At University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Canada, BA/BS in Chemistry is offered as a bachelor's degree in Chemistry programme. The programme runs for 4 years, delivered on campus. Tuition for international students is CAD 25,296 per semester (CAD 3,125 per semester for local students).
Also offered as: Master's Degree, Doctorate
At a glance
Degree:Bachelor's Degree
Field:Chemistry
Duration: 4 years
Delivery: On Campus
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 Chemistry program at the University of Waterloo leads to a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and examines organic, analytical, and polymer chemistry alongside nanoscience, molecular structure, and chemical synthesis. Students build a foundation in mathematics and physics alongside chemistry coursework, progressing through a sequence of laboratory courses that culminate in an upper-year research project. A Computational Chemistry specialization is offered for students who want to focus on modelling and simulation, and a chemistry minor is open to students across the university. The degree is offered in both a co-op stream, with work terms alternating with academic terms starting in second year, and a regular study stream without work terms. Instruction takes place on Waterloo's main campus. The program suits students drawn to laboratory-based science and quantitative problem-solving who want direct experience with chemical analysis and synthesis techniques. Graduates are positioned for roles in chemical research, pharmaceutical development, quality assurance, and analytical work across manufacturing, food, energy, and environmental industries, as well as further graduate study. The Faculty of Science oversees the degree, which combines classroom instruction with hands-on lab work throughout the four-year sequence.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Ontario applicants apply to the Physical Sciences group through OUAC and choose Chemistry 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 Physical 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
Start Date:September
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.
