Tiffany Chan is Music's Top Student

At each spring Convocation, the University of Waterloo honours the top graduating scholar with the highest cumulative average in each honours program of study. In the Music Department, combining strong scholarship and dedication to her program, Tiffany Chan has emerged as the winner of the 2026 Music Departmental Award for Distinguished Academic Achievement.

Tiffany was drawn to study both Music and Biology at the University of Waterloo because she didn’t want to give up the musical aspects of her life. “I was in the regional strings program at my high school and was playing in an orchestra everyday for four years,” she explained. “When I entered university, I didn't know what I wanted to go into and wanted to keep my doors open, so I decided to pursue both.”

“You should do it!” Tiffany advises students who are considering a joint major in two very different disciplines. “I wouldn't change a thing about my time here at Waterloo because the variety of Science and Music courses made all the study terms more enjoyable.”

Tiffany studied many aspects of music including performance, theory, and history. “I really enjoyed the performance aspect because it allowed me to learn from different teachers and see what worked for me.” Connecting her music studies to science, she noted that there is a lot of psychology behind music and recommended the Music Cognition course for those who want to learn more.

“The small class sizes made me more comfortable speaking up in classes, which made me more comfortable speaking up in my larger science classes,” reflected Tiffany. “The smallest class I had was a music theory class of eight people!”

Putting her biology background to work, Tiffany plans to pursue a career in product development and innovation of cultivated meat. However, she isn’t putting her musical dreams aside. In the past she has enjoyed teaching music to young children and knows that is always an option. “I also have this dream of playing in an orchestra that records soundtracks, so who knows, maybe one day I will pursue that!”

The Grebel community extends a hearty congratulations to Tiffany, and to all Music students who are graduating. This is a significant achievement and is well-deserved.