University of Waterloo Economics admission requirements: apply to Honours Arts, high 70s average, co-op or regular

Waterloo's Economics page says to apply to Honours Arts or Honours Arts and Business. You choose Economics as your major at the end of first year. You don't need to lock in your majors until June, when you pick courses for the fall term.

Both routes lead to a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in the Faculty of Arts. Honours Arts and Business adds business courses such as ARBUS 101 and ARBUS 102 to the same major. Waterloo encourages you to explore a second major in first year.

Ontario students need six Grade 12 U or M courses, including any Grade 12 U English with a final grade of at least 70%. There is no required math course.

Math still matters. The Economics page strongly recommends MCV4U and MHF4U because economics is a mathematically intensive discipline. The Honours Arts and Arts and Business pages recommend MCV4U for economics. If you don't have it, you can take the math in first year. Plan your courses with our high school course planner.

Waterloo lists the admission average as high 70s for Economics, for both co-op and regular. Honours Arts and Honours Arts and Business both show high 70s too. This is a range, not a published minimum.

Waterloo says admission ranges for co-op and regular are often very similar. It also says that if you aren't accepted for co-op, you're automatically considered for regular. So apply to co-op if you're even slightly interested.

Check your number with our Top 6 average calculator. Waterloo does not publish an acceptance rate for Economics.

Waterloo says the Admission Information Form is not used for programs in the Faculty of Arts. That covers Honours Arts and Honours Arts and Business. Your grades decide the offer. There is no essay, interview or video.

Your applicant portal will still list any documents Waterloo needs, so check it after you apply.

Mathematical Economics is offered jointly by the Faculty of Mathematics and the School of Economics. Its program page says you apply to Mathematics and get a Bachelor of Mathematics. You need MHF4U, MCV4U, any 4U English and one other 4U course. Admission is by individual selection from the mid-80s.

The Economics page says something different. It says you can choose Mathematical Economics as your major in Honours Arts or Honours Arts and Business. The two pages don't agree, so confirm the route with Waterloo before you apply.

The Math route needs the Admission Information Form by February 15, 2027. Waterloo says you must complete and submit the AIF on your own. Read our Waterloo AIF guide for the format.

In Honours Arts, a sample fall term has ECON 101 Introduction to Microeconomics, MATH 104 Introductory Calculus for Arts and Social Science, ARTS 160 and courses toward a second possible major. Winter adds ECON 102 Introduction to Macroeconomics.

After first year, about 40% of your classes are Economics courses. Sample upper-year courses include ECON 206 Money and Banking I, ECON 290, ECON 332 International Finance and ECON 409. You can add areas of focus such as Econometrics, Financial Economics or Public Policy.

Popular add-ons include a Finance specialization, an Econometrics specialization and a Human Resources Management minor. Waterloo says many graduates go on to graduate economics at schools such as UBC, the University of Toronto, Queen's, Western and McGill. Others move into data science, public policy or management analytics.

Economics is available as a co-op program and as a regular program. In co-op you graduate with 20 months of work experience. Starting in second year, you normally alternate between school and work every four months. Your first work term is in the winter of second year.

The sequence is the same in Honours Arts and Honours Arts and Business. Co-op takes five years. Sample co-op jobs include economist or statistician and associate business analyst. Co-op students pay a fee of $836 per term. They don't pay tuition during work terms.

Mathematical Economics co-op is different. Its page lists 24 months of paid work, and your first work term can come as early as the spring after first year.

The application deadline for programs other than Engineering is February 1, 2027. The documents deadline is February 15, 2027. Waterloo says a deadline may be extended if a program is not yet full.

Compare these with your other schools on our Ontario deadlines page.

Waterloo estimates first-year tuition and incidental fees in the Faculty of Arts at $9,000 for two terms. Books and supplies are about $1,500. These estimates are for Ontario students who started in September 2026, which is the 2026-27 year. Fall 2027 figures are not posted yet.

Incidental fees include health and dental plans and your transit pass. Mathematics, which holds Mathematical Economics, shows the same $9,000 estimate. Residence and meals are extra.

You're considered automatically. A 95% or higher admission average earns the President's Scholarship of Distinction, with a $2,000 entrance scholarship plus possible $1,500 awards. 90% to 94.9% earns $2,000. 85% to 89.9% earns a $1,000 Merit Scholarship.

The Faculty of Arts adds its own awards with no application. They include three at $10,000 over eight academic terms and one at $5,000. See more on our Waterloo financial aid page.

This is one of the more open programs at Waterloo. There is no supplementary form, and the only named course is English. The real choice is co-op. It adds a year but builds 20 months of paid experience.

If your child is strong in calculus, Mathematical Economics is the more selective option. It asks for a higher average and the AIF.