Bachelor of Arts in Honours Arts - Sexuality, Marriage and Family Studies (Co-op)

at University of Waterloo Canada

Whether you want to create a VR training program for surgeons, the next "swipe right" dating app, or an autonomous car, software engineers have endless career options in today’s tech-enabled world.

At Waterloo, you won’t just write code. You’ll also analyze software architecture, apply algorithms, understand digital hardware systems, and design human/ computer interfaces. Plus, you’ll learn how to work in teams and manage projects, all while being taught by one of the best universities on the planet for software engineering (Shanghai World University Rankings 2020).

Then, during your co-op, you’ll put those skills to work at leading companies like Snapchat, Facebook, or hot new startups. When you graduate, you’ll be ready to create reliable, affordable, and faster software for all kinds of different purposes.

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!

Combine your interests in business and math in this unique program, and gain two degrees in the time it normally takes to earn one co-op degree. This double degree program combines Waterloo's strength in mathematics with the business expertise of nearby Wilfrid Laurier University (walking distance from our campus).

You'll graduate with two prestigious degrees: a Bachelor of Mathematics (BMath) from Waterloo and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Laurier. Together, they give your résumé an enviable edge that will impress employers and prepare you to make your mark as a trader, analyst, executive, or entrepreneur.

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!

Life Sciences is the study of living organisms, ranging from the very tiny world of microbiology and genetics to the physiology and zoology of the world’s great mammals – with plants, botany, and more in between!

At Waterloo, Life Sciences is a group of related majors. The four Life Sciences majors (Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Sciences, and Psychology) bring together disciplines such as biology, chemistry, physics, and math to help you learn how living systems work and interact. When you apply to Waterloo, you'll select one of the majors and get to do labs and experiments starting right in first year. You can choose the co-op program or the regular system of study 

Biochemistry
In the past 200 years, advances in techniques and tools have allowed biochemists to focus on these fundamental questions: How do organisms use chemical compounds to thrive? How do organisms adjust to changes in their environment and how can our knowledge of the chemistry of life be applied to improving the human condition? To answer these questions, we study the structures of molecules – such as enzymes – and the diverse metabolic processes – such as the Kreb’s cycle – that are fundamental to life.

In Biochemistry, you'll create chemicals. Analyze genes. Explore the fundamentals of metabolism. You’ll start with a broad science foundation in first year, including chemistry, biology, physics, and calculus.

If you choose to add the Biotechnology specialization, you'll examine the biological and biochemical processes used to make new disease-fighting drugs and other valuable products. And if you choose the co-op stream, you'll benefit from paid work experience – exploring potential careers while you pursue your degree.

You’ll graduate with the knowledge and skills to work in a wide range of areas, from forensics to pharmaceuticals to food and agriculture.

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!

The Honours Studio Practice academic plan is designed to prepare students for work in the creative arts sector by teaching and fostering practical creative and analytical skills within a university environment. Students are introduced to studio art practice in our foundation course in the Fall of their first term of study. After that, over three terms (in years one and two) students take at least six studio courses from more than 20 possibilities, each concentrating on specific media: drawing, painting, digital, print, sound, sculpture, photography, performance, installation, and wearable media. Year three is focused on honing technical skills in these areas, in concert with learning how to develop an independent body of work.

The final year is dedicated to creating a cohesive body of work which is then showcased in the Honours Graduation Exhibition in March of the last term of study. Studio courses and the student’s own studio practice are underpinned by courses in modern art, contemporary art and visual culture as well as courses outside the department. Professional practice, such as documentation of work, installation, writing an artist statements and preparation of the exhibition catalogue, are all components of the fourth year studio course.

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!

In this exciting, highly interactive program (formerly Speech Communication), you’ll explore how our everyday forms of communication create meaning and shape our perspective of the world. This degree is unique within Canada for our experience-based study of verbal, non-verbal, visual, and digital communication practices.

You’ll learn to master interviewing skills, become adept at public speaking, and communicate effectively as a leader. You'll also study the dynamics of communication in your personal interactions, your classrooms, workspaces, in your use of online and digital spaces, and more broadly in media and public communication.

Over the course of your degree, you’ll hone your written and oral communication skills while developing expertise in teamwork, research, visual and digital literacy, and critical analysis — just the kind of skills that employers are hungry for. Enrolling in the co-op stream will provide insights into possible careers and paid work experience along the way.

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!

Use your understanding of mathematical concepts to solve complex problems in engineering, medicine, business, and science, from the behaviour of ocean waves to the structure of space-time.

In Applied Mathematics, you’ll deepen your knowledge of calculus and differential equations: the foundation for most mathematical models. You’ll have lots of opportunity to put those tools to work on real-life problems — in the classroom and, if you choose co-op, during your work terms.

Many of our Applied Mathematics graduates work in research, development, and consulting. Others pursue graduate studies in applied mathematics, computer science, engineering, or physics.

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!

Do you look up at night and dream of distant galaxies? Do you wonder about the origin of the universe? Explore your curiosity with a Physics and Astronomy degree from Waterloo.

Complement your foundational studies in physics and math with courses in astronomy. Interested in research? Waterloo's Centre for Astrophysics hosts aspiring young researchers and students, helping them to unlock the mysteries of the universe. Researchers will collaborate with some of the top astrophysics agencies in the world.

The program’s strong ties to Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing provide additional opportunities to get involved in research. Meanwhile, if you opt for our co-op program, you’ll gain valuable résumé-building experience on your work terms.

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!

Learn to wow your audience as you explore theatre and performance in one of Canada’s most creative drama programs. Go beyond art history books and collaborate with professors, visiting artists, and other students to make high quality work that contributes to a just society. You'll learn by doing, covering performance to management, design to critical studies, and creation to technology. 

In the classroom, courses in performance, production, design, direction, and management will give you the technical tools to excel at your craft. Meanwhile, complementary courses in politics, race, gender, theory, technology, and aesthetics will help you decide what messages matter. You can apply your knowledge to co-op placements too.

By the time you graduate, you’ll have a rich portfolio to take into the world of theatre, plus a range of creative, analytical, and management skills that will serve you well in any number of roles, on stage or off.

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!