An Arts degree builds a solid foundation that will never become obsolete.

You are coming to university because you want to gain knowledge, discover your passion, meet new people, and find where you fit in the world. And after your post-secondary years are done, you'll want to be able to market your skills for the career that's right for you. Read on about how a Waterloo Arts degree prepares you to do it, your way.

Develop critical-thinking skills

Yes, you’ll have to think…and you’ll love it. Your Arts education will allow you to explore and experience new ideas, philosophies and ways of thinking. The courses you take will have you arguing your point, organizing and summarizing your ideas, as well as learning and developing new concepts and applying new theories. You’ll be able to tackle today’s tough questions and examine the world around you in a whole new way.

Sharpen learning skills and adaptability

Writing papers and studying for exams may seem irrelevant for your career now, but think of the proposals you may have to write or the new technology you’ll have to learn for your job. Sound similar? Here you’ll gain the adaptable, flexible, and transferable skills that today’s employers demand. You’ll have a broad range of career choices in an array of fields because your education will have given you the skills to excel in today’s marketplace and adapt to fit the career path you choose.

Find your arts-technology edge

Along with studying, you’ll have ample opportunity to develop your digital and web skills while at Waterloo…and where better than here, where we have the world’s best computing and technology programs?

• All Arts students have free computing accounts including email, web space and computer lab access.Computer science and technology courses are available as electives and are sometimes required courses for certain Arts programs.

• Web-based instruction and tutorials are commonly used for course preparation, studying and advanced learning.

• Our online resource called Desire2Learn (D2L) provides convenient access to marks and course resources, not to mention quick and reliable communication with classmates and professors.

Discover vast career options

True or False? Arts programs only give me a few career choices. False! The broad-based approach of an Arts education gives you a wide base of learning and experience, so you have countless options. You can even try different options while you are here. Take one course or many courses in a subject area; either to try as a major or to supplement your studies with a collection of courses relevant to your career aspirations. You get to draw from many different departments and disciplines allowing you to build the future you want.

Waterloo's commitment to excellence

Nationally and internationally respected as a first-rate comprehensive university, Waterloo has been ranked 1st in the ‘Most Innovative’ category of Maclean’s magazine’s reputational surveys for 17 years straight! Waterloo is also ranked 1st for national reputation and is the “#1 Comprehensive University" in the country.

Our provincial averages for graduation, employment and average earnings upon graduation have given us a reputation for excellence among employers and graduate students across the country and worldwide. Arts at Waterloo is the largest and most diverse of all the faculties at the University of Waterloo and we’re proud that we have over 7,500 current students and over 41,000 alumni as proof that Waterloo is a first rate place to study Arts.

Unique programs with choice, choice, and more choice

From Anthropology to Accounting, Economics to English, Sociology to Spanish, Philosophy to Film Studies, the Faculty of Arts offers you a vast array of subjects to study. If you’re excited by exploration and choice, Arts at Waterloo will allow you to combine diverse areas of study to create a truly unique degree. You’ll have the opportunity to choose from 425 personalized degree possibilities:

• Over 30 major subject areas;

• Dozens of minors, options and interdisciplinary programs; and

• Two main systems of study—Regular and Co-op.

• Many of our programs and courses can be taken through the main campus or one of the four Arts-related University Colleges.

Honours Arts and Business Co-op and Regular; Rhetoric and Professional Writing; Legal Studies; Speech Communication; International Relations and Global Governance; Accounting and Financial Management are just a few of the innovative and unique programs that complement the Faculty's more traditional areas of study.

The world's best co-op

We are the founders of co-operative education in Canada and continue to be the leaders worldwide. Arts students take advantage of our renowned co-op program through Arts and Business Co-op, Departmental Co-op or the Accounting and Financial Management and Computing and Financial Management programs. And with employment rates over 95% each term, we have the experience and resources to ensure you get the best cooperative education experience possible. In fact, the University of Waterloo has over 8,000 more co-op jobs available than any other co-op program in Ontario!

Award-winning teachers

Every year the University of Waterloo recognizes a handful of outstanding professors with the Distinguished Teacher Awards (DTA). Since their inception in 1976, 42% of the awards have gone to professors in the Faculty of Arts! View the list of Distinguished Teacher Award winners.

Not your typical definition of “Arts”

Social Science, Humanities, Financial Management, Languages, Fine and Performing Arts, Business and Accounting all under one roof.  This is what makes the Faculty of Arts a place to make connections, a place with phenomenal information flow, and a place where knowledge, research, and partnerships take flight. This is what makes Waterloo a place that is hard to compete with. Unexpected connections can turn into the most successful ones.