CIVE 153Earth Engineering
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Engineering
- Subject
- Civil Engineering
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 4 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
This course studies earth materials and processes from an engineering point of view through case histories and problem sets. The course develops a geological knowledge for applications to any physical environment and provides an appreciation of the impact of engineering work on the environment. Topics include mineral and rock identification, the rock cycle, structural geology and tectonics, geology of Canada, effects of water, ice and wind. Students are also introduced to the concept of geologic time, topographic and geologic maps, and the basic principles and tools used to determine geologic history.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Students must be in level 1B
- Enrolled in H-Civil Engineering
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 4463 | 0 / 152 | TTh 13:00–14:20 TTh 13:00–14:20 Jan 21 11:30–12:20 Feb 4 11:30–12:20 Mar 18 11:30–12:20 |
| LEC 701 | 1840 | 0 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
| LAB 101 | 4464 | 0 / 19 | Jan 12 08:30–09:50 Jan 19 08:30–11:20 Jan 26 08:30–11:20 Feb 2 08:30–11:20 Feb 9 08:30–11:20 Mar 2 08:30–11:20 Mar 30 08:30–11:20 |
| LAB 102 | 4465 | 0 / 19 | Jan 12 10:00–11:20 Jan 19 08:30–11:20 Jan 26 08:30–11:20 Feb 2 08:30–11:20 Feb 9 08:30–11:20 Mar 2 08:30–11:20 Mar 30 08:30–11:20 |
| LAB 103 | 4637 | 0 / 19 | Jan 19 08:30–09:50 Jan 26 08:30–11:20 Feb 2 08:30–11:20 Feb 9 08:30–11:20 Mar 2 08:30–11:20 Mar 23 08:30–11:20 Apr 6 08:30–11:20 |
| LAB 104 | 4754 | 0 / 19 | Jan 19 10:00–11:20 Jan 26 08:30–11:20 Feb 2 08:30–11:20 Feb 9 08:30–11:20 Mar 2 08:30–11:20 Mar 23 08:30–11:20 Apr 6 08:30–11:20 |
| LAB 105 | 4755 | 0 / 19 | Jan 14 08:30–09:50 Jan 21 08:30–11:20 Feb 11 08:30–11:20 Feb 4 08:30–11:20 Jan 28 08:30–11:20 Mar 4 08:30–11:20 Apr 1 08:30–11:20 |
| LAB 106 | 4756 | 0 / 19 | Jan 14 10:00–11:20 Jan 21 08:30–11:20 Jan 28 08:30–11:20 Feb 4 08:30–11:20 Feb 11 08:30–11:20 Mar 4 08:30–11:20 Apr 1 08:30–11:20 |
| LAB 107 | 5079 | 0 / 19 | Jan 21 08:30–09:50 Jan 28 08:30–11:20 Feb 4 08:30–11:20 Feb 11 08:30–11:20 Mar 4 08:30–11:20 Mar 25 08:30–11:20 Apr 8 08:30–11:20 |
| LAB 108 | 5080 | 0 / 19 | Jan 21 10:00–11:20 Jan 28 08:30–11:20 Feb 4 08:30–11:20 Feb 11 08:30–11:20 Mar 4 08:30–11:20 Mar 25 08:30–11:20 Apr 8 08:30–11:20 |
| TUT 201 | 4466 | 0 / 76 | W 13:30–14:20 W 13:30–14:20 |
| TUT 202 | 4467 | 0 / 76 | W 13:30–14:20 W 13:30–14:20 |
Reviewed on UW Flow
24% liked it59% easy53% useful
From 66 ratings and 14 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Legitimately the worst structured course in first year. I don't know how this is a 0.5 credit when is has 2 different labs, quizzes, and group work. This course is having an identity crisis between it's usefulness, and the time it takes complete everything. If the course was structured towards the group assignments more, it would actually be engaging for engineers, rather than rock eaters. That, paired with the fact that the quizzes are bs, and the worst TA I will ever have here, this was a monumental fail of a course. The TA could get a whole review in itself, but this course has taught me that grade =/= understanding. 3/10, 1 pt. for Keith, 2pts. for Jen and her TA. (Anne is great too,…
Apr 2025 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
So dreadful I skipped my co-op term and transferred to Mech Eng. This course is not even that hard but you have to write so much in the reports and case studies. The term tests are all multiple choice but that is not in your favor, you need above a 50% in each of the 4 course components (soil report, geo lab, term tests, case study) to pass and I think this is the most scared I have been of failing because of the term tests. Studying for them is mind numbing, but shoutout to Unger for giving us 3% bonus for attending capstone. Only the geo labs are kinda easy you do them in partners and can do them beforehand. Most boring and tedious course you will ever do I think i cried studying for the…
May 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Completely Useless except for the soil testing if you want to become a geotech
Apr 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Grand waste of time. This course is worth 0.5 but is easily twice the amount of work as any other 0.5 course. Lecture content prepares you for the tests, and that's fine, but every other aspect of this course is broken. Instructors are good, course structure is not. Get above a 60 and move on.
Apr 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Most time consuming class to take. Lectures are awfully boring but all lectures are posted online so the only time you would need to go is for test reviews. 3 terms tests which consistent of the most obscure information you could find on the slides. 6 case studies that were extremely tedious and horribly explained, and if your group was bad then rip. 2 labs: soil and mineral. Soil labs are chill and have a report which is fairly simple to do. Mineral labs are so boring and useless - basically guessing the rock for 3 hours.
May 2024 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
13 posts and comments in 10 threads mention CIVE 153, October 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.
Spring 2021
A Retrospective on Online First Year Civil Engineering 51 points, 29 comments
u/Intense_Stare: “… CIVE 153 Earth Engineering (Andre Unger) Summary: “Use your professional judgment” -Unger for the 100th time Evaluation Breakdown: \- 3 geology labs (easy) \- 1 soils report (tedious but you can copy the sample) \- 1 term group project (also tedious, but once again you can copy …”
[CivE] Official and Objective 3A Review 25 points, 4 comments
u/MeDigMeBuild: “… CIVE 353 (Cascante): Summary: "I regurgitate some CIVE153 textbooks in an incredibly obtuse manner." Quizzes (3): Easy (copy the notes) Final: Moderately difficult Easy content but Cascante's notes are a clusterfuck. …”
Spring 2020
Civil Engineering professors? 2 points, 3 comments
“I'm going into Civil Engineering first year. Can someone give me a brief description of the professors, their personalities, or what they like, stuff like that?”
u/MeinGottWasZumTeufel: “… Andre Unger (CIVE153) - The course could've been interesting. Every time his class came up, about 3/4 of the people just up and left. Refused to post more than 1 practice test each time a real test came up (3 total). His assignments were pretty confusing and took forever to do. …”
Fall 2014
Civil Engineering vs Planning - Prospective Student 0 points, 15 comments
“Hello, I'm a grade 12 student looking at applying to Civil/Planning and I have a few questions: What is the workload like for either program? What's co-op like? …”
u/lotuschan: “Another civil here. /u/harrigan55 kind of covered the main points from a civil perspective, but I'm just going to throw in my two cents. 1) The workload. …”
u/lotuschan: “… The earth engineering course (CIVE 153) has a rock lab and a soil lab component (as well as the added bonus of learning about the rock cycle for the 1289371296th time). The rock lab involves identifying different types of rocks (so exciting wow jk ). …”
Spring 2014
Whats the Hardest Course you have taken so far? What made it so hard? 11 points, 73 comments
“I'm in chem eng and the hardest one I've taken so far is CHE 200-Equilibrium Stage Operations. No textbook except for the University course notes and Prof was hard to understand. Ahh, how about you?”
u/D_Rail: “Probably CIVE 153: Earth Engineering It dealt mostly with rocks and minerals. We weren't given any diamonds for the labs, but corundum was probably the next hardest.”
Spring 2013
This Semester was Interesting 0 points, 11 comments
“I'm sure all of you have experienced this but this semester was absolutely atrocious. I'm only in 1B so I'm sure I'll experience many of these to come. …”
u/twinnedcalcite: “If you find 1B hard than you might want to consider leaving now because it doesn't really get easier. Also you have class reps, use them to make your class issues known to the department.”
u/twinnedcalcite: “All that matters is you pass the course and the term really. If you want a hard exam CIVE153/ENVE153's lab exam, rock identification (1B course). First of many high pressure tests for the GeoEng's.”
EARTH 121 Lab - Not needed? 3 points, 8 comments
“Registering for EARTH 121, and I noticed that it says that the lab is not needed to be registered for the lecture. How useful are the EARTH labs? Is it worth it to sign up for a lab? …”
u/CaptainPajamaShark: “Why would you do that to yourself? I had to take EARTH121 because of the engineering program I am in, I found it boring as fuck.”
u/CaptainPajamaShark: “I took antireq of EARTH121, CIVE153.”
u/twinnedcalcite: “… You can't be a geo for CIVE153 is the first of MANY labs one must take and that one is the easiest. You'll need the information for geotechnical engineering anyways. …”
u/NeRG: “An antirequisite does not mean it is the same course. Maybe CIVE 153 just sucks.”
u/CaptainPajamaShark: “The prof for cive153 was very good, just really boring material.”
Winter 2013
This is a long shot, but are there any management engineer graduates in the house? Was it easy to find a job/ coop? 0 points, 7 comments
“I know that engineering is supposed to be the discipline that guarantees you employment. But when I read reports like these(10&11) I makes me really anxious. …”
u/worldwise001: “Disclaimer: I'm not in any engineering program, but I'm curious about the OP. Why do you want to go into management engineering? Or perhaps, if these kinds of things are of concern to you (i.e. …”
u/parahillObjective: “… If I were to switch into civil second year, I would have to take these extra courses right: CIVE 125 Civil Engineering Concepts 1 CIVE 127 - Statics and Solid Mechanics 1 CIVE 153 - Earth Engineering comparing these: …”
Fall 2012
What courses are you taking next semester? 10 points, 107 comments
“Now that exams are finally over, we can starting thinking about the Winter 2013 semester. What courses will you be taking? Any that you're anticipating and/or dreading?”
u/TheMotto: “CIVE 121 - Digital Computation CIVE 127 - Statics & Solid Mechanics 1 CIVE 153 - Earth Engineering GENE 123 - Electrical Engineering MATH 118 - Calculus 2 for Engineering”
Fall 2011
NSEs for Engineering 0 points, 13 comments
“This is, like, my first post ever. Can't believe it's education-related. Anyway, I've lurked a little bit and I didn't really find too much information regarding this. …”
u/scranston: “… In which case, I recommend CIVE 153 (Earth Engineering). When I took it, it was a powerpoint show ever class with one project and 3 non-cumulative quizes. And of course the rock labs, which aren't hard. …”
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