AFM 131Introduction to Business in North America
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Arts
- Cross-listed
- ARBUS 101
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 5 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
The functional areas of business: finance, personnel administration, production, marketing, and accounting are examined within differing organizational structures. Coverage also includes study of the principles of effective management and the financial system as a source of corporate capital.
Prerequisites
None listed.
Antirequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
- AFM132 - Introduction to Business Stages (0.50)
- Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in:
- Not open to students enrolled in Arts & Business
- Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
Leads to
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 3221 | 0 / 1 | TTh 17:30–18:50 TTh 17:30–18:50 |
| LEC 002 | 3235 | 0 / 1 | TTh 19:00–20:20 TTh 19:00–20:20 |
| LEC 003 | 3810 | 61 / 200 | TTh 20:30–21:50 TTh 20:30–21:50 |
| LEC 081 | 3610 | 182 / 200 | Online or by arrangement |
| TST 101 | 3962 | 61 / 200 | Oct 27 18:30–19:50 |
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 081 | 3526 | 0 / 200 | Online or by arrangement |
| LEC 701 | 1215 | 149 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
Reviewed on UW Flow
44% liked it67% easy38% useful
From 356 ratings and 83 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
This is one of the most useless courses you will ever take in AFM. You learn little of every aspect of business, such as marketing, accounting, HRM, and so on. The clicker questions are bs, everyone just copies from each other and leave after the clickers. Boring lectures. What's worse is that this course is largely depended on your TA. If you have really easy TAs then you can easily get a good mark. If not, your discussion board marks as well as your final report marks will be ruined and you will end up with a low mark.
Aug 2015 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
the marking highly depended on TA
Jun 2016 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
DO NOT LET YOUR PROFESSOR BE MANNING. He is funny but does not teach you anything that will be on tests and assignments.
Jan 2016 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Really boring
Nov 2014 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Pretty boring.
Sep 2014 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
280 posts and comments in 193 threads mention AFM 131, September 2011 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Fall 2024
Afm situation 12 points, 3 comments
“The average you need in your main courses to stay in the program is 70, my prediction is it will be about 76. …”
u/liliesinspring: “I’m in the same situation, the same problem with afm 131 and in 1a. Hopefully things work out for the both of us🫶”
Exam paper sealed in bags 4 points, 7 comments
“On my way walking to my desk in PAC, I saw a section of tables with the exam paper sealed in transparent bags. …”
u/Suspicious-March-437: “I took the Afm 131 exam and it was sealed. We even had to give it proctors after sealing it. Probably because the exam consisted of stapled sheets: one for short ans and other for multiple choice. Maybe to keep them intact, the prof chose to seal em.”
GPA boosters 9 points, 14 comments
“Basically the title. Looking for some super easy/"common sense" courses to take. I've heard about the CLAS courses and any other suggestions would be appreciated!”
u/areslashme: “I’m taking afm131 and clas104 next term both are online and extremely easy 🙂↕️🙂↕️”
Winter 2025 Bird courses - ARTS 2 points, 1 comment
“So I'm in 3B doing a double major, and last term while I was on coop trying to plan out my last 3 study terms, I noticed I had about half the required courses for a PSCI minor, so I thought why not …”
u/Horiphic: “For arts courses, HRM 200, ECON 371, AFM 123, AFM 131 were all pretty bird imo. If you have space for non arts courses, I would recommend some of the 100 level EARTH courses. …”
Is the AFM 131 online final exam online or is it olnline? 2 points, 2 comments
u/One-Supermarket-9948: “If you mean in person, 2 years ago the online AFM 131 class had an in-person final exam that was worth about 130-150 marks.”
Spring 2024
ECON102 (in-person) VS ECON102 (online) VS BET100 1 point, 7 comments
u/vivekmanoj_: “DO NOT TAKE ECON102 ONLINE”
u/vivekmanoj_: “… If you’re looking to fulfil a social science elective requirement, take AFM131. …”
u/vivekmanoj_: “… If you’re looking to fulfil a social science elective requirement, take AFM131. …”
u/Ok_Beautiful4673: “I see. I am just trying to fill my breadth requirement...thanks for the tips! I'll look into AFM 131”
How hard is CHEM120? 8 points, 8 comments
“In CS 1A: - CS135 - MAT135 - MAT137 - CHEM120 - COMMST100 For context I already took IB SL Chemistry in High school and ended up doing really well. …”
u/Admirable-Point-3615: “There are a ton of classes easier than CHEM120. Literally any faculty of arts classes (AFM 131 is an easy one).”
AFM101, AFM131, or ECON 101? 2 points, 2 comments
u/randomotter201: “I am going to waterloo honours math and choosing my first year courses soon. I want to try transferring to CFM next year (not relying on it happening or anything). …”
u/One-Supermarket-9948: “Afm 131 imo is easiest”
u/Delicious_Net_2346: “math to cfm is a pretty hard transfer i’d suggest u take afm131 as it’s a required first year course in cfm. not sure if that matters tho. goodluck”
Winter 2024
Switching Programs? 1 point, 3 comments
“Recently got into Environment and Business & Knowledge Integration, but I want to switch programs. I really want to switch to Accounting and Financial Management or if this doesn’t work out then into …”
u/neighbourhood_spider: “… as you can see there is some overlap (ECON 101, AFM 131) but then the subjects start to differ. …”
Bird AFM courses help 1 point, 1 comment
“I need some bird AFM courses. Based on my projected grades, I need to get a 90 to raise my MAV enough to graduate. I'm already delaying my graduation date, so can anyone recommend any easy courses?”
u/Live-Orchid-4180: “Afm 101, 102, 131, 132”
afm 131 online during coop 1 point, 0 comments
u/brokenwhiteeeeee: “Hi, i plan to take afm 131 online during coop, but i heard that it has in-person final. Is it true? if yes, are there any way to accomodate? Thanks”
Should I take cs230 5 points, 7 comments
“As the title, but there’s sth u should consider, I have a really low average grade (60), and got 50 on cs115 and 60 on cs116. Should I swap psych101 to cs230? Which of them is more of a bird course? …”
u/sStinkySsoCks: “Don’t think either one is bird…”
u/No_Connection6902: “Clas104, afm101 online, econ101 (depend on prof), afm131 online, that’s all I know”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them