ENVE 153Earth Engineering
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Engineering
- Subject
- Environmental Engineering
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 4 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled. 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 or higher
- Enrolled in H-Environmental Engineering
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
Reviewed on UW Flow
36% liked it61% easy48% useful
From 22 ratings and 5 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
The labs were fun, the content was interesting as were the projects.
Nov 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Not a hard course academically, but the workload is a lot when you consider the labs to prepare for, quizzes to study for and the deliverables that are constantly due😵💫
Aug 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
so much work
Aug 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Great lectures if you get Keith Delaney, but the terms tests are bad either way.
May 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
incredibly boring and disorganized lectures (if you have unger) with a really heavy workload. he's not a bad guy, but he doesn't really explain anything, basically just reads off the slides. term tests are all memorization
Feb 2020 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
5 posts and comments in 4 threads mention ENVE 153, August 2013 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.
Winter 2019
Hellweek in 1B 5 points, 4 comments
“Entering 1B Civil Student here, Just wanted to know, is hellweek also in 1B or is it just in 1A. Thank you”
u/snowy12345678: “Yeah it’s still there ... if I remember correctly, we didn’t have a midterm for cive/ENVE 153, just Term tests and no final either I believe”
Winter 2016
Upper year ENVIRO ENG experience share? Advice for ENVIRO ENG first year? 2 points, 23 comments
“I don't see much posts about environmental engineering here. So any upper year enviro or geo or civil would share their experience about this prgram? …”
u/zipline66: “… Some of the courses I personally enjoyed that overlap are ENVE 153 (get to look at minerals and tests are ridiculously easy, especially if you have Stan Potapenko), ENVE 127 (im assuming that they just renamed it to CIVE 105 for you not sure though). …”
u/XiMYi: “… I am looking forward ENVE 153. Unfortunately I don't have him. I have Andre Unger. CIVE 105 was an interesting course. Really amusing and useful for sure. …”
lecture notes/prep for next term 0 points, 1 comment
u/dshahr: “I want to start preparing for my next study term which is this spring, where can i get access to previous class notes? or atleast the outline. the courses are: math 118 gene 123 cive 105 cive 121 enve 153 thanks!”
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.”
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