At University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Canada, BA/BS in Biochemistry is offered as a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry programme. Tuition for international students is CAD 25,296 per semester (CAD 3,125 per semester for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Bachelor's Degree
Field:Biochemistry
Local tuition: CAD 3,125 / semester
International tuition: CAD 25,296 / semester
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
The Biochemistry program at the University of Waterloo leads to a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and focuses on the chemical processes that occur within living systems, including enzyme function and metabolic pathways. Early coursework in cell biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics gives way to upper years weighted toward chemistry alongside biology-oriented courses in areas such as immunology and bioinformatics, with laboratory work in techniques including chromatography and electrophoresis. A Biotechnology specialization is available exclusively to students in this program, and further options exist in bioinformatics, cell and molecular biology, and microbiology, alongside minors drawn from across the university. The degree can be completed with co-op, alternating study and paid work terms from second year onward, or as a regular study program. Classes are held on Waterloo's main campus. The program suits students interested in the molecular basis of biological processes and in laboratory-based investigation, including those considering further study in medicine, pharmacy, or biomedical research. Career paths associated with the degree include work in pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, health research institutes, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, and biotechnology, as well as graduate study in the life sciences.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Ontario applicants apply to the Life Sciences group through OUAC and choose Biochemistry as their major, presenting six Grade 12 U/M courses: ENG4U (minimum 70%), Advanced Functions (minimum 70%), Calculus and Vectors (minimum 70%), and two of Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, Mathematics of Data Management or Physics. Admission is competitive, with recent admission averages in the low 80s. Applicants studying outside Ontario follow the University's general admission requirements for Life Sciences, presenting a senior secondary qualification equivalent to the Ontario curriculum with the same prerequisite subjects. Applicants whose four most recent years of full-time education were not completed in Canada or at English-language schools must submit an accepted English test: IELTS 6.5 overall (6.5 writing and speaking, 6.0 reading and listening), TOEFL iBT 90 overall with 25 in writing and speaking for tests completed before 21 January 2026 (4.5 overall with 5 in writing and speaking for tests on or after that date), PTE Academic 63 (65 writing and speaking), Duolingo 120 (125 Literacy and Production), or Cambridge C1/C2 180 (176 per skill).
Application Details
Application Deadline:Waterloo admits first-year students for September entry only, through the OUAC, with identical deadlines for domestic and international applicants. For Fall 2027, most programmes must be applied to by 1 February 2027 with documents due 15 February 2027; Engineering programmes (excluding Architecture) close earlier, on 15 January 2027, with documents due 1 February 2027, and require an online interview. Waterloo states a deadline may be extended if a programme is not yet full, but publishes no separate rolling-admission date and no explicit application-opening date. Pharmacy is a named exception with its own earlier deadline; Social Work and the Conditional Admission to Pharmacy stream are directed to programme-specific timelines outside this page. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
