About Mathematics

Metropolitan of math

The Faculty of Mathematics connects three areas central to our millennium: mathematics, statistics and computer science. Students can choose undergraduate, master’s and doctoral studies in the following units:

• David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science
• Department of Applied Mathematics
• Department Combinatorics and Optimization
• Department of Pure Mathematics
• Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science

Or inter-disciplinary programs in the following areas:

• Computational Mathematics
• Data Science
• Mathematics and Business

The Faculty of Mathematics has more than 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 260 full-time professors, and 500 courses, offering a diverse range of programs and research opportunities.

A powerhouse of discovery and innovation

As North America’s only dedicated Faculty of Mathematics, we make world-leading contributions and create and attract industry leaders. With a depth and breadth of expertise, we lead advancements in foundational math and turn research into innovations for real-world application.

We have a long history of seminal work in graph theory, cryptography, privacy, and artificial intelligence. From proof on Rota’s Conjecture and the solution to the strong Tsirelson problem, to elliptical curve cryptography and programming languages, to more than 150 startups and spinoffs, our researchers impact the world.

Math and computer science are increasingly important for the jobs of tomorrow in areas including artificial intelligence, big data, health care, cybersecurity and privacy, and business. It’s just one of the reasons that the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing was founded. The Centre focuses on increasing interest, enjoyment, confidence, and ability in mathematics and computer science for both educators and learners from grades 3 through 12.

Attracting and developing talent

Math is in the water at Waterloo – it’s part of the ecosystem. With celebrated faculty from around the world, access to institutes such as the Perimeter Institute, the Institute for Quantum Computing, the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute, and industry leaders like Google Canada, OpenText, Maplesoft and multiple insurance companies, math and computing are everywhere.

The scale of opportunities for our students through co-op employment and mentorship through the Faculty’s connections around the world are endless. We have over 42,000 alumni working in more than 105 countries. Whether our students choose a life in academia, government or industry, our graduates have a competitive edge.

Facts

History

• North America’s only dedicated Faculty of Mathematics opened in 1967
• First Department of Statistics
• First and only Department of Combinatorics and Optimization
• The first degree from the University of Waterloo was a Master’s of Mathematics degree for Ron Mullin, who later became a professor.
• The year the first graduating class conferred from the Faculty of Mathematics (1967/8) there were 53 faculty and 1,800 undergraduate students.
• Thanks to the work of Wes Graham, Waterloo was one of the first universities to give undergraduate students access to computers.
• We have tracked more than 150 startups and spinoffs from the Faculty of Mathematics by students, faculty, and alumni.

Programs and student information

• Math degrees lead to 7/10 of the top jobs for the last three years according to CareerCast.com.
• The Faculty of Math's 40,000th alumni graduated during the June 2019 convocation ceremony.
• Students in the Faculty of Math currently make up 22% of the undergraduate population at the University of Waterloo, 36.5% of whom identify as female.
• For the last two years, members of the Faculty of Mathematics have been recognized as Faculty Association Equity and Inclusivity Award winners – Women in Computer Science (WiCs) in 2018, Benoit Charbonneau in 2019.
• In 2018, our students swept the top four spots at the regional International Collegiate Programming Competition against 129 teams from schools that included Carnegie Mellon, the University of Michigan, and the University of Toronto!
• Waterloo students have twice won the worldwide International Collegiate Programming Contest, an annual multi-tiered programming competition among the universities of the world
• Under the "non-business" ranking, Waterloo ranks 1st for the 2019 UNL Global Research Rankings of Actuarial Science and Risk Management and Insurance in the area of insurance/actuarial publications. 
• We have more top-5 finishes in the Putnam math competition than any other Canadian University.

Research and awards

• $22+ million of research funding
• Eight Canada Research Chairs, with one Canada 150 Research Chair
• 13 researchers hold University Research Chairs
• 17 Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
• Six Canadian Mathematical Society fellows
• Seven Fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Four Killam Prizes
• One Fellow of the American Physical Society
• One Officer of the Order of Canada
• Two Fields Institute Fellows
• Nine researchers have been designated University Professor by the University of Waterloo
• Eight Early Researcher awards

Outreach and the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing

• In October 2018 the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing mathematics courseware received its 5,000,000^th pageview.
• Math online courseware gets 1 million hits a term.
• Over 468,000 learners in 221 countries access our award-winning free math courseware.
• More than 256,000 students in 81 countries write the CEMC contests each year.
• External Math sponsorships include:
  • Canadian team of high school students competing in the European Girls Mathematical Olympiad
  • Canadian team of students competing in the International Olympiad in Informatics
  • Canadian International Mathematical Olympiad team training
  • Financial Literacy in the Classroom
  • StarterHacks