Come to Waterloo - graduate course selection

You will be required to list your courses on the supplementary information form for the duration of your studies at the University of Waterloo. Prior to filling out these forms, ensure that you follow these three steps:

1. View course descriptions through the respective graduate programs listing and Graduate Studies Academic Calendar. Have courses pre-approved for credit transfers at your home institution prior to applying for the exchange.
2. Review the graduate schedule of classes (paying close attention to the search code applicable for each term). Please note that some courses may include supplementary tutorials (TUT) or labs (LAB) in addition to the lectures (LEC). When reviewing the schedule of classes and evaluating time conflicts, you should consider these items as well (if applicable).

3. Select 3-5 courses per term, allowing for contingency courses in the event that restrictions or scheduling conflicts arise. You should try to select courses from the graduate department you’ve applied to. Graduate departments will not approve course enrolment for other departments. If you’re interested in courses across multiple departments, contact the course department and/or instructor to gain permission after your admission.

If a course syllabus is not available online, your home institution will typically base their initial assessment on the course outlines that are available in the respective graduate program listing.

Credit system

One graduate course at 0.5 credits would be equivalent to approximately 9-10 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). Details of specific credit weights and teaching hours per course are available via our graduate schedule of classes. Most of our courses are assessed as a credit of 0.5 and are approximately 39 teaching hours per term. Some courses may include supplementary tutorials (TUT) or labs (LAB) in addition to lectures (LEC).

Students must enrol in a minimum of one graduate course per term and maintain full time status during the duration of their exchange. In addition to maintaining full-time status in graduate level courses, a student may enrol in a maximum of one undergraduate course during their exchange at Waterloo. For students participating in an exchange longer than one term, a maximum of two undergraduate courses may be allowed. 

Please refer to our Graduate Studies Academic Calendar for information regarding our grading system.