The University is situated on a beautiful 1,000 acre (400 hectare) campus in the northwest section of the city of Waterloo. The School of Architecture is located in Cambridge. A Health Sciences campus in Kitchener houses The School of Pharmacy. Waterloo, its twin city Kitchener, and Cambridge are located in mid-western Ontario. The Regional Municipality of Waterloo has a population of approximately 508,000.
Since the opening of its first permanent structure on campus in 1958, the University has experienced continuous development of its campus environment. The on-campus infrastructure has been recently augmented by a number of off campus ventures, such as the School of Architecture in Cambridge and the Health Sciences campus in Kitchener, where satellite campuses provide additional facilities to better support the University's teaching and research. There are extensive library and computing facilities and a variety of student residences. In addition, the campus provides accommodation for a broad range of student social, cultural, recreational, and athletic activities.