Required courses

Important Information for Fall 2024: 

The most important information we can give new students is that we're here to help you navigate the below process - so don't hesitate to email science.advisor@uwaterloo.ca.

You will find the required courses for your first-year in Science listed below and sorted by programs.

Here are a few reminders regarding Fall 2024 enrolment:

  1. The Science academic advisors have enrolled you in your required courses according to your program requirements. During the Course Selection Period, July 2 - July 9 (see Important Dates Calendar), check that your Fall term courses listed below match the courses listed on Quest and do not make any changes to these courses.
  2. If your program requires you to take an elective, please ensure you consider the 'recommended' electives in the Notes section of your program below (if applicable), or consult the course registration information for new students page under "list of courses that may be available to you".
  3. Check that you have a full course load: 5 lectures (LEC, 0.5 unit each) and their associated labs (LAB), tutorials (TUT), and tests (TST), where applicable. If you have to take a reduced course load as part of an individual education plan, please discuss your course load with an academic advisor from the Science Undergraduate Office.

Important Information to Consider

Overview of Courses for All First-Year Students

Most Faculty of Science students must take at least two different Science subjects in the first year (e.g., CHEM and BIOL). You should take at least one course of each of the two subjects in the Fall term (e.g., CHEM 120 and CHEM 120L, BIOL 130 and BIOL 130L), and the second course of those same two subjects in the Winter (e.g., CHEM 123 and CHEM 123L, BIOL 165).

Fall Course

  1. 100- or 200-level Biology plus labs, if applicable; BIOL 110, BIOL 130/130L, BIOL 150, or BIOL 240/240L
  2. CHEM 120 and CHEM 120L or CHEM 121 and CHEM 121L
  3. EARTH 121 and EARTH 121L
  4. PHYS 111 and PHYS 111L or PHYS 121 and PHYS 121L

Winter Course

  1. 100- or 200-level Biology plus labs, if applicable; BIOL 165, BIOL 211, BIOL 220, or BIOL 239
  2. CHEM 123 and CHEM 123L or CHEM 125 and CHEM 125L
  3. EARTH 122 and EARTH 122L
  4. PHYS 112 and PHYS 112L or PHYS 122 and PHYS 122L

The following courses will not be considered substitutes for any of the pairings shown in the table above:

  • BIOL 225 and 280
  • EARTH 123
  • PHYS 124
  • PHYS 175
  • CHEM 140
  • MNS courses (e.g. MNS 101)
  • SCI courses (e.g. SCI 238)

Postponing Required Courses

Many courses offered in the Fall term are not offered again in the Winter term. If you choose not to follow the sequence of required courses for your program, you may have difficulty getting them in future terms as well as narrowing course options for later terms (e.g., a required course may be a prerequisite for another course). The academic advisors will select your Fall and Winter courses following what is indicated below, under your selected program. If you decide to reduce your required courses, it is your responsibility to account for these courses when planning your program requirements.

Physics Course Prerequisites

In programs where you have the option between PHYS 111 or PHYS 121, the decision is up to you. If you are uncertain of which course is best for you, review the course descriptions.

Students who did not complete 12U Physics should enrol in PHYS 111 instead of PHYS 121. If you have limited exposure to Grade 12 Physics, you should contact the Science Undergraduate Office to discuss which Physics course you should be enrolled in.

Changing Programs or Requesting Co-op

If you wish to change your program (or Subject of Major Interest from your OUAC application) you may do so by:

  1. Selecting the required courses corresponding to your new program.
  2. Filling out the program change web form (in use in June, July, and August—complete the program change process outside of those months).

At this time, requests to switch from regular to co-op will not be considered. You can request co-op after your first year of studies and more information is listed on modifying your program page. 

Professional Schools

If you are interested in a professional program, the school will list their admission and academic requirements. It is important to plan ahead to meet these requirements.

The Biomedical Sciences and Honours Science programs allow the most flexibility to take the courses required for professional schools. Please see the requirements for Optometry and Pharmacy below. If you have questions about planning your courses to meet admission requirements for either program, please contact an academic advisor. You must include, your UWaterloo student ID number (e.g., 20XXXXXX), full name, and which school/program you are interested in.

Optometry

The School of Optometry and Vision Science at Waterloo lists their admission requirements and questions should be directed to the Admissions Coordinator. By reviewing the academic requirements, you can plan your elective courses appropriately. 

Pharmacy

The School of Pharmacy at Waterloo lists their admission process and questions about this process should be directed to Pharmacy. By reviewing the prerequisite courses required for admission to the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program at the University of Waterloo, you can plan your elective courses appropriately. 

Other Professional Health-Related Schools

If you are considering a professional health-related school, you should research these programs in order to plan your courses at UWaterloo accordingly. You will need to contact the professional schools directly for their admission process and academic requirements. The Ontario Universities' Application Centre may be a good starting point for Rehab Sciences and Medicine.

Lab Schedules and Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) requirement

Lab Schedules

Some labs run weekly, while others alternate weeks. It's important to check your schedule in Quest, your course outline, as well as the Schedule of Classes, for details.

Some labs will have a meet or check in on the Day 1, week 1, and then initiate an alternating pattern in week 2 or week 3. Different labs may take different approaches. The pattern of one lab does not imply the same pattern in other or all labs.

Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) Requirement

All new students in the Faculty of Science should have completed WHMIS training by September 4. Those that have not yet done so, should be able to access and enrol in the online WHMIS training module through LEARN. This is a requirement for all Fall labs.

Once you have successfully completed the WHMIS training module, please print your completion certificate. You will be asked to show this certificate in each of your labs. Keep your printout with you at all times.

Required courses

Biochemistry

Fall term

Winter term

Notes:

  1. Labs for PHYS courses are not required for this program. If you choose to take the lab component of PHYS (e.g., PHYS 111L or PHYS 121L or PHYS 112L or PHYS 122L), add them during course selection week.
  2. Full year one physics (Lecture and Lab) may be required for other Science programs or Professional School requirements (e.g., Optometry).  
  3. CHEM 121/125 are appropriate equivalents that fulfill the first-year Chemistry requirement for Pharmacy admission.
  4. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  5. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Biological and Medical Physics

Biology

Biomedical Sciences (Regular Only)

Fall term

Winter term

Notes:

  1. It is strongly recommended to avoid taking both MATH 127 and PSYCH 101 within the same term.
  2. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  3. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Biotechnology/Chartered Professional Accountancy (Co-op Only)

Chemistry

Fall term

Winter term

Notes:

  1. CHEM 121/125 are appropriate equivalents that fulfill the first-year Chemistry requirement for Pharmacy admission.
  2. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  3. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Chemistry, Computational specialization

Fall term

Winter term

Notes:

  1. CHEM 121/125 are appropriate equivalents that fulfill the first-year Chemistry requirement for Pharmacy admission.
  2. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  3. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Earth Sciences, Geology, Hydrogeology, & Geophysics specializations

Fall term

Winter term

Notes:

  1. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  2. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Environmental Sciences, Ecology, Geoscience, and Water Science specializations

Honours Science (Regular Only)

Fall term

Winter term

Notes:

  1. You will receive an email from the Faculty of Science about choosing your Fall 2024 courses and electives.
  2. Not every BIOL lecture course has an associated lab course. If you select a BIOL course that has an associated lab course (e.g., BIOL 130 and BIOL 130L), you must take both for this requirement. If you select a BIOL course that does not have an associated lab course (e.g., BIOL 239), you are not required to take an additional lab.
  3. Math courses from the Faculty of Mathematics only include ACTSC, AMATH, CO, CS, MATH, PMATH or STAT. MATH 103 does not count toward this degree; CS 100, COMM, and MTHEL courses do not fulfill the Math course requirement.
  4. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  5. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Materials and Nanosciences

Mathematical Physics

Fall term

Winter term

Notes:

  1. Must complete a total of 1.25 units of year one science, in one subject outside of physics (CHEM, EARTH or BIOL). The associated lab can be linked to either the fall or winter course. BIOL 225 and BIOL 280 can not be used as BIOL options.
  2. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  3. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Medicinal Chemistry (Co-op Only)

Fall term

Winter term

Notes:

  1. CHEM 121/125 are appropriate equivalents that fulfill the first-year Chemistry requirement for Pharmacy admission.
  2. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  3. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Physics

Fall term

Winter term

Notes:

  1. Must complete 1.25 total units of year one science, in one subject outside of physics (CHEM, EARTH or BIOL). The associated lab can be linked to either the fall or winter course. BIOL 225 and BIOL 280 can not be used as BIOL options.
  2. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  3. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Physics and Astronomy

Fall term

Winter term

Notes:

  1. Must complete 1.25 total units of year one science, in one subject outside of physics (CHEM, EARTH or BIOL). The associated lab can be linked to either the fall or winter course. BIOL 225 and BIOL 280 can not be used as BIOL options.
  2. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  3. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Psychology

Fall term

Winter term

Notes:

  1. **You can choose any 100- or 200-level BIOL course for your Winter term, exclusive of BIOL 225 and 280.
  2. Admission to this program occurs in year two, after successfully completing all year one requirements. Psychology information sessions are usually held in March during the winter 1B term.
  3. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  4. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Science and Aviation

Fall term

Winter term

Notes:
  1. You will receive an email from the Faculty of Science about your Fall 2024 courses.
  2. Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre will be in contact with you regarding the flight training in future terms.
  3. If BIOL 130 or BIOL 240 is chosen, their lab components are required.
  4. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  5. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Science and Business

Science and Business

Fall term

Winter term

Notes:

  1. You must complete a set of first-year science courses in either BIOL, EARTH or PHYS. The subject selected in Fall should be the same subject selected in Winter.
  2. BIOL labs are not required but may be a prerequisite for upper-year courses, or graduate or professional programs.
  3. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  4. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Science and Business, Biochemistry & Biotechnology Specializations

Fall term

Winter term

Note:

  1. The BIOL 130L lab is not required but may be a prerequisite for graduate or professional programs.
  2. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  3. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.

Science and Business, Biology Specialization

Fall term

Winter term

Note:

  1. BIOL labs are not required but may be a prerequisite for upper-year courses, or graduate or professional programs.
  2. BIOL 130 is the default course selected for the Fall term. You are allowed to choose a different BIOL course. 
  3. A full recommended course sequence for the program can be found on the 2024-25 Course Sequences page. 
  4. Details regarding program description, required averages, and degree requirements can be found on the 2024-25 Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page.