SCI 238Introductory Astronomy
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Science
- Subject
- Science
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 7 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
A survey course in astronomy. The solar system, the Sun and planets, stars, the Milky Way, galaxies, and cosmology.
Prerequisites
None listed.
Antirequisites
- Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
- PHYS175 - Introduction to the Universe (0.50)
Leads to
No course lists it as a requisite.
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 081 | 7357 | 287 / 400 | Online or by arrangement |
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 6609 | 0 / 300 | TTh 14:30–15:50 |
| LEC 701 | 2536 | 82 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
Resources
Around the web
Found by uwloo’s link finder, which checks that each page names SCI 238.
- SCI238: Notes for SCI238 (astronomy) at University of Waterloo Course notes · github.com · by JackTLi on GitHub Remove
Reviewed on UW Flow
69% liked it70% easy32% useful
From 273 ratings and 66 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Guys i think triple t is at my front door do i let him in
Apr 2026 · liked it · 7 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Course is prof dependent. Had it with Mike Hudson who required lengthy readings and time-consuming assignments. Content was interesting and mostly easy. However, lectures were useless and did not really reflect the questions done on the assignments. Much more calculations than expected that are not very easy. Midterm was fair but final was very difficult. Not a bird course.
Apr 2026 · liked it · 4 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
It is such an interesting course. Shame its taught by MJ Hudson, because he's a lazy prof. He assigns a ton of reading that are a must, because otherwise, his in class lectures are just rambling. You know when you watch a movie and then watch people review the movie. He's just reviewing the course. You have to do the reading to get the actual depth for understanding and to do well on tests. So yea, taking this course was like reading 20 books. After you do the readings, he is useless. So i stopped wasting 3 hours of my week attending his spark notes, unfortunately there is a mandatory 5% in class participation mark (you must get the question right to get the mark), so i lost that portion of…
Mar 2026 · didn’t like it · 4 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
I took this course expecting it to be a bird course to offset my difficult term. Ended up not being the case. It seems as though this course wildly varies in difficulty based on professors. I recommend taking the course online or making sure the exam is open book. Our midterm average was in the high 60's. Ironically, even though this was supposed to be my mark booster course it ended up being one of my worst marks.
Apr 2014 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Nothing's changed but the final was a must pass for us. Textbook is your best friend, the earlier the edition the better. The 50%+ final requirement ended up dropping to 36% cause the prof is really nice. Space is cool.
Dec 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
311 posts and comments in 222 threads mention SCI 238, June 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.
Fall 2024
SCI 238 Online vs Psych 207 vs SCI 250 2 points, 1 comment
u/JasonAhn91214: “… I need a NSE course that can be fairly easy to take in which I was trying to take SCI 238 at first. However as it got conflicted to the MSCI 331 (which was MSE 331 before), I got kicked out of the enrollment. …”
u/voxaun: “sci 238 was traumatizing... sci 250 you don't need to go to the lectures, but there were still two midterms & an exam on the content. much much much easier than sci 238”
Most academically difficult term so far? 25 points, 39 comments
“Wondering which year/term was the most challenging for you? Preferably students in engineering or more specifically mech eng.”
u/InDiAn_hs: “2B CS (MATH 239, CS 240, CS 241, STAT231, SCI 238)”
Spring 2024
sci 238 waterloo 1 point, 3 comments
CE 3B Elective Advice 3 points, 3 comments
u/ivythe1st: “… My classmates say 3B isn't easy though and I'd be better off taking an NSE, so in that case I might take SCI 238 (intro to astronomy) or something easy. …”
u/bandwag0n3r: “I took SCI 238 (online) for my NSE in 3B, and it was insanely easy. Just ctrl + f'able open book quizzes and assignments. I definitely recommend it if you plan on doing an NSE during 3B.”
Winter 2024
Changing programs 4 points, 4 comments
u/Western_Wasabi_8584: “… Courses that I've taken : CS 100, EARTH 121, MATH 127, SCI 238, AFM 112, BIOL 130, BIOL 240, BIOL 240L, ECON 101, MATH 128, PHYS 111 What will be the best options &x200B;”
Looking for online spring 2024 bird course 4 points, 2 comments
u/Anitost: “im looking for an online bird/gravy course to take this S24 term. i've already taken clas104, sci238 so thats not an option for me.”
SCI 238/BIOL 239/PHYS 234 as Eng Natural Science Elective? 1 point, 6 comments
u/vajsdefnce874nsacnsa: “… BIOL 239 Genetics : considering to take this due to personal interest in genetics SCI 238 Introductory Astronomy : heard that this one is kinda birdy? Can anyone share some insights on how good/hard these two courses were in the past? …”
u/FreedomFearless: “SCI 238 is definitely bird for me, i took it on coop and spent like an hour or two a week”
u/voxaun: “i did sci 238 last term and it was TRAUMATIZING. if you look at the reviews only the in-person class is considered bird”
Are there any pure-online natural science electives (NSEs)? 1 point, 3 comments
“Want to select some pure-online courses during off-campus coop term.”
u/FreedomFearless: “SCI 238”
u/FreedomFearless: “i think some EARTH classes might be online? i only took SCI 238 as an online NSE so my knowledge ends there”
bird course 2XX 1 point, 7 comments
“hi guys! thanks for clicking in, I really want to know if there is any bird course starting with 2 (like 2XX) outside the math department (if it's interesting that will be better) for math students. …”
u/No_Connection6902: “SCI238 not a very high-marking course!!!! I mean the some of the questions can be found on Chegg, but some gives wrong answers. And because they only have 2 or 3 questions each assignment, the marks might be extremely low or high. …”
How hard are SCI courses? 4 points, 4 comments
“Are SCI courses supposed to be bird? Or they could be hard?”
u/Fluffy_State_5360: “It’s easy as long as you’re interested in the topic, SCI 238 is more challenging”
Online NSE for engineering 1 point, 1 comment
“I have to take an NSE during coop in W24 to grad on time, but my coop not in Waterloo. Does anybody know any fully online NSEs? I don’t mind the difficulty since it’s not included in my average.”
u/1000Ditto: “… all the courses, here are the online ones (your job is to see if they are still offering): sci 238 \[fall\] psych 207 psych 261 earth 121 \[fall, spring\] chem 123 \[w,s\] chem 237 \[w,s\] (requires orgo) chem 266 \[f\] (it's orgo) che 102 \[fws\] (1a chem vibes) biol 239 …”
Fall 2023
courses for honours science? 1 point, 16 comments
u/Exit_exe_: “… when course selection came out i chose sci 238 (intro astronomy) but after not doing as well as i wanted in sci 206 (physics of how things work) (im not good at physics, more of a chem/bio person, everyone said it was a bird course but i got baited), im not sure about sci 238. …”
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