Honours Mathematics is a flexible program that offers a range of advanced courses and electives, allowing you to tailor your studies to your interests and career goals. In your first year, you'll take foundational algebra, calculus, and computer science courses and begin exploring areas of interest through three electives. Following first year, you can customize your degree through majors, minors, and specializations and put theory into practice with hands-on experiential learning through co-op or undergraduate research opportunities.
All majors within Honours Mathematics will allow you to develop your computer science skills, but some allow you to focus more of your studies on computer science courses. Explore some of our more computing-focused majors and see how they can provide a strong background in computer science.
- Applied Mathematics with Scientific Computing and Scientific Machine Learning
- Combinatorics and Optimization
- Computational Mathematics
- Data Science
- Statistics with Computing Minor
University of Waterloo Mathematics is Top 30 in the world for a reason. You'll study areas such as cryptography, computer science, optimization, logic, and statistics while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills highly valued by employers.
Join us for a live webinar with our admissions and advising teams to ask any questions you have and better understand the opportunities available with your alternate offer. You are also welcome to book a 1:1 meeting with our recruitment team as you consider your offer to Waterloo Mathematics.
Applied Mathematics with Scientific Computing and Scientific Machine Learning
Honours Mathematics Major
26 Mathematics courses, including up to 9 Computer Science courses such as:
Explore the full list of program requirements and available courses for the Applied Mathematics with Scientific Computing and Scientific Machine Learning Major.
Combinatorics and Optimization
Honours Mathematics Major
26 total Mathematics courses, including up to 11 Computer Science courses such as:
Explore the full list of program requirements and available courses for the Combinatorics and Optimization Major.
Computational Mathematics
Honours Mathematics Major
26 total Mathematics courses, including up to 11 Computer Science courses such as:
Explore the full list of program requirements and available courses for the Computational Mathematics Major.
Data Science
Honours Mathematics Major- competitive entry
28 Mathematics courses, including up to 9 Computer Science courses such as:
Explore the full list of program requirements and available courses for the Data Science Major.
Statistics Major and Computing Minor
Honours Mathematics Major + Minor
26 Mathematics courses, including up to 10 Computer Science courses such as:
Explore the full list of program requirements and available courses for the Statistics Major and Computing Minor
Co-operative Education
The University of Waterloo was an early innovator of co-op and has established connections with over 8,000 employers in over 75 countries who actively recruit our students. Co-op provides the opportunity to gain relevant, paid work experience throughout your education.
By the time you graduate, you'll have amassed nearly two years of experience to help build your resume and allow you to try different fields or industries. Mathematics students have completed a wide variety of co-op placements at some of the top companies in the world. Learn more about how co-op works at Waterloo.
Previous co-op positions include:
- Business Systems Analyst
- Web Full Stack Developer
- Technical Trading Associate
- Financial Analyst
- Quality Assurance Analyst
- Software Developer
- Sports Analytics Co-op
- Business Development Representative
From boardrooms to research labs, your experience will help you stand out in a competitive global job market and provide you with an impressive resume to land the job of your dreams. Some highly profitable industries popular with Waterloo Math alumni include:
- Health and medical technology
- Data science
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning
- Cybersecurity and privacy
- Insurance
- Business and financial technologies
- Software development
Beyond your chosen major, you can also gain valuable experience and grow your skills by:
- Pursuing a Minor
- Pursuing a Specialization (if available for your major of choice)
- Completing an Undergraduate Research Assistantship
- Spending time studying abroad
- Completing EDGE to fast-track your journey toward career success.
- Getting involved with Waterloo's top entrepreneurship ecosystem
- Taking advantage of the wide range of courses in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science or other mathematical disciplines
Student Life
Mathematics students are constantly finding ways to connect and share their love of all things mathematics and computer science both in and outside the classroom. Whatever your hobbies and passions are, you will be able to find a club or group of friends to explore them with and discover new interests too.
Some of the most popular clubs and societies include:
Next Steps for Your Offer
- Explore the majors available and consider the opportunity to pursue your education in the Faculty of Mathematics.
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Attend our Alternate Offers webinar on May 12 and ask any questions you have about Honours Mathematics.
- Register for our other upcoming Admitted Student Webinars to learn more about what life is like as a Mathematics student at Waterloo. Or you can book a 1:1 meeting with us to ask your questions.
- Contact us if you have any questions about the program or your offer.
- Log in to the Waterloo Applicant Portal to review your Offer of Admission and scholarship information (if applicable).
- Accept your Offer by June 1, 2026 through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre.