Future students

Students and entrepreneurial researchers are drawn to the University of Waterloo for its distinctive innovation ecosystem. Whether you're committed to creating social change, developing early-stage inventions or launching a commercial venture that’s poised to make waves, Waterloo offers the right support at every stage of the journey. 

Leveraging Waterloo’s renowned co-op program, students are making a significant impact in the business and technology sector with transformative innovations.  

As more consumers choose to support local shops over big-box chains, Waterloo co-op students at Faire — an online wholesale platform connecting independent retailers with unique brands — are helping build tools that strengthen local economies and empower small businesses to thrive. 

Six University of Waterloo researchers are being recognized as Royal Society of Canada (RSC) fellows and a member of the RSC College.

Two first-year engineering students are beginning their journeys at Waterloo with national recognition for their leadership and service. Named 2025 Loran Scholars, Edna Nortey and Aishwarya Tandon are ready to transform their passions — from city advocacy to youth mental health — into lasting change.

The University of Waterloo is globally recognized as a leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation. With the world’s largest co-op and work-integrated learning program, Waterloo offers students unparalleled opportunities to gain real-world experience while earning a world-class degree. 

But at Waterloo, education goes far beyond academics. 

There’s nothing quite like anticipating the energy on campus in September. Friends, classmates and colleagues catching up and swapping stories from vacation and co-op placements in hallways and over coffee. New students meeting friends they’ll have for the rest of their lives.  

How the brain is wired has been understood for a long-time, but how that wiring results in neural activity and cognition remains a mystery. Researchers like Dr. Travis Craddock are using quantum mechanics to gain new insights into the brain and how it works.

Craddock, a Science professor and the Canadian Research Chair in Quantum Neurobiology, bridges the disciplines of biology and physics to map out the physical and molecular processes within the brain.

A world-travelling quantum device is making its only North American stop at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo.  

‘I found my people’: Aileen Agada talks enterprise co-op and how it shaped her entrepreneurial success