Bachelor of Arts in Honours Arts - History

at University of Waterloo Canada

Get ready to wrestle with important and complex questions: How do you turn a poor country into a rich country? How can we avoid another global financial crisis? What’s the best way for governments to stimulate new industries like biotechnology and green energy?

In first year, you’ll cover the fundamentals of micro- and macro-economics. In upper years, you can analyze how those principles play out in a wide range of sectors, including public policy, labour economics, health economics, finance, sport, and more.

Whether you’re aiming to work in the public sector, the private sector, or academia, your Economics degree from Waterloo will give you the skills and knowledge you need, along with co-op experience to back you up.

What is co-op?
Co-op lets you explore careers and gain paid work experience while earning your university degree. What could be better than that?! As a co-op student at Waterloo, you’ll normally alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you're working for. It's an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, see how your degree relates to real-life problems, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money!

Delve into the roots of Western civilization and gain a deep understanding of ancient Greece and Rome — cultures that continue to shape our thinking and our society today.

Discover the enduring ideas of greats like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Master enough ancient Greek and Latin to study classic texts in their original language. Explore the many facets of antiquity: from history, religion, and philosophy to art, science, and technology.

Meanwhile, you’ll have lots of room to round out your education with courses from other departments or faculties and with work experience through co-op. Once you’ve graduated, the broad thinking demanded by the program will serve you well in a range of careers, including law, policy, culture, education, and more.

In Mathematical Physics, you’ll combine theoretical physics with high-level math courses in differential equations, vector calculus, and applied mathematics. You’ll also get plenty of chances to apply that learning with hands-on labs in mechanics, electricity and magnetism, computer programming, optics, and more.

You won’t find a better place to study than Waterloo. Our Faculty of Mathematics is the largest in Canada. Meanwhile, the Department of Physics is one of Canada’s largest and most innovative, and this program comes with a co-op option so students can gain up to two years of paid work experience while pursuing their degree.

What is co-op?
Co-op lets you explore careers and gain paid work experience while earning your university degree. What could be better than that?! As a co-op student at Waterloo, you’ll normally alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you're working for. It's an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, see how your degree relates to real-life problems, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money!

Study the most fundamental aspects of nature in one of Canada’s largest and most innovative physics departments.

Choose from a broad range of courses in applied physics, astrophysics, biophysics, chemical physics, mathematical physics, and quantum computing. Then supplement your learning with hands-on labs and tutorials.

Over the course of your degree, you’ll develop the strong quantitative and analytic skills that industry is looking for. You’ll graduate well prepared for a career in engineering, biotechnology, medicine, or astronomy — or for graduate studies where you can delve deeper into the world of research.

Learn about the fascinating and complex world under your feet by exploring topics such as geology, geophysics, geochemistry, and hydrogeology.

In its four billion year old history, the Earth has changed – sometimes slowly (such as mountain building) and sometimes with violent and sudden transformations that can be devastating (such as a meteorite impact). In Earth Sciences you'll learn about the make up of our planet, from rocks and soil to water and the effects of climate change. We depend upon resources that come from the Earth, such as minerals, oil, organic materials, gases, and the water we drink. Who finds these hidden and valuable resources? A geoscientist!

Dig deep with your choice of specialization: Geology, Geophysics, or Hydrogeology. And if you're up for it, apply your knowledge through the paid work experiences co-op offers.

When you graduate, you’ll be eligible for a Professional Geoscientist designation — and be ready to develop meaningful environmental protection plans, predict natural disasters, advance health standards for water, and more.

Discover how to manipulate individual atoms and molecules in Materials and Nanosciences at Waterloo. As one of the top two nanoscience programs in Canada (Academic World Ranking of Universities 2020), this program has lots to offer, including co-op opportunities. You’ll learn the ins and outs of designing composite materials, ceramics, semiconductor materials, fuel cells, energy storage devices, solar cells, and more. And thanks to small classes, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to connect with other students and professors.

Materials and Nanoscience is a mix of chemistry, physics, and math. You’ll also take materials science courses where you learn about what makes a substance unique. For example, if you arrange atoms in a certain way, why does the material have stability and strength rather than flexibility? In upper years, you can choose to take more chemistry or physics. It all depends on what aspects of materials science you enjoy.

You’ll graduate ready for a career at the forefront of innovation, helping create environmentally friendly, efficient, and cost-effective solutions in fields ranging from aerospace to biomedicine.

What is co-op?
Co-op lets you explore careers and gain paid work experience while earning your university degree. What could be better than that?! As a co-op student at Waterloo, you’ll normally alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you're working for. It's an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, see how your degree relates to real-life problems, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money!

Good health care decisions depend on good data. But there’s a crucial shortage of people with the right skills to make sense of statistical information. Step into that gap with a Biostatistics degree from Waterloo — the only one of its kind in Canada.

In this program, you’ll take the same core courses as Statistics students, but with the addition of specialized upper-year courses designed specifically for Biostatistics students. In addition to math courses, you'll take courses in health studies, including health policy, health informatics, and management. You'll also get the chance to get paid work experience through co-op.

Learn how to design clinical experiments, analyze health data, and interpret results. You’ll graduate ready to help create advances in diagnostics, medical technology, and treatments.

What is co-op?
Co-op lets you explore careers and gain paid work experience while earning your university degree. What could be better than that?! As a co-op student at Waterloo, you’ll normally alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you're working for. It's an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, see how your degree relates to real-life problems, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money!

Study music in a program that offers you the flexibility to pursue your passions. At Waterloo, we offer instruction in more than 20 instruments, as well as vocal lessons. But that’s just the beginning.

Balance your study of performance, music theory, and music history with classes on the relationship between music and technology, gender, and peace. Unpack the psychology of music, or delve into pop, jazz, opera, film scores, and more.

Whether you’re aiming for a career as a performer, composer, teacher, recording technician, or music software developer, this program gives you the building blocks you need, and you can even orchestrate some experience before you graduate by enrolling in the co-op stream.

What is co-op?
Co-op lets you explore careers and gain paid work experience while earning your university degree. What could be better than that?! As a co-op student at Waterloo, you’ll normally alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you're working for. It's an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, see how your degree relates to real-life problems, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money!

Choose courses from a wide variety of subjects to tailor your program towards your own area of interest. Experience community through small classes and engaged professors. Explore the theory and practice of conflict resolution, human rights, and international development, and get some first-hand experience through co-op placements or a Peace and Conflict Studies internship.

Understand the factors that drive conflict and violence. Think critically about how peace can be built in complex situations to move towards a healthy society where communities and individuals flourish.

You’ll learn from renowned specialists in peacebuilding who bring both academic and practical expertise. Build even closer ties to your classmates and professors by joining the Peace and Conflict Studies Living-Learning Community at Conrad Grebel University College, located on Waterloo’s main campus.

One of the joys of being in university is having time to broaden your horizons, discover new interests, and get involved in a range of extracurricular activities. Liberal Studies gives you that freedom.

Commonly called a liberal arts degree at other universities, Liberal Studies allows you to explore many different subjects in the humanities, social sciences, languages and cultures, and fine and performing arts – plus courses you’d like to take from some of Waterloo's other faculties.

You can add focus to your degree with a minor or minors, or keep it completely general. (And if you do fall passionately in love with a subject along the way, you can switch into a major at any point.) An academic advisor can help you plan your degree and choose courses.