About the Cheriton School of Computer Science

photo of the Davis Centre

The David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, housed in the University of Waterloo’s Davis Centre, brings together more than 100 professorial, emeritus and lecturer faculty members, 60 administrative, instructional and technical staff, and more than 4,000 undergraduate students and 400 graduate students. The Cheriton School of Computer Science had its origin as the Department of Applied Analysis and Computer Science, founded in 1967, and has since grown to become the largest academic computer science research centre in Canada.

We are ranked number one nationally for the fourth year in a row based on our program and research reputation according to the Maclean’s 2024 university rankings, and among the top 25 universities internationally for computer science according to the 20232022 and 2021 Quacquarelli Symonds worldwide university subject rankings.

The Cheriton School of Computer Science is home to nine Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada, ten Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery, and seven Fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. We also have three Canada Research Chairs, two NSERC Industrial Research Chairs, as well as many winners of awards and honours from other prestigious national and international research societies and associations. Many of our faculty have been recognized for the excellence of their teaching by various awards within the Faculty of Mathematics and by the University of Waterloo.

Learn about our administrators and governing committees under Administrative structure.

You can learn about our history at quick facts and our recent achievements at annual highlights.


Employment at the Cheriton School of Computer Science

Interested in a faculty position? Please see our open faculty positions.

Interested in a staff position? Please visit the University of Waterloo’s human resources site.