Waterloo tuition, 2026–27
How much is tuition at Waterloo?
$6,250 a year for an Ontario student in arts and science, before fees.
Engineering is the highest first-year rate, at $14,248. International students pay $54,020.
First year, full time, fall and winter, from Waterloo’s own 2026–27 fee schedule, read September 21, 2026.
For an Ontario student
Arts, Science, Math, Environment and Health (regular)
$6,250
Fall 2026 $3,125.00 + Winter 2027 $3,125.00 = $6,250.00 Fee schedule
Engineering (co-op, including Software Engineering)
$14,248
Fall 2026 $7,124.00 + Winter 2027 $7,124.00 = $14,248.00 Fee schedule
Computer Science and Data Science
$13,126
2 terms × $6,563.00 = $13,126.00 Fee schedule
Global Business and Digital Arts (co-op)
$11,592
2 terms × $5,796.00 = $11,592.00 Fee schedule
Arts and science cost about the same across Ontario: from $5,982.48 to $6,250 at the 24 universities compared. Waterloo is the most expensive of them. Every university side by side
For an international student
Arts (regular), first year
$54,020
Fall 2026 $27,010.00 + Winter 2027 $27,010.00 = $54,020.00 Fee schedule
Engineering (co-op), first year
$69,884
Fall 2026 Term 1A $34,942.00 + Winter 2027 Term 1B $34,942.00 = $69,884.00 Fee schedule
On top of tuition
Ancillary and incidental fees: $1,833.44 a year. $827.94 in fall and $1,005.50 in winter, including HST. Source
What these fees cover differs by university, so they are not added to the tuition above.
First year in residence, all in
The cheapest way to live on campus in first year: tuition, the cheapest first-year room and the meal plan a first-year has to buy.
Tuition, arts and science
$6,250
Residence
$8,254
Traditional double, Village 1 or Ron Eydt Village, the cheapest first-year room. Residence fees
Meal plan, required
$6,880
Traditional C, the cheapest required plan. Meal plans
From
$21,384
Plus $1,833.44 in ancillary fees. The dearest first-year room is $10,984 (Single in a four-bedroom suite, Mackenzie King Village). Books, a phone plan and trips home are not counted. Every university, all in
“Traditional-style residences (dorm) require a meal plan per term in residence.”
Meal plans are optional in Waterloo's suite-style residences.
Other campuses
- Renison University College. Renison students pay the same tuition as Waterloo Arts students, in Waterloo's words.
- St. Jerome's University. Waterloo says students who register through St. Jerome's pay the same tuition as on the main campus.
Some of it comes back. Waterloo lists 35 entrance scholarships, 24 of them automatic on your average.
Waterloo entrance scholarships, and what your average is worth
These are 2026–27 rates. Students starting in fall 2027 pay the next year’s, which Waterloo publishes in the spring. Confirm on the fee schedule before you budget.
Everything else about Waterloo: every program, range and policy