Come to Waterloo - graduate applications

Graduate exchange eligibility

First, you must check with your home institution to see if they have an exchange agreement with the University of Waterloo. Your exchange coordinator at your home university will help determine if you are eligible to come to Waterloo. Your home university will then be able to submit the online student nomination form. Once they have done so, all incoming non-degree exchange students can complete Waterloo's online exchange application.

To meet the eligibility requirements, students applying for the exchange program must:

have completed an Honours Bachelors’ degree or equivalent and be actively enrolled in a graduate-level program
75% (or equivalent) overall standing in the past two years of study
be currently enrolled at one of Waterloo’s exchange partner institutions
be nominated by their home institution as an exchange applicant
meet Waterloo’s graduate English language proficiency (or equivalent)

Application procedure

1. Submit your online application

Submit your online application. There is no application fee for students applying as an incoming exchange student. To have the fee waived, go to the application and under 'Select Programs' choose the 'department', choose 'non-degree' and select the applicable exchange agreement.

If the relevant admission term is not available, pick a term that is available and we will update the application admit term manually.
If references are requested, list "gradadmissions@uwaterloo.ca" as references are typically not needed for exchange applications.
Ensure you declare that you are enrolled in a master's degree aty our home institution on your application.

2. Notify The Global Learning Team that you have applied

Email studyabroad@uwaterloo.ca to confirm that you have applied. Include the following information in your email:

Name
UW Student ID (leave blank if unknown)
Email
Admission Term(s)
Level: Graduate
Program

3. Create a Quest account

After submitting, you will receive a welcome email within two business days with instructions to confirm your identity and create an account in Quest—our student information system where you will upload your documents.

4. Upload your supporting documents to Quest

The following supporting documents are required to determine eligibility for your exchange to Waterloo.

Master’s and bachelor’s transcripts (with English translations, if applicable). If you cannot provide a master’s transcript by the application deadline, include proof of enrollment in a graduate level program as part of your supporting documents.
English language proficiency certification (official test score or English language equivalency letter from your home school)
Resume/CV (if required by the department)
Reference(s) (if required by the department)
Supplementary information form listing the graduate courses you wish to take as a part of your exchange (See the course selection guide for assistance)
- When deciding on courses:
  - Only list courses that are within the department you are applying to.
  - Picking courses outside of the department could influence the admission decision. If interested in courses outside the admitting department, you could seek permission after you've been admitted.

If you would like to improve upon your English language skills, the English Language Institute (ELI) at Renison University College is University of Waterloo's home for English language classes. You can visit ELI to register for credit courses in spoken or written English or to find out more about how to increase your English language proficiency.

Please note that non-degree exchange students may not be approved for some graduate/professional programs/courses. For example, the following programs are restricted: Accounting, Clinical Psychology, Public Health and Health Systems, Social Work and some Master of Engineering courses.

Fields of study

Actuarial Science, Non-degree
Applied Math, Non-degree
Architecture, Non-degree
Biology, Non-degree
Chemical Engineering, Non-degree
Chemistry, Non-degree
Civil Engineering, Non-degree
Combinatorics and Optimization, Non-degree
Computer Science, Non-degree
Earth Sciences, Non-degree

Economics, Non-degree
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Non-degree
English, Non-degree
French Studies, Non-degree
Geography, Non-degree
German, Non-degree
Global Governance, Non-degree
History, Non-degree
Mechanical Eng, Non-degree
Management Sciences, Non-degree
Pharmacy, Non-degree

Philosophy, Non-degree
Physics, Non-degree
Planning, Non-degree
Psychology, Non-degree
Pure Math, Non-degree
Recreation and Leisure, Non-degree
Social and Ecological Sustainability, Non-degree
Sociology, Non-degree
Statistics, Non-degree
Systems Design Engineering, Non-degree

Note: Courses are subject to restrictions and availability.

Deadlines

Graduate applications must be received by the exchange program deadline below.

Admission term	Nomination deadline	Application deadline
Fall: September - December	March 15	April 1
Winter: January - April	August 15	September 1
Spring: May - August	November 15	December 1

Admission results

The application processing time is up to eight weeks or longer from the date that all required documents are received by the departmental graduate coordinator to the completion of the application, according to the departmental review application process. If admissible, once your complete application has been reviewed by the department of choice, an Offer of Admission and a Letter of Acceptance from the Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs will be uploaded to your Quest account. You will be notified via email.