Join us at Laurier

Becoming a Golden Hawk means more than just cheering on our (really good) varsity teams – it means being a student who cares about your community, who works hard in the classroom, and who takes advantage of all the learning opportunities that can happen outside the classroom, too.

Steps to Apply

Undergraduate Admissions Graduate Admissions

Steps to Apply

Undergraduate AdmissionsGraduate Admissions

Applied Computing (MAC)

waterloo
Co-op

As technology becomes more sophisticated, so does the skill set required for the computing profession. Laurier's Master of Applied Computing (MAC) will give you an advanced computing degree where you gain theoretical and practical knowledge of mobile computing, enterprise computing, data mining and machine learning.

The MAC program will make you stand out in the job market and proves to employers that you have advanced technical knowledge and can use that knowledge to create technological solutions.

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Program Highlights

  • Our diverse faculty offer research expertise in: algorithms, symbolic computation, embedded, systems, networking, image processing, system-on-a-chip, security and quantum computing.
  • Winners of major external awards (OGS and Tri-Council) may be eligible for top-up funding which includes the Dean’s Graduate Scholarship (total value exceeds $10,000).
  • Eligible domestic students admitted to study on a full-time basis receive an average of $14,500 a year. This support may be made up of teaching assistantships, internal/external scholarships, and/or faculty-funded studentships or research assistantships.

Program Details

Balancing Theory and Practice

Our philosophy is to create a “dream it, build it” environment where you apply the theory gained in the classroom and apply it to projects or in the field through a co-op placement. Employers note that people with traditional master's degrees in computing or computer science have a high level of technical knowledge but low levels of practical knowledge or experience. We want to equip you with both. Through the use of case studies, project-based courses, and cooperative education opportunities, the MAC program will give you the practical skills in ways which theory-focused degrees cannot.

Curriculum

All students in the MAC program must take Practical Algorithm Design. In this course, you gain an essential background to be able to move towards an area of specialization through additional coursework. These specialized course topics include:

  • CP631: Parallel Programming (offered online)
  • CP685: Cyber Attack and Defense (offered online)
  • CP670: Android Application Programming
  • CP640: Machine Learning
  • CP601: Seminar in Technology Entrepreneruship
  • CP610: Data Analysis
  • CP630: Enterprise Computing
  • CP669: Iphone Application Programming
  • CP650: User Interface Design & implementation

Program Options

The full-time Master of Applied Computing (MAC) program can be completed in three to five terms, depending on which option you choose (coursework, co-op or thesis option).

The part-time program (coursework option) allows you to take one to two courses per term and complete your degree in four to eight terms.

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"Immerse yourself in all Laurier has to offer while completing your graduate education. Enjoy the journey – remember to have fun too!"

Paula C. Fletcher, associate dean, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Admissions

Take the first step in your graduate education and apply to one of our graduate programs. Follow our three-step admission process — we’ll walk you through how to apply and prepare for your first day as a graduate student.

  • Start: Fall (September)
  • Format: Full-time or part-time
  • Application opens: July 15
  • Application deadline:
    • Co-op option: March 30 (domestic and international applicants).
    • Thesis or coursework option: April 30 (international applicants) or May 30 (domestic applicants).

Your Next Steps

Faculty Members Tuition and Funding Apply Now

Questions? Contact Li Wei, graduate advisor, at MACadvising@wlu.ca.

Waterloo Campus

This program is available on Laurier's Waterloo campus.

Laurier's Waterloo campus is home to more than 19,000 graduate and undergraduate students. Tucked into several city blocks, this campus is walking distance to your classrooms, food, and various campus amenities.

Laurier is a leading force in research among Canadian universities, and many of our research centres and institutes are housed in Waterloo.

Learn more about Laurier's campuses.

Tuition and Funding

Regardless of the type of graduate degree program you intend to pursue, financial planning is important. At Laurier, we want to provide you with as much information as possible about a variety of scholarship and funding opportunities and equip you with the skills to manage your finances effectively in the years to come.
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"With contributions from several university-based partners, ASPIRE provides graduate students and postdoctoral researchers with informative, hands-on professional skills training essential for degree and post-degree success."

Brent Wolfe, Associate Dean, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Careers

This program can lead to careers such as:

  • data scientist
  • big data architect
  • mobile app developer
  • senior web developer
  • software developer
  • software project manager

Your Path to Post-Degree Success

ASPIRE is Laurier's professional skills development training program for graduate students. The program helps you craft an individualized, extracurricular learning plan tailored to your professional journey and entry to the workplace.

Faculty

Learn about the interests of our faculty members. If you are looking for more information about this program, have questions, or want to set up a meeting, contact a member of our team. 

Kathie Cameron
Professor

  • graph algorithms
  • polytime combinatorial optimization
  • graph theory

Hongbing Fan
Associate Professor

  • reconfigurable network computing platform with applications in grid/cloud computing
  • communication middlewere system for smart grid and sensor networks
  • circuit-switched/packet-switched reconfigurable interconnection on-chip networks

Angèle Foley
Professor

  • combinatorics
  • algorithms
  • optimization

Shohini Ghose
Professor
Director, Centre for Women in Science (WinS)

  • quantum computers/quantum teleportation
  • quantum and classical chaos
  • women in science

Ian Hamilton
Professor

  • quantum and classical mechanics
  • chemical bonding and reactivity
  • nanostructures, clusters and complexes

Chính Hoàng
Professor

  • theoretical computer science
  • graph theory
  • discrete mathematics
  • graph algorithms

Alexei Kaltchenko
Associate Professor

  • information theory
  • quantum information theory and quantum computing
  • data compression

Ilias Kotsireas
Professor
Director of the CARGO lab

  • symbolic computation
  • combinatorial designs
  • high-performance computing

Yang Liu
Associate Professor

  • machine learning 
  • data analysis 
  • deep learning 
  • recommender system 
Abdul-Rahman Mawlood-Yunis
Assistant Professor 
  • Android Mobile Application
  • Artificial Intelligence (Chatbots, NLP, Ontology, Semantic Web, Knowledge Representation, Software Agent)
  • Software Engineering
  • Distributed Systems and Algorithm Design
  • P2P Networking and Fault-tolerance

Roderick Melnik
Professor
Tier I Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Modelling
Director, MS2Discovery Interdisciplinary Research Institute

  • coupled multiscale phenomena, processes and systems
  • machine learning / deep learning algorithms for biomedicine and
    materials science
  • human interactions with complex systems, including human-computer
    interactions, human intelligence and human errors.

Shaowen Song
Professor

  • computer networks
  • system-on-chip design
  • video/audio compression
  • FPGA based circuit design
  • N-nary logics and optical computing

Marek Wartak
Professor

  • simulations of photonic devices
  • computational photonics
  • plasmonics

Li Wei
Professor

  • Computational/experimental photonic devices
  • Computational/experimental plasmonics

Jessie Zhao
Assistant Professor 

  • machine learning
  • information Retrieval
  • recommendation Systems
  • natural Language Processing
  • bioinformatics

Eugene Zima
Associate Professor

  • computer algebra
  • program optimization and fast computational schemes
  • algorithms
  • closed form summation