GEOE 353Geotechnical Engineering 1

Units: 0.50
Faculty: Engineering
Subject: Geological Engineering
Cross-listed: CIVE 353

When it runs

Ran in 4 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled. 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 at least 1 of the following:
    - ENVE153 - Earth Engineering (0.50)
    - GEOE153 - 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-Earth Sciences - Hydrogeology, H-Environmental Engineering, or H-Geological Engineering

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

GEOE 354

Reviewed on UW Flow

56% liked it30% easy70% useful

From 9 ratings and 4 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

If you had told me 3 years ago that I'd be taking a course on rocks and dirt which involves sinusoidal functions, I would've been baffled. Don't get tricked into thinking this course is easy. Our midterm was relatively fair (class average of 75%) and then he still absolutely deep fried us on the final. I think it was the worst exam I ever wrote in my life.

Aug 2026 · liked itOn UW Flow Remove this
Definetely super useful if you plan on going into geotechnical engineering. Currently there's no set prof for this course so you will likely get a sessional prof and your experience in the course will likely depend on them. This course had a lot of overlap with Hydrogeology, Earth Engineering, and Mechanics 2. Overall the course was super unorganized and we covered a lot less topics than we were supposed to. Highlight of the course though was the Labs with Anne Allen who is super awesome.

Aug 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW Flow Remove this
The best part of this course were the labs. I think with a different prof it might have been interesting and engaging, but the content just felt super dry.

Jul 2024 · didn’t like itOn UW Flow Remove this
Good geotechnical content - decent information. The course format was very poorly done in terms of notes + instruction. The TA saved the entire course as much of the instructors notes/audio were confusing.

Jan 2021 · didn’t like itOn UW Flow Remove this

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
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Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
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