Offers of Admission

Basic Requirements for Admission

Basic requirements: Ontario High School Diploma with a minimum of 6 Grade 12 U/M courses, including the required courses for the program to which you have applied. EAE4U will be treated as equivalent to ENG4U.

Your admission average consists of the grades from your top 6 Grade 12 U/M courses, including all required courses for the program you've applied to.

If your first language is not English, and you have not studied in an English-language school system for the 4 years immediately before beginning your studies at Waterloo, you will be required to meet our English-language requirements.

Failed and Repeated Courses

View Waterloo's policies on repeated courses and courses other than day school.

Timing of Admission Decisions

Offers of admission are made on a rolling basis between January and May as we receive updated grades from schools. The date you may receive an offer of admission depends on the program you applied to, your grade average, and any special entrance requirements (such as video interviews and portfolios for some programs). 

We want to consider all students fairly, so we may wait for updated grades from schools before making many of our admission decisions.

Scholarship and bursary decisions are made in May.

Admission to Alternative Programs

If you are not admitted to the program you applied to, you may be considered for admission to an alternative program, provided you meet the minimum admission requirements and spaces are available.

If a program is available in both co-op and regular systems of study and you are not admitted to the co-op version, you may be automatically considered for either the corresponding regular program or another related program, provided spaces are available. In some programs, limited admission to co-op is also available in second year.

Deferred Admission

High school applicants who are offered admission, accept their offer, meet all conditions and wish to take a year off to work or travel may request a 1-year deferral of admission. You will not be granted a deferral if you study at another postsecondary institution during the year. You can continue to take high school level classes if you choose to do so.

First-year Course Selection Process

  • Students will receive instructions in June for selecting their fall courses.

Accessibility Services

  • We encourage admitted students with disabilities to contact AccessAbility Services: 519-888-4567, ext. 35082 | TTY: 519-888-4040 access@uwaterloo.ca

More Than 100 Programs to Choose From

The programs listed are ones that you apply directly to. We offer more than 100 programs and majors at Waterloo, some of which you choose at the end of first year.

Applicants Outside Ontario and Canada

Prerequisites (for applicants outside of Ontario)

Prerequisites (for applicants outside of Canada)

IB and AP Requirements

International Baccalaureate (IB) admission information

Advanced Placement (AP) admission information