowledge needed for a fulfilling career in almost any industry thanks to KI’s core and breadth courses. Knowledge Integration shares many similarities with Arts & Science programs in its flexibility and structure; however its design thinking methodology, which originates from Systems Design Engineering, provides students with a framework to solve complex problems. 

In a typical Arts & Science program, students have several elective courses that they must split between one Arts major and one Science major, emphasizing learning from two disciplines. In KI, students have more freedom to choose electives and fewer restrictions on how to allocate them.

Most KI students choose to specialize in multiple areas that interest them, leading to unique combinations such as English + Business, Psychology + Computing, Biology + Fine Arts and so on. Students who are interested in one topic can build their electives into a double major, while still benefiting from the program’s unique core and flexibility to explore other interests through KI’s breadth courses. This flexibility results in graduates who have an adaptable skill set suited for a range of careers based on what the student chose to study. 

Our Academic Program page summarizes in additional detail the three different types of courses that your student will take in Knowledge Integration (core courses, breadth courses, and elective courses).

Through KI’s breadth courses, students benefit a broader learning experience than if they were to only study one discipline (e.g., becoming a Biologist rather than doing a joint major with Biology as a KI student). We have found that this gives KI students a key advantage both in the workforce and when applying to graduate school, medical school, or law school. 

KI’s unique core courses centre on people-focused skills that have become indispensable in today’s workforce, such as collaboration and group problem-solving. These courses also teach students how to see the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary links between the disciplines they’ve chosen to study. Learning how to integrate knowledge between disciplines is crucial in a world where complex problems transcend disciplines. For example, a KI student can specialize in environmental science and still engage in discussions about the impact of climate change on the economy, psychological being, infrastructure design and so on.

Lastly, KI students explore their own interests through the elective courses. These allow them to gain the necessary skills and knowledge needed for their desired career paths.

The combination of these 3 types of courses allows KI students to engage with experts from different fields, mobilize knowledge to solve problems effectively, and bridge the communication divide between the sciences and the arts, which makes them exceptionally well prepared for a changing workforce and for a variety of industries.  

KI students benefit from 17 elective courses core to customize their KI degree. Students typically choose elective courses that complement the foundational knowledge and skills they’re receiving through their core and breadth courses (communication, problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, conflict management, and much more).

If a student knows exactly what they want to study, and wants to focus on one subject in particular, a joint major would likely be an interesting and valuable path for them to explore. KI has the highest ratio of elective to required courses of any program at Waterloo, allowing students to dive deep into their interests and prepare for any career path. 

If a student has multiple interests and doesn’t want to compromise, they will be able to select 1-3 minors or specializations to explore. Working with their academic advisor, they’ll develop a plan to meet all the requirements from each subject area, allowing them to deepen their knowledge in a select few topics that they want to pursue. 

If a student isn’t sure of their interests and would like the flexibility to explore different topics, then they can leverage the elective courses to seek out new interesting fields that they may not have considered before. Thanks to the breadth courses, they’ll already be exposed to 8 different subjects so that they can start seeing what might interest them. Some KI students choose not to complete minors or double majors, and instead use their electives to gain a broader range of interdisciplinary expertise.  

In first and second year, KI courses are offered to both KI and non-KI students, and usually have no more than 30-50 students per class to allow for group work and collaboration. In third and fourth year, KI core courses are only offered to KI students, so the size of the class will depend on the size of the cohort (typically between 15 and 25 students). 

In parallel, KI students will take breadth courses and elective courses across campus, ranging from large 200+ student courses for entry-level courses to smaller upper-year seminars with 10-15 students. As a result of this design, KI students get to experience various types of class sizes and meet students from all over campus. 

KI students benefit from having a “home base” in the KI studio, the classroom where most of the KI core courses are offered. This department-owned space is crafted for collaboration in mind, and KI students have 24/7 access so that they can study on their own, work with peers, or hold movie nights or other social events.

The KI program celebrated its 15-year anniversary this year, and we’re proud to share that every year, we raise further awareness about our program, our graduates, and our students’ success to employers and families. 

Employers are looking for graduates with the skills we explicitly teach in KI: collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, communication, public speaking, and project management. We hear from them again and again about the success they have with our graduates. Many employers recognize that they can teach their employees the technical skills needed for the job, but can’t teach them how to think outside the box, communicate clearly to different audiences, collaborate as a team, and quickly adapt. That’s where KI comes in. 

While a Bachelor of Knowledge Integration may not show up as an education drop-down option on a job application, employers express curiosity about the BKI and invite KI applicants to share more about their education, opening doors for more interesting conversation and connections. KI students and graduates benefit from having over 16+ months of experiential learning and teamwork experiences to pick from when answering interview and application questions. Moreover, students are given opportunities to practice articulating their skills and preparing for interviews. In short, we hear from our alumni that the Bachelor of Knowledge Integration’s unique credential works in their favour – opening doors to future employers that more recognizable degree names don’t offer. 

Thanks to KI’s flexibility, KI students specialize in different combinations of topics. This means that our graduates go on to pursue just about any career that you can think of thanks to their unique areas of expertise and their core set of KI skills which make them excellent communicators, collaborators, and problem solvers. You can see some short alumni profile highlights on our virtual post-it note wall. 

About half of the KI graduates enter the workforce directly. They secure jobs in public policy, communication, business, health, consulting, program coordination, UX design, data science, publishing – you name it. We have graduates working in the corporate world, government, non-profits, higher education, and entrepreneurship. 

The other half of KI graduates pursue additional education to succeed in specialized career paths or deepen their understanding of the topics that interest them. Medicine, law, and teacher’s college are common routes for KI students. Other graduates complete Master’s, PhDs, or college programs in the topics they’ve started exploring in KI, ranging from biology to digital experience innovation, environment, international relationships, neuroscience, philosophy, statistics, event management, video game design, and so on. 

Thanks to their employability, KI alumni can easily pivot between fields – allowing them to explore more areas and gain a wide range of experiences compared to their peers. 

KI doesn’t yet offer a co-op stream – however, we are currently developing a co-op option, to be launched in the next few years. In the meantime, KI students can participate in either of two programs that recognize their work placements over the summer: KI Works and the EDGE certificate. These programs formally acknowledge the skills and knowledge students learned during their internships by incorporating input from their supervisor and a reflection from the student, much like the requirements of an official co-op placement. The EDGE certificate also includes professional development courses and additional opportunities for students to develop workplace-ready skills. 

KI students do traditionally find internships and other types of job placements during their off-study terms. Thanks to our close-knit community, we can promote job advertisements and alumni connection opportunities from our networks directly to KI students. Our alumni and other employers who have hired KI students before are always very keen to hire more Knowledge Integrators! 

Community is built into the program intentionally by the students, faculty and staff. As a smaller program, KI benefits from a high faculty to student ratio which allows the community to be on a first-name basis and for students to know each other very well among their own cohorts and across cohorts as well. Professors get to know KI students throughout their classes, allowing them write strong letters of recommendations and consider them for Teaching Assistant or Research Assistant positions. 

Our seminars bring the entire community together every two weeks. The Knowledge Integration Student Society (KISS) hosts events for all KI students and faculty/staff, from course selection & academic planning workshops with upper year students to a year camping trip, fundraisers, study sessions, board game nights, holiday themed events, and end of year celebrations. 

There are lots of supports available to students in Knowledge Integration and at the University of Waterloo more broadly. 

Academically, one of the biggest sources of support for KI students is the academic advisor. The advisor helps students pick their courses, prepare for upcoming terms, meet graduation requirements, plan for post-graduate goals, and address academic challenges. They also refer students to different support programs and resources available to them across campus. 

Students in KI also benefit from a tight-knit community in which professors and students are on a first-name basis. KI professors keep an eye out for students who appear to be struggling, and often become a beacon of support for students wondering about their future or simply needing help on an assignment. Many courses in KI have a Teaching Assistant (TA) -- an upper year KI student who excelled in the course who helps support a course and instructor. To learn more about the people in KI, you can explore the KI faculty and staff profiles. 

The Knowledge Integration Student Society (KISS) is another source of support and a fantastic community-building opportunity in KI. KISS organizes a mentorship program where each first-year student is paired with an upper-year KI student to help their transition to university. This program helps forge connection between cohorts, and the event planning committee of KISS runs events to foster community and collaboration among KI students. KI is a leader in peer-to-peer support. 

At the university level, a range of supports and programs are available to every Waterloo student, such as Counselling services, AccessAbility services for accommodation needs, the Student Success Office for studying, time management and tutoring needs, the Writing Centre for writing and communication, the Centre for Career Action for career-related development, and much more. A full list of supports is available.