diff --git a/core/parser.go b/core/parser.go
index ee2d2cfbf1..300f4411a4 100644
--- a/core/parser.go
+++ b/core/parser.go
@@ -51,8 +51,8 @@ type Parser interface {
 	NewFilterFromString(collectionType string, body string) (immutable.Option[request.Filter], error)
 
 	// ParseSDL parses an SDL string into a set of collection descriptions.
-	ParseSDL(ctx context.Context, schemaString string) ([]client.CollectionDescription, error)
+	ParseSDL(ctx context.Context, schemaString string) ([]client.CollectionDefinition, error)
 
 	// Adds the given schema to this parser's model.
-	SetSchema(ctx context.Context, txn datastore.Txn, collections []client.CollectionDescription) error
+	SetSchema(ctx context.Context, txn datastore.Txn, collections []client.CollectionDefinition) error
 }
diff --git a/db/collection.go b/db/collection.go
index 3c789ac224..330bfb8d88 100644
--- a/db/collection.go
+++ b/db/collection.go
@@ -584,12 +584,17 @@ func (db *db) setDefaultSchemaVersion(
 		return err
 	}
 
-	cols, err := db.getCollectionDescriptions(ctx, txn)
+	cols, err := db.getAllCollections(ctx, txn)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	return db.parser.SetSchema(ctx, txn, cols)
+	definitions := make([]client.CollectionDefinition, len(cols))
+	for i, col := range cols {
+		definitions[i] = col
+	}
+
+	return db.parser.SetSchema(ctx, txn, definitions)
 }
 
 func (db *db) setDefaultSchemaVersionExplicit(
diff --git a/db/schema.go b/db/schema.go
index 910f44f8c1..ff583c7cf4 100644
--- a/db/schema.go
+++ b/db/schema.go
@@ -39,24 +39,29 @@ func (db *db) addSchema(
 	txn datastore.Txn,
 	schemaString string,
 ) ([]client.CollectionDescription, error) {
-	existingDescriptions, err := db.getCollectionDescriptions(ctx, txn)
+	existingCollections, err := db.getAllCollections(ctx, txn)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
+	existingDefinitions := make([]client.CollectionDefinition, len(existingCollections))
+	for i := range existingCollections {
+		existingDefinitions[i] = existingCollections[i]
+	}
+
 	newDescriptions, err := db.parser.ParseSDL(ctx, schemaString)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	err = db.parser.SetSchema(ctx, txn, append(existingDescriptions, newDescriptions...))
+	err = db.parser.SetSchema(ctx, txn, append(existingDefinitions, newDescriptions...))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
 	returnDescriptions := make([]client.CollectionDescription, len(newDescriptions))
 	for i, desc := range newDescriptions {
-		col, err := db.createCollection(ctx, txn, desc)
+		col, err := db.createCollection(ctx, txn, desc.Description())
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
@@ -67,12 +72,17 @@ func (db *db) addSchema(
 }
 
 func (db *db) loadSchema(ctx context.Context, txn datastore.Txn) error {
-	descriptions, err := db.getCollectionDescriptions(ctx, txn)
+	collections, err := db.getAllCollections(ctx, txn)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	return db.parser.SetSchema(ctx, txn, descriptions)
+	definitions := make([]client.CollectionDefinition, len(collections))
+	for i := range collections {
+		definitions[i] = collections[i]
+	}
+
+	return db.parser.SetSchema(ctx, txn, definitions)
 }
 
 func (db *db) getCollectionDescriptions(
@@ -138,21 +148,26 @@ func (db *db) patchSchema(ctx context.Context, txn datastore.Txn, patchString st
 		return err
 	}
 
-	newDescriptions := []client.CollectionDescription{}
+	newCollections := []client.CollectionDefinition{}
 	for _, desc := range newDescriptionsByName {
-		newDescriptions = append(newDescriptions, desc)
+		col, err := db.newCollection(desc)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		newCollections = append(newCollections, col)
 	}
 
-	for i, desc := range newDescriptions {
-		col, err := db.updateCollection(ctx, txn, collectionsByName, newDescriptionsByName, desc, setAsDefaultVersion)
+	for i, col := range newCollections {
+		col, err := db.updateCollection(ctx, txn, collectionsByName, newDescriptionsByName, col.Description(), setAsDefaultVersion)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 
-		newDescriptions[i] = col.Description()
+		newCollections[i] = col
 	}
 
-	return db.parser.SetSchema(ctx, txn, newDescriptions)
+	return db.parser.SetSchema(ctx, txn, newCollections)
 }
 
 func (db *db) getCollectionsByName(
diff --git a/request/graphql/parser.go b/request/graphql/parser.go
index ddd13d9e62..743c3eab97 100644
--- a/request/graphql/parser.go
+++ b/request/graphql/parser.go
@@ -104,13 +104,13 @@ func (p *parser) Parse(ast *ast.Document) (*request.Request, []error) {
 }
 
 func (p *parser) ParseSDL(ctx context.Context, schemaString string) (
-	[]client.CollectionDescription,
+	[]client.CollectionDefinition,
 	error,
 ) {
 	return schema.FromString(ctx, schemaString)
 }
 
-func (p *parser) SetSchema(ctx context.Context, txn datastore.Txn, collections []client.CollectionDescription) error {
+func (p *parser) SetSchema(ctx context.Context, txn datastore.Txn, collections []client.CollectionDefinition) error {
 	schemaManager, err := schema.NewSchemaManager()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
diff --git a/request/graphql/schema/collection.go b/request/graphql/schema/collection.go
index 00287c4454..d0daf499fd 100644
--- a/request/graphql/schema/collection.go
+++ b/request/graphql/schema/collection.go
@@ -24,9 +24,32 @@ import (
 	"github.com/graphql-go/graphql/language/source"
 )
 
+type collectionDefinition struct {
+	collection client.CollectionDescription
+	schema     client.SchemaDescription
+}
+
+var _ client.CollectionDefinition = (*collectionDefinition)(nil)
+
+func (c *collectionDefinition) Description() client.CollectionDescription {
+	return c.collection
+}
+func (c *collectionDefinition) Name() string {
+	return c.collection.Name
+}
+func (c *collectionDefinition) Schema() client.SchemaDescription {
+	return c.schema
+}
+func (c *collectionDefinition) ID() uint32 {
+	return c.collection.ID
+}
+func (c *collectionDefinition) SchemaID() string {
+	return c.schema.SchemaID
+}
+
 // FromString parses a GQL SDL string into a set of collection descriptions.
 func FromString(ctx context.Context, schemaString string) (
-	[]client.CollectionDescription,
+	[]client.CollectionDefinition,
 	error,
 ) {
 	source := source.NewSource(&source.Source{
@@ -47,11 +70,11 @@ func FromString(ctx context.Context, schemaString string) (
 
 // fromAst parses a GQL AST into a set of collection descriptions.
 func fromAst(ctx context.Context, doc *ast.Document) (
-	[]client.CollectionDescription,
+	[]client.CollectionDefinition,
 	error,
 ) {
 	relationManager := NewRelationManager()
-	descriptions := []client.CollectionDescription{}
+	descriptions := []collectionDefinition{}
 
 	for _, def := range doc.Definitions {
 		switch defType := def.(type) {
@@ -77,7 +100,12 @@ func fromAst(ctx context.Context, doc *ast.Document) (
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	return descriptions, nil
+	definitions := make([]client.CollectionDefinition, len(descriptions))
+	for i := range descriptions {
+		definitions[i] = &descriptions[i]
+	}
+
+	return definitions, nil
 }
 
 // fromAstDefinition parses a AST object definition into a set of collection descriptions.
@@ -85,7 +113,7 @@ func fromAstDefinition(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	relationManager *RelationManager,
 	def *ast.ObjectDefinition,
-) (client.CollectionDescription, error) {
+) (collectionDefinition, error) {
 	fieldDescriptions := []client.FieldDescription{
 		{
 			Name: request.KeyFieldName,
@@ -98,7 +126,7 @@ func fromAstDefinition(
 	for _, field := range def.Fields {
 		tmpFieldsDescriptions, err := fieldsFromAST(field, relationManager, def)
 		if err != nil {
-			return client.CollectionDescription{}, err
+			return collectionDefinition{}, err
 		}
 
 		fieldDescriptions = append(fieldDescriptions, tmpFieldsDescriptions...)
@@ -107,7 +135,7 @@ func fromAstDefinition(
 			if directive.Name.Value == types.IndexDirectiveLabel {
 				index, err := fieldIndexFromAST(field, directive)
 				if err != nil {
-					return client.CollectionDescription{}, err
+					return collectionDefinition{}, err
 				}
 				indexDescriptions = append(indexDescriptions, index)
 			}
@@ -129,19 +157,26 @@ func fromAstDefinition(
 		if directive.Name.Value == types.IndexDirectiveLabel {
 			index, err := indexFromAST(directive)
 			if err != nil {
-				return client.CollectionDescription{}, err
+				return collectionDefinition{}, err
 			}
 			indexDescriptions = append(indexDescriptions, index)
 		}
 	}
 
-	return client.CollectionDescription{
-		Name: def.Name.Value,
-		Schema: client.SchemaDescription{
+	return collectionDefinition{
+		collection: client.CollectionDescription{
+			Name:    def.Name.Value,
+			Indexes: indexDescriptions,
+			Schema: client.SchemaDescription{ // temp
+				Name:   def.Name.Value,
+				Fields: fieldDescriptions,
+			},
+		},
+
+		schema: client.SchemaDescription{
 			Name:   def.Name.Value,
 			Fields: fieldDescriptions,
 		},
-		Indexes: indexDescriptions,
 	}, nil
 }
 
@@ -424,9 +459,9 @@ func getRelationshipName(
 	return genRelationName(hostName, targetName)
 }
 
-func finalizeRelations(relationManager *RelationManager, descriptions []client.CollectionDescription) error {
+func finalizeRelations(relationManager *RelationManager, descriptions []collectionDefinition) error {
 	for _, description := range descriptions {
-		for i, field := range description.Schema.Fields {
+		for i, field := range description.schema.Fields {
 			if field.RelationType == 0 || field.RelationType&client.Relation_Type_INTERNAL_ID != 0 {
 				continue
 			}
@@ -447,7 +482,7 @@ func finalizeRelations(relationManager *RelationManager, descriptions []client.C
 			}
 
 			field.RelationType = rel.Kind() | fieldRelationType
-			description.Schema.Fields[i] = field
+			description.schema.Fields[i] = field
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/request/graphql/schema/generate.go b/request/graphql/schema/generate.go
index e30693b3de..27c0beb9e6 100644
--- a/request/graphql/schema/generate.go
+++ b/request/graphql/schema/generate.go
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ func (m *SchemaManager) NewGenerator() *Generator {
 
 // Generate generates the query-op and mutation-op type definitions from
 // the given CollectionDescriptions.
-func (g *Generator) Generate(ctx context.Context, collections []client.CollectionDescription) ([]*gql.Object, error) {
+func (g *Generator) Generate(ctx context.Context, collections []client.CollectionDefinition) ([]*gql.Object, error) {
 	typeMapBeforeMutation := g.manager.schema.TypeMap()
 	typesBeforeMutation := make(map[string]any, len(typeMapBeforeMutation))
 
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ func (g *Generator) Generate(ctx context.Context, collections []client.Collectio
 
 // generate generates the query-op and mutation-op type definitions from
 // the given CollectionDescriptions.
-func (g *Generator) generate(ctx context.Context, collections []client.CollectionDescription) ([]*gql.Object, error) {
+func (g *Generator) generate(ctx context.Context, collections []client.CollectionDefinition) ([]*gql.Object, error) {
 	// build base types
 	defs, err := g.buildTypes(ctx, collections)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ func (g *Generator) createExpandedFieldList(
 // extract and return the correct gql.Object type(s)
 func (g *Generator) buildTypes(
 	ctx context.Context,
-	collections []client.CollectionDescription,
+	collections []client.CollectionDefinition,
 ) ([]*gql.Object, error) {
 	// @todo: Check for duplicate named defined types in the TypeMap
 	// get all the defined types from the AST
@@ -364,15 +364,15 @@ func (g *Generator) buildTypes(
 		// Copy the loop variable before usage within the loop or it
 		// will be reassigned before the thunk is run
 		collection := c
-		fieldDescriptions := collection.Schema.Fields
+		fieldDescriptions := collection.Schema().Fields
 
 		// check if type exists
-		if _, ok := g.manager.schema.TypeMap()[collection.Name]; ok {
-			return nil, NewErrSchemaTypeAlreadyExist(collection.Name)
+		if _, ok := g.manager.schema.TypeMap()[collection.Name()]; ok {
+			return nil, NewErrSchemaTypeAlreadyExist(collection.Name())
 		}
 
 		objconf := gql.ObjectConfig{
-			Name: collection.Name,
+			Name: collection.Name(),
 		}
 
 		// Wrap field definition in a thunk so we can
@@ -435,9 +435,9 @@ func (g *Generator) buildTypes(
 				Type:        gql.Boolean,
 			}
 
-			gqlType, ok := g.manager.schema.TypeMap()[collection.Name]
+			gqlType, ok := g.manager.schema.TypeMap()[collection.Name()]
 			if !ok {
-				return nil, NewErrObjectNotFoundDuringThunk(collection.Name)
+				return nil, NewErrObjectNotFoundDuringThunk(collection.Name())
 			}
 
 			fields[request.GroupFieldName] = &gql.Field{
diff --git a/request/graphql/schema/index_test.go b/request/graphql/schema/index_test.go
index 379b84647d..7b7b43ecb4 100644
--- a/request/graphql/schema/index_test.go
+++ b/request/graphql/schema/index_test.go
@@ -276,9 +276,9 @@ func parseIndexAndTest(t *testing.T, testCase indexTestCase) {
 	cols, err := FromString(ctx, testCase.sdl)
 	assert.NoError(t, err, testCase.description)
 	assert.Equal(t, len(cols), 1, testCase.description)
-	assert.Equal(t, len(cols[0].Indexes), len(testCase.targetDescriptions), testCase.description)
+	assert.Equal(t, len(cols[0].Description().Indexes), len(testCase.targetDescriptions), testCase.description)
 
-	for i, d := range cols[0].Indexes {
+	for i, d := range cols[0].Description().Indexes {
 		assert.Equal(t, testCase.targetDescriptions[i], d, testCase.description)
 	}
 }