3 programs, side by side

Rows marked with a dot are where these differ. Everything is each university’s own published wording; the “your average” row is yours, calculated the way each program does it.

	Waterloo Architecture (Co-op Only) OUAC WR Remove	Guelph Computer Engineering (BEng) (co-op admission only) OUAC GBL Remove	Ottawa Computer Engineering (4 years) OUAC OBE Remove
Your average, their wayrequired courses forced in
Published rangetheir exact wording	83–87%“Mid-80s”	84–89%“84 to 89%”	80%
Required coursesforced into your top 6 — options are the row below	ENG4U SPH4U	ENG4U MCV4U MHF4U SCH4U SPH4U	MCV4U MHF4U SCH4U SPH4U
Choose one ofany of these satisfies it	one of MCV4U, MHF4U	—	one of ENG4U, FRA4U
Prerequisitesas published	English (ENG4U – min. 78%) Advanced Functions (min. 70%) or Calculus and Vectors (min. 70%) Physics (min. 70%)	ENG4U MCV4U MHF4U SCH4U SPH4U +1 more on the program page	ENG4U or FRA4U MHF4U MCV4U SPH4U SCH4U +2 more on the program page
More than marks?supplementary application	Yes Qualified applicants will be invited to submit a portfolio. Usually closes before January 15	Marks only	Marks only
Co-op	Available	Available	Available
Degree	—	—	Bachelor of Applied Science, BASc, Bachelor of Engineering (Co-op), BEng (Co-op)
First-year intakewhere published	75	—	88
What you study	ArchitectureBuildingDesign	Computer Animation and Visual Effects Computer Science Design General or Integrated Engineering	Computer Engineering Computer Science General or Integrated Engineering Software Engineering
What it is	You study how to design and plan buildings and structures, learning both the creative design side and the technical skills needed to make buildings work safely and function well. This program requires you to do paid work terms at architecture firms throughout your degree, alternating with school semesters, so you graduate with real professional experience. It suits people who want hands-on learning alongside theory and are ready to balance intensive coursework with workplace responsibility.	Computer Engineering combines the design and building of computer hardware and software systems. You'll study circuits, processors, programming, and how to integrate them into working devices — going deeper into the physical and mathematical foundations than a pure computer science program. This admission stream requires you to complete mandatory work terms alongside your studies, alternating between school and paid engineering jobs in industry.	Computer engineering combines the design of computer hardware with the software that runs on it. You'll study circuits, processors, programming, and systems that integrate both. The co-op stream lets you alternate between classroom and paid work terms at tech companies, giving you real industry experience alongside your degree, which sets it apart from the straight four-year option.
The door tomajors you reach through it	architecture	Applied to directly	Applied to directly
Entrance awardsat this campus, by average	4 published, 3 with no applicationfrom 80%See them	12 published, 4 with no applicationfrom 75%See them	22 published, 5 with no applicationfrom 75%See them
Source	University of Waterloo on OUInfo	University of Guelph on OUInfo	University of Ottawa on OUInfo

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Same subject area and a similar published range, at a campus you have not got in the table yet.

Ranges are what each university publishes, not guaranteed cutoffs, and limited-enrolment programs often admit above them. Confirm anything you are about to act on with the university; each column links to its source.