Bachelor of Mathematics in Mathematical Optimization

at University of Waterloo Canada

In today’s data-driven world, statisticians are in high demand. Get the skills you need to help businesses market new products, researchers evaluate medical treatments, governments shape effective public policy, and more.

In one of the world’s top centres for statistics, you’ll learn to design experiments and surveys, explore and analyze data, simulate complex systems, and extract meaningful information.

You’ll also get experience in statistical computing, forecasting, mathematical modelling, and statistical process control — all skills that will make you highly marketable. Not to mention up to two years of paid work experience if you enrol in co-op.

Where you apply those skills is up to you. Our grads go on to work in a huge range of fields, including biology, business, engineering, environmental science, finance, manufacturing, and the health sciences.

Study the power, elegance, “how,” and “why” of math. In this rigorous program, you'll cover the spectrum of mathematics — from classical to modern — including geometry, number theory, and logic.

Because Pure Mathematics classes are among the smallest and most cohesive in the Faculty of Mathematics, you’ll get to know both your classmates and your profs. (Profs who are doing ground-breaking research when they’re not in the classroom.) You'll also get the opportunity to get paid work experience through co-op.

Pure Mathematics will provide you with problem-solving skills that can be applied in industry, business, government, or graduate school.

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!

Our language-oriented stream emphasizes a fluent knowledge of Spanish, focusing on understanding, speaking, reading, and writing, including courses for business and translation. Meanwhile, Waterloo’s Hispanic club gives you the chance to practice your conversation skills with peers.

Alternatively, you can opt to specialize in Latin American Literatures and Cultures. In this stream, you'll study the major literary and cultural trends of Latin America, from pre-Columbian times to the present, while developing strong research skills along the way.

Once you graduate, your Spanish degree opens up all kinds of possibilities, including business, teaching, international relations, and international development. You can also add appeal to your degree by gaining some work experience through co-op.

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.

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!

In Canada’s longest-standing Medieval Studies program, you’ll explore the ideas and events of Europe and the Near East from the fall of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the modern era in 1500 CE.

When you study medieval history, art, philosophy, legal systems, and politics, you’re not just living in the past. This is a field that offers valuable insights into European politics, modern gender norms, the rise and fall of superpowers, the connections between Islam and Christianity, and more, and you'll have the opportunity to implement that into your work early if you choose the co-op stream.

You’ll have lots of opportunity to connect with other students, thanks to small classes and the regular social and academic events organized by the Classical and Medieval Students Society.

Explore earth processes as they relate to human activities to better understand the impacts of human (and natural) influences on environmental sustainability, biodiversity, and hydrology/hydrogeology.

Environmental science applies geologic knowledge to address and solve problems related to the more than seven billion humans occupying the Earth. Topics you'll learn include climate change, groundwater flow and contamination, environmental impacts of pollution, responsible extraction of earth resources, waste disposal, and human engineering of earth processes. Enjoy examining the interactions between and within the Earth's four spheres that include both living and non-living components.

Train with cutting-edge professors and the latest technologies, at Canada's most innovative university, to directly address challenges facing humanity today and future generations.   

Geoscience
Focus on the interactions among the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere, as well as the human activities and encompass the complex and dynamic earth system. Study topics such as surface and subsurface contamination, urbanization, impacts of agriculture, and mining.

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!

Earn a Bachelor of Science degree and your Commercial Pilot Licence through the largest aviation program in Canada.

Your core science education will be supplemented with courses that include cartography, climatology, geographic information systems, aerodynamics, and remote sensing. Our curriculum also emphasizes the organizational and communication skills you’ll need to succeed in the working world.

Aviation and aerospace industries demand a new breed of specialists who have well-developed analytical and decision-making skills, along with an understanding of complex aircraft systems.

Waterloo’s Science and Aviation program equips you with that expertise.

Program highlights

• Log 200+ flight hours. You’ll spend lots of time in the air — flight hours that count toward your Commercial Pilot Licence with aviation courses through the Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre.
• Build valuable skills. When you graduate, your combination of a university degree and a pilot’s licence will set you up for a wide range of airborne and ground-based careers — and give you a distinctive edge over your competition.

What will you learn?
First-year courses
In your first year, you'll take a mixture of Aviation, Geography, and science courses to give you the foundations for your upper-year classes. After first year, most of your classes will be Aviation and science courses with some Mathematics and Geography courses.

Mathematics is the foundation of commerce, computing, engineering, and science. This program is the most flexible of all programs in the Faculty of Mathematics.

It provides you with a broad mathematics education, including courses in algebra, calculus, combinatorics, computer science, geometry, number theory, and statistics, in addition to the opportunity to gain up to two years of paid work experience through co-op. If you enjoy mathematics and want the opportunity to hone your analytical, technical, and problem-solving skills, but don’t want to narrow your focus on one major only, then this program is for you.

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 only one of its kind in Canada, this program goes far beyond basic anatomical knowledge and sexual health. Use different perspectives to explore relationships, communication, parenting skills, how media affects our understanding of gender/sex/relationships, the impact of culture on sexual values, and more, all from a social justice perspective.

Meanwhile, the program itself has a real family vibe. You’ll enjoy small classes and a tight-knit community at St. Jerome’s University, one of Waterloo's on-campus University Colleges.

With your degree, you can choose from a slew of high-impact career paths, including teaching, counselling, social services, community engagement, and more. And you can always explore them early through the co-op stream.