CIVE 353Geotechnical Engineering 1

Units: 0.50
Faculty: Engineering
Subject: Civil Engineering
Cross-listed: GEOE 353

When it runs

Ran in 4 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

An introduction to geologic processes. Subsurface exploration. Classification systems. Weight-volume relationships. Soil mechanics principles including state of stress, ground water flow, consolidation and shear strength. Four lab sessions.

Prerequisites

Complete all of the following
- Complete 1 of the following
  - Must have completed the following:
    - CIVE153 - Earth Engineering (0.50)
  - Must have completed the following:
    - EARTH121 - Introductory Earth Sciences (0.50)
    - EARTH121L - Introductory Earth Sciences Laboratory (0.25)
- Students must be in level 3A or higher
- Enrolled in H-Civil Engineering, or H-Earth Sciences - Hydrogeology

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
Section	Class	Enrolled	Meets
LEC 001	4442	0 / 130	MW 10:00–11:20
LEC 701	1827	128 / 9999	Online or by arrangement
LAB 101	4443	0 / 26	Th 13:00–14:50
LAB 102	4444	0 / 26	Th 15:00–16:50
LAB 103	4445	0 / 26	F 08:30–10:20
LAB 104	4632	0 / 26	F 10:30–12:20
LAB 105	5022	0 / 26	F 12:30–14:20
TUT 201	4446	0 / 130	W 15:30–16:20

Reviewed on UW Flow

58% liked it40% easy80% useful

From 33 ratings and 4 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

Not a lot to say about the course. Do some extra research and you should be set for geotech 2 and 3.

Apr 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW Flow Remove this
Taught by Yutong Chai (lec) and Anne Allen (lab) in Winter 2025. 3 term tests on lecture material (25-25-20%) and 4 lab reports (4x7.5%) are all the evaluations. Lectures: Yutong talks very fast but repeats important information so in the end I understood the main concepts and problems. Do the practice problems, review your lecture problems & concepts, ask classmates and go to office hours if you're unsure, attend class, ask questions during class, and you'll be fine. First test was easy, second one not terrible, and last one was kind of insane so it balanced out. Labs: Soil labs were great with Anne as always. Watch the pre-lab videos, ask questions if needed, she is super great with…

Apr 2025 · liked itOn UW Flow Remove this
I'm fairly convinced that we learned the same exact same thing every week for the whole term but just worded differently. Easy class so attendance is optional. Shunde Yin is a really nice guy but a terrible prof, you can't understand him in the slightest, and very difficult to ask questions. Anne (lab tech) is incredibly nice and helpful, hoping to get her for a 3rd time at some point.

May 2022 · didn’t like itOn UW Flow Remove this
One of the first course that's ACTUALLY related to my field of expertise. Not very easy for me but it was worth my effort.

Oct 2014 · liked itOn UW Flow Remove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

2 posts and comments in 2 threads mention CIVE 353, March 2018 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

May 2, 2021 [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. …”

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Winter 2018

Mar 22, 2018 Professor adding large amount extra lectures 14 points, 8 comments

“For a class this term, the prof mentioned he'd be lecturing (regular lectures are 80 min) occasionally during the tutorial slot (50 min), due to missing a lecture or two due to travel. …”

u/DipidyDip: “What class is this? Just curious”

u/OverenthusiasticRap: “CIVE 353 - Geotechnical Engineering (source: I’m pretty sure I’m in his/her class)”