Overview

Founded in 1957 with the aim of teaching people to think in new ways, Waterloo originally offered science, engineering and maths programs. Today it is ranked by Macleans as Canada’s most innovative university and offers a broad range of undergraduate courses in Arts and Sciences. It is home to the world’s largest co-operative education program. Participating students do alternate university and work terms. Satellite campuses across the region have their own specialties – Kitchener for Health Sciences, Cambridge for Architecture and Stratford for Digital Media. Waterloo, which is adjacent to the city of Kitchener and often referred to as Kitchener-Waterloo, has some pleasant sandstone buildings and the largest community museum in Ontario. It is also at the heart of Canada’s Technology Triangle, the Silicon Valley of Canada. Home to BlackBerry Software, Waterloo is an entrepreneurial city with a high density of start-ups and two major universities, Wilfrid Laurier and Waterloo. The tightly-integrated metro area of Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge has a small international airport and is just 74km west of Hamilton and 116km east of Toronto.