Welcome to the Faculty of Arts!
Our Advising Team is ready to help you make the most of your university experience.Let's get started!
Did you transfer from another university or college? Follow the course selection steps below!
Did you transfer to Arts from another University of ݮƵ faculty?Your next steps are different. Contact your Arts academic advisor about course selection for your first termas an Arts student!
Get ready for September
Review the Important Dates andActivitiesbelow fordeadlines anddue dates.
Important Dates and Activities
FollowFaculty of Arts SPECIFIC DATES regardless of other published dates you may encounter.
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| After accepting your offer |
Join ݮƵ Arts Discord channel and start connecting with current and incoming students! If you haven’t received your server invite and wish to join, email arts@uwaterloo.ca. |
| May 24, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. EDT | |
| July 2-9 | Submit your course choicesduring the Fall New Student Course Selection Period. |
| Week of July 4 |
Start checking your daily. All email communication from the University of ݮƵ will be sent to your @uwaterloo.ca email account.To set up your account, see theAccessing your Microsoft 365 account page. ݮƵ undergraduates have access to an Office 365 account including Outlook (email), Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Teams. If you have trouble with the Microsoft 365 login, visit the . |
| July 8 |
Arts Ready Day- This event will be held in person, as well aslive streamed. More info coming soon! |
|
July 23 |
View your Fall class schedule Quest. Don't see all of the classes you requested?You can make changes to your schedule starting on July 24. |
|
July 24 |
Add your Arts 160 course and, if needed, adjust your fall schedule.
|
| Early August | Fall fees listed in your Quest account. Learn how to view your fees and account summary. |
| August TBD |
Fall fees due (to be paid).Learn how to pay your fees. |
| Late September |
Wintercourse selection in Quest.
|
Course selection information
Step 1: Review your degree requirements and transfer credits
Transfer credits are relevant to your degree in several ways:
- Transfer credit courses apply towards the total number of courses needed to complete yourBachelor of Arts degree requirements
- Transfer credits can count towards fulfilling some of theBachelor of Arts breadth requirements.
- Transfer credit courses help establish youracademic level
- The highest level you can attain solely through transfer credits is 3A.
- Transfer credit courses may apply towards youracademic plan(s).
You may see a mix ofspecifiedandunspecifiedtransfer credits.
- Specifiedtransfer credits havea regular course number (e.g., ECON 101).
- Unspecified transfer credits don't have a specific course number (e.g., PSYCH 1XX, ENGL 2XX).
- Transfer credits are labelled “XX” when there is no direct equivalent course at ݮƵ
For additional questions related to transfer credits, see the FAQs below.
Step 2: Choose your courses
Wonderingwhat you should take?
- All new Arts studentsare required to take theArts Firstcourse,ARTS 160(Inquiry and Knowledge Creation),in order to fulfill theUndergraduate CommunicationRequirement. The exception is where a transfer student has already completed a BA degree from another Canadian University.
- If you want to declare amajor, you'll need to complete specific courses.
- Therecommended major courses chartoutlines the courses students take for the Arts majors and the sequencing of these courses.
- Students interested in Honours Arts and Business should review thecourse requirementschartand consult with their academic advisor.
- Found an interesting course?
- View the course description in theUndergraduate Studies Academic Calendar to see any required pre-requisites.
- Review the online to see which courses are offered in the Fall term.
- All Arts students need courses to complete theBA Breadth Requirements.
- Depending on your transfer credits, you may have already satisfied these requirements, or you may still need to take some courses to complete them.
Step 3: Get your course choices approved
After you've decided which courses you want to take, email a list of your course requests to your academic advisorwho will review andapprove them.
| Campus of registration | Program | Academic Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| Main Campus |
|
Contact libstadvising@uwaterloo.ca for Liberal Studies advising Contact arbus@uwaterloo.ca for ARBUS advising You can find out who your advisor is on our Arts Advisor webpage |
| St. Jerome's |
|
|
| Renison |
|
Step 4: Submit your course choices during the Fall New Student Course Selection Period (July 2 - 9, 2025)
Ifyour advisor has approved your course requests, you must log in toQuestandrequest your courses at any time during this period.
Ifyou have not received a final transfer credit assessment by this time, contact your admissions officer in the Registrar's Office.
Step 5: Review and adjust your Fall schedule during the Course Drop/Add Period (begins July 24, 2025)
You will be able to view your class schedulein Questbeginning July 23. If you need to make adjustments to your schedule, you can do so when the Fall New Student Drop/Add Period begins on July 24.
Current ݮƵ students will have access to Quest to add courses as of July 24.This means available spots in classeswill fill quickly, so we recommend you adjust your schedule as soon as you can.
- See all of the classes you requested?
- You are all set!
- Don’t see all of the classes you requested?
- If you didn't get into all of the classes you requested, don’t worry – you can login to Quest to add additional classes(to a maximum of 5 classes in total).
- If you decide to swap a class, make sure to use theswap function- it's the best way to try to switchone class for another. See theQuest Undergraduate studentspagefor more helpful instructions.
Frequently asked questions
Why was I admitted to Honours Arts instead of my major?
You cannot be admitted to a major until you have completed 8courses, so if you have fewer than 8 transfer credits, you will be admitted to Honours Arts or Honours Arts and Business and then you can declare your major once you have at least 8 courses total.
My transfer credits haven't been finalized yet. What do I do?
Check that your finalofficial transcript has been receivedby the University. Final official transcripts are usually available about three weeks after term ends. We strongly recommend you send your final grades to our admissions team as soon as possible.
In addition to a final transcript our admissions team might also require course outlines to assess for transfer credit – if so they will communicate with you directly. If you have submitted your final transcript (and if appropriate, course outlines), then your courses are likely being assessed for transfer credit by the department that teaches the relevant courses at ݮƵ. If you have any questions,email our admissions team.
Need more help and advice?
View our list of course selectionresources.
You can also contact youracademic advisor, visit theArts Undergraduate Office.