Public · Waterloo, Ontario · Canada · CAD
University of Waterloo total cost
A Canadian degree price starts with the student category. This page separates local and international tuition and compulsory fees in Canadian dollars, then adds the published residence and meal plan basis for 2026-2027.
All figures on this page are in Canadian dollars (CAD).
Domestic and international prices are shown on separate lines. Do not compare a CAD total on this page with a USD total on a United States school page without converting currencies first.
The price at University of Waterloo, by student category
Waterloo prices Arts by the term, so the annual line is two published terms: CA$6,250 of tuition for an Ontario student and CA$54,020 for an international student in 2026-2027, with incidental fees added per term. Residence is contracted per term with a mandatory meal plan, running CA$4,127 to CA$5,908 for the room plus CA$3,440 to CA$4,600 for the meal plan each term, which makes the housing term bill larger than the Ontario tuition term bill.
- Domestic student (Ontario resident): tuition and fees
- CA$8,083 CAD
- International student: tuition and fees
- CA$56,308 CAD
- International minus local tuition and fees
- CA$48,224 CAD per year
Ontario resident domestic student (Canadian citizen or permanent resident, Ontario), per the Ontario fee schedule title.
International student on a study permit paying the international per-term rate.
That gap repeats in each year the student keeps the same category, before any fee increase.
Tuition and compulsory fees
Program basis: Faculty of Arts, Regular (non-co-op) stream, full-time per-term fee schedule; annual figures are two terms of the published per-term maximums.. The same basis is used for every category in this table. Where the university publishes tuition and compulsory fees separately, both lines are shown; where it publishes one combined figure, the split is marked as not published rather than estimated.
| Student category | Tuition (CAD) | Compulsory fees (CAD) | Tuition and fees (CAD) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic student (Ontario resident)Ontario resident domestic student (Canadian citizen or permanent resident, Ontario), per the Ontario fee schedule title. | CA$6,250 | CA$1,833 | CA$8,083Calculated: tuition $3,125.00 per term x 2 = $6,250.00; published incidental fees are $827.94 (Fall 2026) and $1,005.50 (Winter 2027), totalling $1,833.44. | UWaterloo Finance, Fee schedule: domestic (Ontario) undergraduates - Fall 2026 and Winter 20272026-2027; verified 2026-10-05 |
| International studentInternational student on a study permit paying the international per-term rate. | CA$54,020 | CA$2,288 | CA$56,308Calculated: tuition $27,010 per term x 2 = $54,020. Published Fall 2026 incidental fees are $1,143.94 per term including international health coverage; the same per-term incidental figure is applied to both terms and labelled as calculated. | UWaterloo Finance, Fee schedule: international undergraduates - Fall 20262026-2027; verified 2026-10-05 |
First-year planning total by category
Each total below adds the category tuition and fees to the published residence and meal plan figure. No books and supplies figure is added, because the school does not publish one on the pages we checked; add your own course costs before treating the total as complete. When residence is published as a range, the total is shown as the same range.
| Student category | Tuition and fees (CAD) | Residence and meal plan (CAD) | First-year planning total (CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic student (Ontario resident) | CA$8,083 | CA$15,134 to CA$21,016 | CA$23,217 to CA$29,099 |
| International student | CA$56,308 | CA$15,134 to CA$21,016 | CA$71,442 to CA$77,324 |
Residence and meal plan
Calculated two-term range from the 2026-2027 Undergraduate Residence Contract: room $4,127 to $5,908 per term plus mandatory meal plan $3,440 to $4,600 per term. One term runs $7,567 to $10,508; two terms run $15,134 to $21,016. Every price includes the mandatory meal plan as published.
Published figure: CA$15,134 to CA$21,016 CAD. Source: University of Waterloo, 2026-2027 Undergraduate Residence Contract (PDF), 2026-2027, verified 2026-10-05. A residence range is not a promise of the lowest-cost room; placement, room type, and meal plan tier decide the billed amount.
Scholarships and aid
No published average aid figure: Waterloo publishes named entrance scholarships by admission average, not a reliable average grant per student on the pages checked.
| Published award | Eligibility | Amount (CAD) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| President's Scholarship of DistinctionFor an admission average of 95 percent or higher; the published value components total up to $5,000 across the degree. | Domestic and international | CA$2,000 entrance scholarship, plus CA$1,500 International Experience Award and CA$1,500 Research Award in upper years | University of Waterloo, President's ScholarshipsVerified 2026-10-05 |
| President's ScholarshipFor an admission average of 90 to 94.9 percent. | Domestic and international | CA$2,000 | University of Waterloo, President's ScholarshipsVerified 2026-10-05 |
| Merit ScholarshipFor an admission average of 85 to 89.9 percent. | Domestic and international | CA$1,000 | University of Waterloo, President's ScholarshipsVerified 2026-10-05 |
Only a written offer from University of Waterloo confirms an award for a specific student. An entrance award headline does not reduce the planning total until its amount, eligibility, and renewal rule are in that offer.
City context
No city unemployment or rent figure is published on this page yet. Canada has no single federal file that matches the United States school data groups field for field, so this page does not borrow a figure from a rental listing site or a national average and present it as local fact. Budget off-campus rent from current listings near Waterloo and confirm the lease term before comparing it with residence.
A worksheet before borrowing
- Choose the student category first. At University of Waterloo, the local tuition and fees line is CA$8,083 CAD and the international line is CA$56,308 CAD for 2026-2027; the category decision is worth CA$48,224 CAD per year before housing.
- Add the residence and meal plan figure that matches the room you would actually accept, not only the lowest published room.
- Subtract only awards named in a written offer. Published entrance awards above are possibilities to investigate, not deductions.
- Price four years by repeating the first-year planning total, then test a yearly increase as your own scenario. The university has not forecast your later-year fees on this page.
- Keep the currency pinned: every figure in the worksheet for this school is CAD.
Before you treat this as your price
- Confirm the academic year and the program. Professional and deregulated programs can carry different fees.
- Confirm residency status with the university. Citizenship, permanent residence, and provincial residence are separate questions.
- Check the housing tier and meal plan behind the residence figure.
- Use only a written aid offer as a confirmed scholarship amount.
Record notes
- Waterloo publishes an out-of-province domestic schedule separately; the Fall 2026 out-of-province Arts figure was not captured from the official schedule in this pass, so no out-of-province line is shown rather than estimating one.
Common questions
How much does University of Waterloo cost in Canadian dollars?
For 2026-2027, the local tuition and fees line is CA$8,083 CAD and the international line is CA$56,308 CAD on the program basis named on this page. Residence and meal plan costs are shown separately because the billed amount depends on room and plan.
Who counts as a domestic or local student?
Domestic student (Ontario resident): Ontario resident domestic student (Canadian citizen or permanent resident, Ontario), per the Ontario fee schedule title. The university decides the category from citizenship, permanent residence, and provincial residence documents. Confirm your category before using a total.
Can I compare this page with a United States school page directly?
Not without a currency step. This page is in Canadian dollars (CAD). United States pages are in US dollars (USD). Convert with a dated exchange rate or compare the structure of the budgets first: tuition category, residence, books, and time to degree.
Are scholarships subtracted from these totals?
No. This page lists awards the university itself publishes and names their eligibility, but only a written offer from University of Waterloo confirms an amount for a specific student.