Our mission is to serve, empower, and represent the undergraduate students of the University of Waterloo.

Serve

We serve students by ensuring the provision of accessible services, spaces, and supports that make campus life safer, more connected, and easier to navigate—from food and transit to events, businesses, and study spaces. We listen actively and act responsively, using practical tools to meet real student needs.

Empower

We empower students by helping them grow their voice, leadership, and confidence. Through advocacy, self-representation, and support for clubs and communities, we foster a culture where students shape their own outcomes—and the future of campus life.

Represent

We represent students by making their needs and perspectives visible in decisions that affect them. Through strong governance, evidence-based advocacy, and partnerships across campus and beyond, we ensure students are heard, respected, prioritized and treated fairly at every table.

A young woman with long blonde hair, dressed in a yellow sweater, smiles while working on a laptop. She sits across from another person using a laptop. A blue water bottle, keychain, and glasses are on the table between them. The background has large windows.

Our values

We respect that students are the stakeholders of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association and the primary reason for our existence.

 

  • Supportive and Compassionate: Cheering you on and having your back, we know it’s not always easy being a student and we’re here to connect you with what you need to be successful both personally and academically.

  • Community-focused and Inclusive: We strengthen our community by bringing undergrads together through opportunities that celebrate our differences, embrace our similarities and create an environment where everyone can thrive.

  • Knowledgeable and Approachable: As a straight-forward source of information, you can count on us to provide the resources you need to inform your decisions and turn them into action.

  • Accountable and Honest: We maintain a responsible student government with sound financial practices, focused on the needs of undergrads through a member-driven decision-making process and regular updates on our progress.

  • Responsive and Adaptable: We listen to your concerns, protect your rights, and bring your ideas forward to innovate in the face of ever-changing needs of the student body and university environment.

  • Engaging and Relatable: We get where you’re at because we’ve been there too. We provide opportunities outside the classroom to shape your student experience and make your time with us your own.

Our vision

A university experience where every member has the opportunity to thrive.

For students, by students

When you become an undergraduate student at the University of Waterloo, you automatically become a member of WUSA. You gain access to a number of services, supports, and social activities that are tailored to your needs.

As your undergraduate student association, the services and support we offer are driven by you.

Skyler Duggan
Samir Sharma
Merochini Manohar
Muhammad Kanji
Damian Mikhail
Iman Khan
Melanie Bouzanne
Rida Sayed
Andrew Chang
Remington Zhi
Katie Traynor
Rory Norris

Join the conversation

You can bring topics for discussion, join the conversation, and vote for change at our regular General Meetings, as well as vote on the student leaders who fill the elected student positions that are your official advocates and change makers on campus.

Your leaders

WUSA Board of Directors are here to help steer the direction of WUSA and make sure the collective voice of undergrads is heard. Any Waterloo undergrad can run for a position on the Board.

Get involved- work with WUSA!

There are also a variety of volunteer and part-time positions available within the organization that provide hands-on opportunities to get involved, including 13 student-run services, commissioners, event coordinators, and clubs support. There are also opportunities to get involved with your faculty’s student society.

Our Story

The Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association started over 50 years ago as the ‘Federation of Students’ in response to undergraduate student concerns that were going unheard. The name ‘Federation of Students’ was inspired by Canada’s Centennial of Confederation, according to founding members Richard Van Veldhuisen and Dr. Gerry Mueller. 

“We didn’t want to use ‘council’ because we had already had that, and this was going to be something different,” Mueller said. “Because it was Canada’s Centennial that year [1967], everyone’s mind was on Confederation which lead to ‘Federation,’ so I think it also came from that.” 

And so, the Federation of Students, affectionately known as Feds, was born in 1967 and since that time students have collectively been working together to help shape the undergrad experience, both in and outside the classroom, on the University of Waterloo campus. In 2019, the organization started exploring ways to develop a new perception on campus that more clearly represents who we are and what we do, thereby building a stronger relationship with our members. Then came an organizational rebrand where ‘Federation of Students – Feds’ became Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association, or WUSA. 

For more than 50 years, WUSA has represented the undergraduate student voice on advocacy issues like tuition, housing, campus safety, and transit. It has also evolved to include other initiatives to meet changing student needs as our student population has grown and diversified. In addition to advocacy work, essential services and support and opportunities to develop campus community has made our association into a supportive core of campus for undergraduate students. 

WUSA is now lead by a Board of 13 Directors, has over 200 volunteer and part-time staff roles for students, facilitates 11 student-run services, supports over 250 clubs and several Faculty and program-specific student societies, operates a number of businesses, and facilitates special events like Orientation and Welcome Weeks. 

Our Promise to You

You can rely on your Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association to bring you services that support your needs, platforms that amplify your voice, and experiences that create lasting memories.