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Frequently Asked Questions
Whether you're curious about our programs, wondering how to register, or looking for financial aid details, this page covers the most common questions that students ask.
Explore the sections below to find quick, clear answers about life at Luther, from academics to admissions and everything in between. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, we’re just a message away.
If you are an incoming student with questions about how to accept your offer, clear your offer conditions and activate your student accounts, please visit our Students with Offers webpage.
General
Luther is federated with Wilfrid Laurier University. This means that each school governs its own business and budget, but work in a close relationship with each other.
Although Luther has the legal right from the Province of Ontario to award theology degrees, we have suspended that practice while we're federated with Laurier. In short, our graduates receive degrees from Wilfrid Laurier University.
For more information, you can visit our Accreditation and Affiliations webpage.
Although Luther has the legal right from the Province of Ontario to award theology degrees, we have suspended that practice while we're federated with Laurier. In short, our graduates receive degrees from Wilfrid Laurier University.
For more information, you can visit our Accreditation and Affiliations webpage.
Martin Luther University College is located next to Wilfrid Laurier University's campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Our building is at the corner of Albert Street and Bricker Avenue. The main entrance is located on Bricker Avenue. See our location on the campus map or our location on Google Maps.
You can watch a video tour of our campus.
Mailing Address:
Martin Luther University College
75 University Ave. W.
Waterloo, ON, N2L 3C5
There is no student or visitor parking at Luther. Visitors may find free three-hour parking on surrounding streets. They may also find parking on Laurier's Waterloo campus at the metered-parking section and pay-and-display lots indicated. For details, visit Laurier’s parking webpage.
On weekends, free parking is available in the Gold lots (No. 1, 13 and 14) adjacent to Luther. See the campus parking map.
Programs and Courses
We offer degree (BA, MA, MDiv, PhD), diploma, and certificate programs. Please visit our Programs webpage for details on all of Luther’s programs.
All of our programs are delivered in person. Depending on the program, you might be able to take some online courses, but you should expect to attend the majority of your classes in person.
No, you do not have to follow the Christian faith in order to be considered for this program (or any of our available programs). Luther is a multifaith learning environment. Students of all faiths (or no faith) are welcome to apply to our programs.
You can apply to the program with an Honors (4 year) Bachelor’s degree from any field, but note that admission to the program is competitive. You can make your application more competitive by taking undergraduate courses in psychology.
Luther’s Bachelor and Masters programs begin each year in the fall only (classes start in September). Students pursuing our Graduate Diploma or General Graduate Studies can start in the fall, winter or spring.
Laurier students and those registered in programs at other institutions are welcome to enroll in courses running during any term. Consult your academic advisor for information on whether successful completion of our course(s) can be applied as a credit toward the completion of your degree.
Our Masters and Graduate Diploma programs can be completed on a full or part time basis. Full time graduate students take 3-4 courses per term. Part time graduate students take 1-2 courses per term.
Undergraduate students can also complete their program on either a full or part time basis. Part time undergraduate students take 1.75 credits or less per term.
Graduate students are expected to maintain continuous enrollment. In other words, you are expected to be enrolled every term, including the Spring/Summer term, until you complete your degree.
If you do not want to take courses during a term, you can submit a request for a temporary withdrawal. Please consult with your Academic Advisor to make sure you are on track with your courses before submitting a temporary withdrawal request.
Please visit our Programs webpage and select the Program you’re interested in. All courses for each program are listed on their respective webpage.
To view course descriptions, you can visit our course offerings webpages:
Undergraduate Course Offerings
Graduate Course Offerings
All of our program checklists can be found on our Advising and Support webpage.
Most courses at Martin Luther University College will meet for three hours per week throughout the term, but some courses (especially during the Spring term) are offered in an intensive format which do not follow the regular Laurier course schedule.
Lectures for intensive courses do not meet every week and LORIS is not able to display our unique schedule. Instead, please visit our Graduate Course Offerings webpage to find the schedule for intensive courses.
Regular registration deadlines apply to intensive courses.
Your courses will appear in MyLearningSpace (MyLS) on the first day of classes.
All graduate students are required to complete the following certificates:
- Luther – Academic Integrity – Graduate
- Luther – Citation — Graduate
All undergraduate students are required to complete:
- Luther – Academic Integrity – Undergrad
These certificates are achieved by successfully completing the modules found in MyLearningSpace. At the top of the main webpage, click “Self Registration” on the left-hand side. You will then be shown a list of modules that you can enroll in. Enroll yourself in the appropriate modules.
Please ensure the modules and earned certificates are from Luther (not Laurier). The Luther logo will be visible on the certificate.
Certificates completed in the student’s first term at Luther should be posted for assignments in subsequent courses. Certificates can be retrieved from MyLS within the completed modules under “Awards.”
Graduate Program Applications
First, review our Programs webpage and select the program you’re interested in. Then, navigate to the “Application Process” section of the webpage.
The CASPer® (Computer-based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics) test is no longer required for any of our programs.
For instructions on how to upload your documents, please see Step 2 of the Graduate Admissions Toolkit.
Yes, you must submit transcripts from all previous universities and/or colleges in your application, including transcripts for programs that you did not complete.
Please note that all transcripts must be dated as having been printed or issued within the last 6 months from your application date. You may need to contact your previous schools to get updated copies of your transcripts. For the application, unofficial copies of transcripts are accepted. To request copies of your transcripts, reach out to the Registrar or Records offices at your past schools.
We strongly recommend you review the Graduate Admissions Toolkit in detail before submitting your documents.
Please note that all transcripts must be dated as having been printed or issued within the last 6 months from your application date. You may need to contact your previous schools to get updated copies of your transcripts. For the application, unofficial copies of transcripts are accepted. To request copies of your transcripts, reach out to the Registrar or Records offices at your past schools.
We strongly recommend you review the Graduate Admissions Toolkit in detail before submitting your documents.
Please see our Statement of Intent form for guidelines on content and length. You are welcome to write your statement directly in the form, or in a separate document.
We encourage you to include:
- All educational experiences
- Relevant professional experiences
- Relevant volunteer experiences
- Any relevant trainings or certifications
- Any publications and/or scholarly activities
If you have any samples of professional writing from your work experiences, you may consider submitting these as a sample. When selecting a sample, choose something that demonstrates your ability to clearly, confidently and professionally communicate in writing.
You can also prepare a new piece of academic writing. You can select any topic of your choice. As with any academic essay assignment, you will need a thesis statement (an argument) that you then prove/discuss. You can use any academic formatting of your choice (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc).
If you need a refresher on academic formatting, this website is a great resource: OWL Purdue Style Guides
Laurier’s Student Success Services also has some great writing support resources.
You can also prepare a new piece of academic writing. You can select any topic of your choice. As with any academic essay assignment, you will need a thesis statement (an argument) that you then prove/discuss. You can use any academic formatting of your choice (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc).
If you need a refresher on academic formatting, this website is a great resource: OWL Purdue Style Guides
Laurier’s Student Success Services also has some great writing support resources.
If you have samples but they don’t meet the page count requirement, you can submit multiple writing samples that add up to a total of 10-20 pages. Please note that they must all be combined into one file.
Yes, if you are no longer a student and have been out of school for some time, we will accept professional references. Please note that your professional reference should be from someone who has supervised you in some capacity (for example your direct manager at your job, a supervisor for a specific project you worked on, a supervisor for your volunteer commitment, etc).
Reference forms are electronically submitted to Laurier by the referee, and do not need to be uploaded. You can find more information about the process of submitting references on the Reference Letters and the Referee Process webpage.
Reference forms are electronically submitted to Laurier by the referee, and do not need to be uploaded. You can find more information about the process of submitting references on the Reference Letters and the Referee Process webpage.
Registration
Please review the Academic Calendar. Select the appropriate calendar (Undergraduate or Graduate). Then, on the right side of the webpage, click the "All Dates" link.
You can also review Laurier’s Important Dates and Deadlines webpage, but the Academic Calendar is more comprehensive.
For undergraduate students, the Course Registration Guide will walk you through how to prepare for and what to do when you register for courses.
For graduate students, you can consult the Course Registration for Graduate Students page to learn about common registration processes.
Go to the LORIS registration page and follow these instructions:
- Click “Browse Classes”
- Select a term
- Write the subject ("Theology" or "Global Citizenship") and submit
You will see a course list, complete with CRNs, for the term selected.
A late registration fee will be applied to registrations received after the final day to register as outlined in the Academic Calendar. For more information about late registration fees, please see the Late Registration Fees Breakdown webpage.
Requests, Appeals and Program Changes
Both undergraduate and undergraduate students can submit a petition by completing the online Petition Form. Petitions are reviewed by Luther’s Academic Advisory Committee (AAC).
The AAC reviews petitions on a monthly basis. Petitions are due on the first Tuesday of every month. If you submit your petition later than the first Tuesday of the month, your petition will not be reviewed until the following month.
Both undergraduate and undergraduate students can petition for a directed study by completing the online Directed Study Request Form. Petitions for Directed Studies are reviewed by Luther’s Academic Advisory Committee (AAC).
The AAC reviews petitions on a monthly basis. Petitions are due on the first Tuesday of every month. If you submit your petition later than the first Tuesday of the month, your petition will not be reviewed until the following month.
Yes. Luther graduate students wishing to change their status must complete the “Graduate Change Form” found on the Frequently Used Forms webpage. Send the completed form to lutherstudents@wlu.ca. Luther Students will then forward the form to your respective Graduate Program Coordinator and FGPS for processing.
This form must be submitted by the end of the first month of each term (for example if you want to switch to part-time for Fall 2025, you need to submit the form by the end of September 2025).
We strongly suggest that you submit this form before the start of the upcoming term. Submitting earlier will allow your tuition assessment to be adjusted as soon as possible. If you are switching to full-time, submitting your form earlier will also allow you more time to register in additional courses.
Graduate students who wish to take a temporary leave from their studies must complete the “Request to Withdraw from Graduate Studies Form” found on the Frequently Used Forms webpage. Send the completed form to lutherstudents@wlu.ca. Luther Students will then forward the form to your respective Graduate Program Coordinator and FGPS for processing.
This form can be submitted at any time, but we strongly suggest that you submit this form before the start of the upcoming term.
For more information about taking temporary leaves, please review the Absences, Leaves and Withdrawals from Graduate Studies webpage.
Please see the following links:
To order an official transcript or access an unofficial transcript, please follow the instructions on the Transcripts, Letters and Form Requests webpage.
Fees and Bursaries
Please refer to Laurier’s tuition fees web page.
For an explanation of incidental fees and fee schedule for undergraduate and graduate students, visit Laurier’s fees web page. For explanations of incidental fees paid specifically by students registered in Luther programs, scroll down and select “Luther Fees.”
Yes. Full-time students, in addition to being eligible for financial assistance from Laurier, may be eligible for bursaries from Luther. Apply for an annual bursary using this form. Apply for other financial assistance from Luther with this form. Part-time students are not eligible for bursaries, but might quality for OSAP (please see information below).
Please visit Laurier’s OSAP information web page.
Invoices are sent out late July or early August for the fall term; mid-November for the winter term; and early April for the spring/intersession/summer term.
For deadlines and instructions on how you can pay your tuition and incidental fees, please refer to Laurier’s web page.
Unfortunately, Luther and Laurier do not offer financial aid to international students. Please note that for students to obtain a study permit they need to demonstrate that they can support themselves.