University of Waterloo Graduate Academic calendar of important dates and deadlines 2021-2022. The dates have been revised and it is expected that students of UWATERLOO take note of the changes and treat them as important.
Table showing University of Waterloo Important Dates 2021
| Classes end Revised from July 28 due to COVID-19. | Laurier may have a different schedule – visit their website for applicable end dates. | Spring 2021 | Aug 5, 2021 |
| Make-up day for Additional day Revised from July 28 due to COVID-19. | The loss of a Friday class on July 2 will be made up by following a Friday schedule on August 5. | Spring 2021 | Aug 5, 2021 |
| Pre-examination study days Revised from July 29-30 due to COVID-19. | Spring 2021 | Aug 6, 2021 | |
| Final examinations begin Revised from August 3 due to COVID-19. | First day of the final examination period. | Spring 2021 | Aug 7, 2021 |
| Examinations on Sunday Added due to COVID-19. | Final examinations can be held on this day for the fall 2020, winter 2021, and spring 2021 terms. | Spring 2021 | Aug 8, 2021 |
| Final examinations end | Last day of the final examination period. | Spring 2021 | Aug 16, 2021 |
| Grades begin to appear in Quest | Registered students can view their unofficial term grades in Quest. Note: Not all grades will be available on this date. | Spring 2021 | Aug 17, 2021 |
| Co-operative work term ends | Actual dates may vary depending on employer or student requirements. | Spring 2021 | Aug 20, 2021 |
| Program completion deadline for Convocation – fall 2021 | Spring 2021 | Aug 31, 2021 | |
| Apply for Graduation | Deadline for graduate students to apply for graduation in Quest for fall ceremony (degree completion in the spring term). | Spring 2021 | Aug 31, 2021 |
UWATERLOO Reading Week
Reading Weeks occur in the fall and winter terms; they start with the Saturday before the public holidays of Thanksgiving Day and Family Day and end on the following Sunday.
Requirements during scheduled pauses
Graduate students are engaged in both their own educational activities – taking courses and conducting research – and in assisting the University to deliver its academic mission – serving as Teaching and Research Assistants. As such, it is useful to clarify the roles and responsibilities of graduate students during scheduled academic pauses. To this end, the following guidelines are established:
- If a graduate student is enrolled in courses, then that student (like all students) is on an academic pause. Graduate students shall not have academic due dates during a scheduled academic pause.
- If a graduate student is serving as a Teaching Assistant (TA), then that student is not obligated to interact with students enrolled in the course during the academic pause. But, the graduate student (at their discretion only) may wish to conduct activities that are supportive of the enrolled students. For other TA requirements, particularly marking, graduate TAs are encouraged to coordinate with the course instructors to agree on due dates that allow for the graduate students to balance workloads with the opportunity to have an academic pause.
- If a graduate student is conducting research as a Graduate Research Assistant or as part of a Graduate Research Studentship that requires regular activity (lab work that requires daily data collection, for example), then it is the student’s responsibility to see that those responsibilities are met during the academic pause. Supervisors are encouraged to provide the break as an opportunity for students to have a pause in activities when the research activities are not time-sensitive and are required to articulate expectations for breaks in the research assistantship or research studentship agreement.
- Ph.D. comprehensive exams, graduate thesis defenses, etc. may take place during this time.
