The University of Waterloo is a public institution that was founded in 1957. The Canadian university’s main campus is in Waterloo, Ontario, not far from several of the Great Lakes and the U.S. border. The university also has satellite campuses in nearby Cambridge, Kitchener and Stratford. More than 30,000 students attend the university. Tuition is generally higher for international students, though a handful of graduate programs charge domestic and international students the same rate. University housing is available for both undergraduate and graduate students.

The university has six main academic divisions: applied health sciences, arts, engineering, environment, math and science. The main campus has four affiliated university colleges – Conrad Grebel University College, Renison University College, St. Jerome’s University and St. Paul’s University College – where students can pursue a Waterloo degree in a smaller academic community. The language of instruction is English, and the university’s academic calendar consists of three terms. Many of the university’s students participate in a co-op program that allows them to alternate academic terms with terms spent in in the workforce. More than 120 of Waterloo’s undergraduate programs offer a co-op option. The university also offers joint degree programs with global universities in several countries, including China’s Tsinghua University, Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University and the U.K.’s University of Warwick. A sampling of the university’s research institutions includes the Water Institute, the Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research and the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre.