50 years and counting

The year 2010 marked the Faculty of Arts’ 50th anniversary (and uWaterloo’s 53rd). In 1960 there were 54 Arts students enrolled at Waterloo studying English, Latin, Philosophy, History, Math (yes, Math), Psychology, Russian, Economics, Classics, Political Science, French, Sociology, and Spanish. Today, over 44,000 Arts alumni live and work around the world.

425 undergraduate options

Our undergraduates have the opportunity to choose from 425 degree options, customized from over 30 major subject areas, dozens of minors, options and interdisciplinary programs and the two main systems of study - regular and co-op.

37 graduate programs

Arts continues to launch graduate programs designed to respond to today’s real-world needs. Recent new programs include the MA and PhD in Global Governance, the PhD in Religious Diversity in North America, the MA in Public Issues Anthropology, the Master of Experimental Digital Media and the Master of Public Service.

A solid foundation

A Waterloo Arts education provides essential skills for our complex world: foundational knowledge; articulate oral and written communication; critical and creative thinking ability; social, cultural and political awareness; scientific and technological literacy; and, an appreciation of global contexts.

Research achievements

Arts faculty members are among the country’s most successful research grant winners in social science and humanities fields. In 2010 and again in 2011, Mclean's magazine ranked Waterloo #1 among Canadian comprehensive universities for SSHRC funding success. Waterloo Arts researchers have also been recognized with major academic awards and honours, including the Killam Prize, Molson Prize, Trudeau Foundation Fellowships, and memberships in the Royal Society of Canada. 

Teachers of distinction

Arts professors consistently win more of Waterloo’s prestigious Distinguished Teacher’s Awards than any other faculty on campus. In fact, our faculty members are further distinguished at Waterloo for providing thousands of students from the other five faculties with humanities and social science breadth.

Co-op works

Arts co-op employment rates are over 95% each term. Working together with Waterloo’s world-leading Co-operative Education service, we have the experience and resources to ensure students get the best cooperative experience possible.

College life at university

The four university colleges affiliated with the Faculty of Arts offer students the feel of a small university while having the resources of a large institution. Check out Conrad Grebel University College, Renison College, St. Jerome’s University and St. Paul’s United College.

Arts and technology

With Waterloo’s wealth of expertise in the development and use of science and technology, Arts disciplines are uniquely positioned to teach, research and promote a broad and critical understanding of such rapid advances.

Lucky Porcellino

Our mascot is a bronze boar named Porcellino. You’ll find him in the Arts quad, just outside the Modern Languages building. Porcellino’s history tells us that if you rub his nose, you’ll have good luck. Test it out!