Fields of study

Two graduate students share notes

What captures your imagination? What are you passionate about?

At Waterloo, you'll have the opportunity to pursue a broad range of areas and ideas in math and computer science – from foundational theory to applied research and commercial solutions. Plus, inter-disciplinary research is important at University of Waterloo. Our people look for connections between subjects, departments and schools and industry, opening the doors to new methods and discovery.

Not sure where to start? Explore and find a researcher working in your desired area of study.

For an overview of our academic units’ Ontario Council on Graduate Studies-approved fields of study, visit our departmental and school web pages:

Applied Mathematics

  • Control Theory
  • Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Mathematical Physics
  • Quantum Information
  • Scientific Computation

David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science

  • Algorithms and Complexity
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Bioinformatics
  • Databases and Text Management
  • Graphics and Human/Computer Interfaces
  • Networks and Distributed Systems
  • Programming Languages
  • Quantum Information
  • Software Engineering
  • Symbolic Computation

Combinatorics & Optimization

  • Algebraic Combinatorics
  • Continuous Optimization
  • Cryptography
  • Discrete Optimization
  • Graph Theory
  • Quantum Computing
  • Quantum Information

Pure Mathematics

  • Algebra and Logic
  • Analysis
  • Geometry and Topology
  • Number Theory

Statistics and Actuarial Science

  • Actuarial Science
  • Biostatistics
  • Finance (master's level only)
  • Scientific and Statistical Computing
  • Statistics