Faculty of Mathematics

About Faculty of Mathematics

The Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo is an academic institution located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1967, it operates as a distinct faculty within the university, originating from the Department of Mathematics that was formed when the University of Waterloo was founded in 1957. The faculty is situated on the main university campus in southwestern Ontario, serving as a primary center for mathematical, statistical, and computer science education and research in North America.

The faculty comprises five main academic departments and schools: the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, the Department of Applied Mathematics, the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization, the Department of Pure Mathematics, and the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science. Through these units, the institution offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs leading to Bachelor of Mathematics (BMath), Bachelor of Computer Science (BCS), Master of Mathematics (MMath), Master of Quantitative Finance (MQF), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees. The academic structure allows students to pursue specialized majors such as actuarial science, data science, computational mathematics, mathematical finance, combinatorics, and software engineering.

Degree programs offered by the Faculty of Mathematics are accredited by relevant professional and academic bodies. The actuarial science programs are designated as a Center of Actuarial Excellence by the Society of Actuaries (SOA), and programs under the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) University Accreditation Program fulfill specific professional designation requirements. The University of Waterloo operates under the authority of the Ministry of Colleges and Universities of Ontario, ensuring that degree standards adhere to provincial post-secondary education frameworks.

The faculty is housed across several dedicated facilities on the University of Waterloo campus, including the Mathematics and Computer Building (MC), the William G. Davis Computer Research Centre (DC), and the Mathematics 3 (M3) building. These facilities include Specialized computing laboratories, lecture halls, research facilities, and administrative offices. The campus network provides access to high-performance computing clusters, data centers, and dedicated spaces for collaborative research, such as the Math Mathematics Teaching and Learning Centre and various subject-specific research labs.

A central component of the academic structure is the cooperative education model, integrated with the majority of undergraduate programs. Students enrolled in co-op programs alternate between academic terms on campus and full-time paid work terms in industry, government, and research organizations. This operational structure provides practical experience in software development, financial analysis, data analytics, and operational research while students complete their academic degree requirements.

Academic strengths of the faculty cover both theoretical and applied disciplines within the mathematical sciences. Research areas include quantum computing, cryptography, artificial intelligence, algorithms, algebraic geometry, fluid dynamics, financial mathematics, biostatistics, and graph theory. The faculty collaborates with external institutions, including the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and the Institute for Quantum Computing, both located in Waterloo, to conduct multidisciplinary scientific research.

The Faculty of Mathematics also administers the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC), an organization dedicated to promoting mathematics and computer science education among primary and secondary school students. The CEMC designs and conducts national and international mathematics contests, provides open-access digital learning resources, and offers professional development programs for educators, serving as a outreach extension of the faculty's educational infrastructure.