Program Overview

Honours Science Program

The Honours Science program at the University of Waterloo offers students the flexibility to craft their own Bachelor of Science degree. This program allows students to take a range of courses in chemistry, biology, physics, earth sciences, and more, without committing to a specific discipline.

Program Overview

The Honours Science program is designed to provide students with a broad foundation in science, while also allowing them to explore their interests in other areas of study. With more than half of the Science courses being electives, students have the opportunity to customize their degree based on their interests and career goals.

First-Year Courses

In the first year, students will take a combination of required and elective courses. The required courses include:

• Two courses from:
  • 100-level or 200-level BIOL course with associated labs (excluding BIOL 225, and BIOL 280)
  • CHEM 120/120L – General Chemistry 1/ Laboratory
  • EARTH 121/121L – Introductory Earth Sciences/ Laboratory
  • PHYS 111/111L – Physics 1/ Laboratory
• One Mathematics elective
• Two electives

In the second term, students will take:

• Two courses from:
  • 100-level or 200-level BIOL course with associated labs (excluding BIOL 225, and BIOL 280)
  • CHEM 123/123L – General Chemistry 2/ Laboratory
  • EARTH 122/122L – Introductory Environmental Sciences/ Laboratory
  • PHYS 112/112L – Physics 2/ Laboratory
• One Mathematics elective
• ENGL 193/COMMST 193 – Communication in the Sciences
• One elective

After First Year

After the first year, most of the classes will be in subjects offered by the Faculty of Science. Students can choose electives from many of the 100 subject areas at Waterloo.

Customizing the Honours Science Degree

Students can add additional areas of expertise to their degree by including one or more of the minors available to all Waterloo students, or the Bioinformatics Option. Most Honours Science graduates complete their program with at least one minor, often two. Popular areas of focus include biology, psychology, and chemistry.

Faculty and Degree

The Honours Science program is offered by the Faculty of Science, and the degree awarded is a Bachelor of Science in Honours Science. This program is available as a regular program, but not as a co-op program.

Admission Requirements

The admission requirements for the Honours Science program include:

• Six Grade 12 U and/or M courses, including:
  • English (ENG4U) with a minimum final grade of 70%
  • Advanced Functions with a minimum final grade of 70%
  • Calculus and Vectors with a minimum final grade of 70%
  • Two of Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, Mathematics of Data Management, and Physics
• Admission averages: Low 80s

Career Opportunities

The Honours Science program provides an excellent foundation for many science-related careers, including health care and research, education, energy and oil, pharmaceuticals, environmental science and research, insurance, agriculture and food, and natural resources. Sample graduates have gone on to work as teachers, cardiac ethnographers, coordinators, environment, health safety advisors, food processing specialists, industrial hygienists, and lab technologists.