Breadth and depth requirements
Source: https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/current-undergraduate-students/majors/breadth-and-depth-requirements Parent: https://cs.uwaterloo.ca
What are Breadth and Depth requirements?
As per the Undergraduate Calendar, Computer Science students must fulfill the Breadth and Depth requirements by taking courses offered by departments outside of the Math Faculty.
The PDFs linked below will go over the specific courses and examples of Depth for your better understanding. Just be sure to use the correct Calendar Year.
| Year | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
|---|---|
| 23/24 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 22/23 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 21/22 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 20/21 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 19/20 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 18/19 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 17/18 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 16/17 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 15/16 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 14/15 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 13/14 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 12/13 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 11/12 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 10/11 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 09/10 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 08/09 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 07/08 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
| 06/07 | Breadth and Depth (PDF) |
[Undergraduate Calendar
Official Degree Requirements](https://uwaterloo.ca/academic-calendar/undergraduate-studies/catalog#/programs/r1y1WO5ka)
[Track your progress
CS Checklists](https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/checklists)
Current as of August 6 2025
Breadth Requirements
| Requirement | Units Required | Subject Codes |
|---|---|---|
| Humanities | 1.0 unit | CHINA, CLAS, CMW, COMMST, CROAT, DAC, DUTCH, EASIA, ENGL, FINE, FR, GER, GRK, HIST, HUMSC, ITAL, ITALST, JAPAN, JS, KOREA, LAT, MEDVL, MUSIC, PHIL, PORT, RCS, REES, RUSS, SI, SPAN, THPERF, VCULT |
| Pure Sciences | 0.5 unit | BIOL, CHEM, EARTH, PHYS, SCI |
| Pure and Applied Sciences | 0.5 unit | BIOL, CHEM, EARTH, ENVS, ERS, HEALTH, KIN, MNS, PHYS, PLAN, SCI |
| Social Sciences | 1.0 unit | AFM, ANTH, APPLS, ARBUS, BET, BUS, COMM, ECON, ENBUS, GEOG, GSJ, HRM, INDEV, INDG, INTST, LS, MSE, PACS, PSCI, PSYCH, REC, SDS, SRF, SOC, SOCWK, STV |
Depth Requirement
- Complete 1 of the following:
- 1.5 units with the same subject, including at least 0.5 unit at 300-level or higher
- 1.5 units with the same subject forming a prerequisite chain of length three
Additional Constraints
- No course can satisfy more than one of the breadth requirements.
- Courses with substantial math or computer science content, regardless of subject, do not satisfy the elective breadth or depth requirement. Students may wish to consult with the CS academic advisors about specific courses.
- Undergraduate Communication Requirement's List 1 courses do not satisfy the Humanities breadth requirement. Courses found only in the Undergraduate Communication Requirement's List 2 can satisfy both the breadth requirement and the Undergraduate Communication Requirement.