four students posing with an architectural model

Current undergraduate students

Architects are largely responsible for the quality and beauty of our constructed environment.

Recognized as one of the best in North America, our School of Architecture provides you with a creative, international education and 2 years of paid co-op work experience with design firms in Canada and abroad. You’ll enjoy a small community with a vibrant intellectual atmosphere. Our cultural history courses, which examine the close relationship between architecture and society, and our environmental courses add depth to core courses in design. You’ll spend the fall of 4th year at our studio in Rome, one of the world’s great cities for culture and architecture.

Contact the Undergraduate Program Office for inquiries regarding Bachelor of Architectural Studies (BAS) admissions, courses and consultation.

Accreditation information

The professional Master of Architecture in conjunction with the pre-professional Bachelor of Architectural Studies degree from the University of Waterloo compromises an accredited professional education.

In Canada, all provincial/territorial associations/institutes/orders recommend a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. In Canada, the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB) is the sole agency authorized by the Regulatory Organization of Architecture in Canada (ROAC) to accredit Canadian professional degree programs in architecture for the purposes of architectural licensure. The CACB recognizes two types of accredited degrees offered at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture: the Master of Architecture (professional) and the Bachelor of Architecture (pre-professional). A program may be granted a six-year, three-year, or two-year term of accreditation, depending on its degree of conformance with established educational standards.

Master’s degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree, which, when earned sequentially, comprise an accredited professional education. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

The program in Architecture at the University of Waterloo received accreditation for a 6-year term by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB) in 2017. The program is scheduled for its next review to continue maintaining its accredited status in 2024.

View the 2017 Visiting Team Report.

Guide to Program and Student Performance Criteria.