GeoEng Student Guide 2023-24

UBC Geological Engineering
STUDENT GUIDE
GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
University of British Columbia
2023-2024
“Escape the Office”
May 15, 2023
UBC Geological Engineering - Escape the Office - www.geoeng.ubc.ca

Geological Engineering Program Guide 2023 – 2024
Contents
Contents ............................................................................................................................ 2
Director’s Welcome ........................................................................................................... 3
New Program Changes!! ................................................................................................... 3
Administrative Structure of the Program ............................................................................ 4
Getting Help ...................................................................................................................... 4
Degree Navigator ........................................................................................................... 4
Course Registration: Standard Time Tables (STT) ........................................................ 5
Course Registration: Individual Courses/Non-STT ........................................................ 5
Advising ......................................................................................................................... 6
Prerequisites .................................................................................................................. 6
Program Requirements ..................................................................................................... 6
Program Curriculum ....................................................................................................... 6
Engineering Design Project ........................................................................................... 8
Field Schools ................................................................................................................. 8
Complementary Studies................................................................................................. 9
Technical Electives ........................................................................................................ 9
Specialization (Technical Elective Selection) .................................................................. 10
Geotechnical Interest ................................................................................................... 10
Environmental Interest ................................................................................................. 11
Geohazards Interest .................................................................................................... 11
Critical Minerals Interest .............................................................................................. 12
Mix and Match Interest................................................................................................. 13
Program Changes and Year Standing ............................................................................. 13
Schedule Conflicts ........................................................................................................... 13
Applied Science Co-Op ................................................................................................... 14
Coordinated International Experience and International Exchange ................................. 15
Appendix 1: List of Pre-Approved Technical Electives .................................................... 16
2
Director’s Welcome
To our incoming 2nd year students, welcome to UBC Geological Engineering!
Introduced in 1921, our program was the first of its kind worldwide, whether Geological
Engineering or its closely related offshoots of Geotechnical Engineering, Engineering
Geology or Applied Geology. Our program is also widely recognized as one of the top
Geological Engineering programs in the world, and around it, Vancouver has grown to be
a key international center for the geotechnical, mining, and energy resource sectors. The
strong support we receive from industry and our alumni allow us to expose our 175+
students to the remarkable projects carried out by local companies and the career
opportunities that await you when you graduate.
You are also automatically a member of GeoRox – the student club of the UBC Geological
Engineering program. GeoRox is one of the most active student clubs on campus and plays
a pivotal role in enriching the student experience by organizing mentoring and professional
outreach events, such as the annual Alumni Dinner and Distinguished Geological
Engineering Lecture, as well as design competitions and field trips where students can
escape the classroom and be exposed to the working environment. I strongly encourage
you to get involved.
The purpose of this guide is to give you information about the structure and course
requirements in the Geological Engineering program. You should use this guide to help
you plan your degree program. Our program is structured to include a set of core course
requirements that all students must fulfill to graduate. In addition, there are a number of
electives that allow you to tailor the program to your individual interests.
To our returning 3rd and 4th year students, welcome back! You will find here a number of
updates that supersede previous year’s student guides. Please pay close attention to
these. Remember, the official program is the one posted online in the UBC Calendar, which
can be accessed through the link below:
Geological Engineering entry in the UBC Calendar
For additional information, you can also consult the Geological Engineering website:
http://www.geoeng.ubc.ca/.
New Program Changes!!

In response to changes by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB),
regarding recommended reductions to the overall credit load in engineering programs, we
will be reducing the number of unconstrained technical electives in Geological Engineering.
These changes will be phased in by your year standing.
1) For students with 4th year standing: the number of technical electives is now reduced
from 12 to 9 credits. Accordingly, the overall credit total for 4th year is now 36 instead
of 39 credits.
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2) For students with 3rd year standing: the “Earth Sciences technical elective” now
requires you to choose one of EOSC 320, EOSC 321, EOSC 322, EOSC 331, or
EOSC 332. This change is to increase the geology training that Geological
Engineering students receive.
3) For students with 3rd year standing: the number of technical electives is now reduced
from 6 to 3 credits. Accordingly, the overall credit total for 3rd year is now 39 instead
of 42 credits.
These changes should be reflected in your Degree Navigator. If there are any questions,
please contact the program Director. Remember that you are responsible for ensuring you
meet all degree requirements to be eligible to graduate.
Administrative Structure of the Program

Geological Engineering is an interdisciplinary program in the Faculty of Applied Science
and housed in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. Oversight is
provided by the Geological Engineering Board of Study. The undergraduate program leads
to a BASc or "Engineering" degree. This degree can be obtained with or without
participation in the Co-op program. All graduates from the program will receive the
designation “BASc in Geological Engineering” on their degree, and are eligible for
registering as a P.Eng. after meeting the professional experience, law and ethics
requirements set out by the governing body in the jurisdiction you wish to register (e.g.,
Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia).
Getting Help
Degree Navigator
There are several sources of help and advising for the program. Degree Navigator is an
easy to use tool that will allow you to track your program, the course requirements you
have fulfilled, and those still required for graduation. Details on how to use Degree
Navigator can be found at: http://students.engineering.ubc.ca/how-use-degree-navigator.
Tip: When using Degree Navigator, choose the view “Audit – UBC Report” to visualize your
degree. The version year should be set to the one that applies to you by default.
Remember, Degree Navigator is a tool and not the official record of whether you have
fulfilled your degree requirements. It is generally correct but might not be programmed for
every option. For example, Degree Navigator will recognize most of the popular courses
taken as technical electives, but there are other courses that are also acceptable that will
appear as invalid. If this happens to you, or if you have any questions regarding your degree
requirements, please contact the Director of Geological Engineering (see Advising).
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Course Registration: Standard Time Tables (STT)
Most students will register through a Standard Time Table (STT) that allows automatic
registration in several core courses organized so that the times for lectures and labs are
free of scheduling conflicts. This will only be possible if you haven’t completed any of the
courses listed in the STT. If you have completed one or more courses in the STT, for
example during the previous school year, you will receive an error message. In this case,
you will have to register for your courses individually (see instructions in the next section).
Please note that not all required courses are included in the STT. You should make
sure to register separately for all courses listed for your year in the UBC Calendar if they
are not included in the STT. For example, MATH 253 and STAT 251 are core to the 2nd
year program but are not included in the STT. You must register for these separately. This
might also apply to labs separate from the courses that are included in the STT. For
example, CIVL 316 is included in the 3rd year STT but the lab for this course is not. Students
must register for a lab section separately.
Also note that when registering using a STT, the online registration system assumes you
have all prerequisites for the courses listed in the STT. It will not check for this. It is your
responsibility (and in your best interest!) to drop any courses you are registered in that you
do not have the prerequisites for; or separately, have received permission from the course
instructor to waive the prerequisites. Only the instructor for the course can grant a
student request to waive a prerequisite.
Course Registration: Individual Courses/Non-STT
For students who need to register for non-STT courses, for example technical electives, or
because they are not eligible for a STT, course registration must be carried out through
the host department offering the course. The following are the procedures for the
courses most common to the Geological Engineering program:
EOSC courses: Please contact our Senior Program Assistant, the kind and most
helpful Ian Ayeras (iayeras@eoas.ubc.ca).
CIVL courses: Please complete the Civil Engineering online course request form:
https://civil.ubc.ca/course-registration-form/
Note that Civil generally does not process requests for Technical
Electives until one or two weeks before the start of each term. Further
information can be found on their FAQ.
MINE courses: Please contact the Mining main office: https://mining.ubc.ca/contact/
Complementary These are a special category of courses that are common to all
Studies courses: engineering programs to meet specific requirements of the Canadian
Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB). They include the
“Humanities and Social Sciences” electives and “Impact of
Engineering on Society, Sustainability and Environmental
Stewardship” elective.
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First-Year The 1st year program falls under the jurisdiction of Engineering
courses: Academic Services. For any 1st year courses that still need to be
completed or are not appearing correctly in Degree Navigator, please
contact Engineering Academic Services.
Advising
For questions regarding the program, advising, or approval of courses and technical
electives, please contact the Director of Geological Engineering, Prof. Erik Eberhardt
(eeberhar@mail.ubc.ca). You can also drop by his office at: EOS-South 251.
For questions related to transfer credits, yet-to-be-completed 1st year requirements or
program requirements listed as “complementary studies” electives, contact Engineering
Academic Services in the lobby of the Kaiser Building.
For questions related to Co-Op, Go Global, Coordinated International Exchange, etc.,
contact the respective offices for these.
For the student perspective on courses and other student experiences, talk to senior
GeoRox students in the program. They are a great resource!
Prerequisites
The waiving of prerequisites must be obtained from the course instructor. Note that some
instructors are willing to waive prerequisites for students outside their department if the
student has an equivalent course from their program of study. However, this is at the
discretion of the instructor.
Program Requirements
Program Curriculum
The tables below outline the program curriculum for Geological Engineering based on the
2023/24 UBC Calendar). If there are any discrepancies, please note that the online UBC
Calendar is the official record of the courses required for completing the program (see note
below on Program Changes and Year Standing). Remember: It is your responsibility to
check that your program can be completed according to your preferred timeline for
graduation. It is also your responsibility to check that your courses fit together into a
workable timetable and that you have the required prerequisites. If you have any questions,
please contact the Geological Engineering Director to arrange a meeting.
Helpful tip: Make sure to check out Degree Navigator. Degree Navigator is an interactive
advising tool designed to help you make informed decisions regarding your academic
program. It will show the courses you have taken and the courses related to your degree
requirements you still need to take.
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2nd Year Credits

APSC 201 Technical Communication 3
CIVL 215 Fluid Mechanics I 4
CIVL 230 Solid Mechanics 4
T1
EOSC 210 Earth Science for Engineers 3

EOSC 220 Introductory Mineralogy 3
MATH 253 Multivariable Calculus 3
CIVL 210 Soil Mechanics I 4
EOSC 213 Computational Methods in Geological Engineering 3
EOSC 221 Introductory Petrology 3
T2
EOSC 2231 Field Techniques 3

EOSC 240 Site Investigation 3
STAT 251 Elementary Statistics 3
Total Credits 39
1
Includes one-week field school at the end of Term 2.
3rd Year Credits

CIVL 311 Soil Mechanics II 4
EOSC 323 Structural Geology I 3
EOSC 329 Quantitative Groundwater Hydrology 3
T1
EOSC 330 Principles of Geomorphology 3

EOSC 350 Environmental, Geotechnical, and Exploration Geophysics I 3
CIVL 316 Hydrology and Open Channel Flow 4
MINE 303 Rock Mechanics Fundamentals 4
T2
Field School Requirement2 (choose one of):

EOSC 328 Field Geology
3
EOSC 428 Quantitative Groundwater Hydrology
Complementary Studies: Impact of Engineering on Society3 3
Complementary Studies: Humanities3 3
Technical Electives4 3
Geology Elective (choose one of):
T1 or T2
EOSC 320 Sedimentology

EOSC 321 Igneous Petrology
EOSC 322 Metamorphic Petrology 3
EOSC 331 Introduction to Mineral Deposits
EOSC 332 Tectonic Evolution of North America
Total Credits 39
2
Taught at the end of Term 2 after final exams. See details below under Field Schools.
3
See Engineering Academic Services details and list of eligible courses.
4
See suggestions below under section on Specialization (Technical Elective Selection).
7
4th Year Credits

CIVL 402 Professionalism and Law in Civil Engineering 3
CIVL 410 Foundation Engineering I 3
T1
EOSC 433 Geological Engineering Practice I - Rock Engineering 3

EOSC 445 Engineering Design Project 65
CIVL 411 Foundation Engineering II 3
EOSC 429 Groundwater Contamination 3
T2
EOSC 434 Geological Engineering Practice II - Soil Engineering 3

Technical Electives 6 9
Complementary Studies: Engineering Economics (choose one of):
CHBE 459 Chemical and Biological Engineering Economics
T1 or T2
CIVL 403 Engineering Economic Analysis

MECH 431 Engineering Economics 3
MINE 396 Engineering Economics
MTRL 455 Economic Aspects of Materials Engineering
Total Credits 36
5
Must be taken continuously across Term 1 and 2 in the same academic year.
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See suggestions below under section on Specialization (Technical Elective Selection).
Engineering Design Project
Students should wait until they have 4th year standing before taking EOSC 445 Engineering
Design Project. This two-term course is our capstone design experience and will involve
team work, design, analysis, and technical communication. EOSC 445 builds upon three
other design-focused courses: EOSC 433 Geological Engineering Practice I - Rock
Engineering; EOSC 434 Geological Engineering Practice II - Soil Engineering; and EOSC
429 Groundwater Contamination.
Because EOSC 445 is a 6 credit course that spans both Term 1 and 2, it MUST be
taken consecutively in the same academic year; students should not plan a co-op work
term or international exchange in their final year when they would be taking this course.
Field Schools
There are two field-school course requirements in the program: EOSC 223 Field
Techniques, and one of either EOSC 328 Field Geology or EOSC 428 Field Techniques in
Groundwater Hydrology. These field schools run after final exams in April. Please note that
these courses may or may not require special fees separate from tuition that are charged
to partially cover field costs. Information regarding any charges is usually provided in
advance, but if you are working with a tight budget, you can check with our Senior Program
Assistant, Ian Ayeras (iayeras@eoas.ubc.ca).
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Note that if you need to take your 3rd year field school at the end of your 4th year right before
graduating (many of our students do this), procedures are in place to make sure your
grades will be submitted in time for approval to graduate at the Spring convocation
ceremony.
Complementary Studies
Complementary Studies are a special set of unconstrained electives that are required for
all Applied Science students. A set of minimum requirements are identified related to
“Professional Development”, “Communications”, “Impact of Technology on Society”,
“Engineering Economics” and “Humanities and Social Sciences”. Students are referred to
the Engineering Academic Services website for a listing of eligible courses to meet these
requirements.
Technical Electives
Technical electives provide you the means to tailor your program to your interests. The
next section speaks to specializations in Geological Engineering and provides suggested
courses. A full list of pre-approved technical elective courses is provided at the end of this
document in Appendix 1. Note that this pre-approval only applies to the courses qualifying
as an acceptable technical elective; course registration is at the discretion of the host
department offering the course and is subject to the course not being full or that you
meet any prerequisites.
Note 1: Technical electives MUST be 300 or 400 level courses. 100 and 200 level courses
are not eligible as technical electives.
Note 2: The course level of the technical electives DO NOT have to match your standing
or year relative to the program requirements listed in the UBC Calendar. For example, the
technical electives requirement listed under the 3rd year program do not need to be
restricted to 300 level courses, and those listed under the 4th year program do not need to
be restricted to 400 level courses. In both cases, you may take any approved 300/400 level
technical to meet either the 3rd or 4th year technical electives requirements.
Note 3: The list in Appendix 1 is not comprehensive and there may be new courses or other
courses you are interested in that are equally acceptable. Please seek the formal approval
of the Geological Engineering Director by email before you enroll in a technical elective
course if it is not listed here.
Note 4: 300 or 400 level EOSC courses that are listed as counting towards a constrained
elective, if not selected for the constrained elective, may be taken as a technical elective.
For example, you can take both EOSC 328 and EOSC 428, counting one towards the field
school requirement and the other as a technical elective. Similarly, you can take two or
more of EOSC 320, 321, 322, 331 and 332, and count one towards your geology elective
and the other(s) towards your technical electives.
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Specialization (Technical Elective Selection)

Geological Engineering has four areas of specialization you can choose from to focus your
technical electives, or you can mix and match a little from each: i) Geotechnical, ii)
Environmental, iii) Natural Hazards, and iv) Critical Minerals (Natural Resources). Note that
you are not required to specialize! You are free to choose your technical electives, with the
restriction that they must either be 300 or 400 level courses and relevant to Geological
Engineering in a very broad sense. Courses that explicitly state in their calendar description
that they are not eligible for credit in the Faculty of Applied Science, are not eligible.
The lists that follow are only suggestions for those who wish to expand upon the coverage
of these specializations already built into your required courses. A full listing of pre-
approved technical electives are included in Appendix 1.
Geotechnical Interest
Broadly speaking, this is the application of engineering and geological understanding to

the needs of civil, mining, and energy projects (site investigations, engineering design,
project planning, construction, environmental protection, etc.). Technical electives you will
want to consider include those that provide additional soil and rock mechanics (e.g., MINE
403), geological field mapping skills (e.g., EOSC 328 instead of EOSC 428), and specifics
regarding geotechnical practice in different industrial settings (e.g., dam construction via
CIVL 413, mine waste management via MINE 380, etc.). You will gain skills relevant to the
design of foundations, tunnels, hydroelectric dams, open pit and underground mines,
natural hazard mitigation works, environmental protection works, highway/railway/pipeline
routes, slope stabilization, forestry, and many other important projects. You will be able to
find employment in consulting companies, construction, mining and energy production
firms, as well as government. These jobs seek to balance the needs of society while
working to ensure public safety and minimizing impacts on the environment.
Relevant electives:
CIVL 413 Design of Earth Dams and Containment Structures
CIVL 417 Coastal Engineering
FRST 385 Watershed Hydrology
GEOS 308 Quaternary and Applied Geomorphology
GEOS 309 Geographical Sciences Field Course
GEOS 370 Advanced Geographic Information Science
GEOS 373 Introductory Remote Sensing
GEOS 406 Watershed Geomorphology
IGEN 450 Pipeline Engineering
MINE 380 Mine Waste Management
MINE 403 Rock Mechanics Design
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Environmental Interest
An essential component of engineering design is recognizing and mitigating/minimizing the

impacts that engineering projects can have on the natural environment. The technical
electives you will want to consider for this specialization are similar to those for the
Geotechnical interest; the two are closely related and are equally important for careers in
Geological Engineering. However, to specialize more you may want to consider additional
courses related hydrogeochemistry and groundwater remediation (e.g., EOSC 430, 431),
hydrogeological field investigations (e.g., EOSC 428 instead of EOSC 328), water resource
engineering (e.g., CIVL 415, 416), and the design of landfills, tailings dams and
environmental cleanup (e.g., CIVL 406, 408, MINE 380, 455). Your employment prospects
will also be similar to those of your Geotechnical focused colleagues, including consulting
and mining/energy companies who have specialized environmental groups.
Relevant electives:
CIVL 406 Water Treatment and Waste Management
CIVL 407 Environmental Laboratory Analysis
CIVL 408 Geo-Environmental Engineering
CIVL 415 Water Resource Engineering
CIVL 416 Environmental Hydraulics
CIVL 475 Environmental Stewardship in Civil Engineering
CONS 330 Conservation Science and Sustainability
CONS 440 Conservation Decision-Making and Policy
CONS 481 Conservation Planning in Practice
ENVR 410 Energy, Environment, and Society
ENVR 420 Ecohydrology of Watersheds and Water Systems
ENVR 430 Ecological Dimensions of Sustainability
EOSC 340 Global Climate Change
EOSC 428 Field Techniques in Groundwater Hydrology
EOSC 430 Aqueous Geochemistry
EOSC 431 Groundwater Remediation
GEOG 310 Environment and Sustainability
GEOG 312 Climate Change: Science and Society
GEOG 314 Analysing Environmental Problems
GEOG 318 Sustainability in a Changing Environment
GEOG 319 Environmental Impact Assessment
GEOG 410 Environment and Society
GEOG 412 Water Management: Theory, Policy, and Practice
GEOS 305 Introduction to Hydrology
GEOS 406 Watershed Geomorphology
ISCI 360 Systems Approaches to Regional Sustainability
ISCI 361 Field Course: Regional Sustainability
MINE 380 Mine Waste Management
MINE 455 Mine Water Management
MINE 486 Mining and the Environment
Geohazards Interest
Owing to global population pressures, more people live in areas vulnerable to natural
hazards, increasing their impact on communities, infrastructure and engineering projects.
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To assess, manage and mitigate this increasing exposure, Geological Engineers are called
upon to characterize, analyse and forecast to deliver avoidance, prevention and/or
protective measures. Key is the ability to quantify uncertainty in a changing climate and
communicating with the public about geohazard issues. The technical electives you will
want to consider are those that focus on the principles of different geohazard types (e.g.,
GEOG 316, GEOS 408), influencing factors (e.g., ATSC 313, EOSC 340), data analysis of
magnitude, frequency and risk (e.g., CPSC 340, EOSC 410), and spatio-temporal
visualization (e.g., DSCI 320, GEOS 370) and communication (e.g., APSC 402). Your
employment prospects will be similar to those for the Geotechnical specialization, involving
the same consulting companies but also smaller firms specialized in geohazards and
government agencies.
Relevant electives:
APSC 402 Living Language: Science and Society
ATSC 313 Renewable Energy Meteorology
CIVL 417 Coastal Engineering
CPSC 330 Applied Machine Learning
CPSC 340 Machine Learning and Data Mining
CPSC 440 Advanced Machine Learning
DSCI 320 Visualization for Data Science
EOSC 340 Global Climate Change
EOSC 410 Geoscientific Data Analysis and Empirical Modelling
GEOG 316 Geography of Natural Hazards
GEOS 308 Quaternary and Applied Geomorphology
GEOS 309 Geographical Sciences Field Course
GEOS 370 Advanced Geographic Information Science
GEOS 373 Introductory Remote Sensing
GEOS 408 The Changing Cryosphere
IGEN 450 Pipeline Engineering
Critical Minerals Interest
This area of interest trains Geological Engineers for work in the mineral exploration or
energy development industries. You will still obtain the same engineering skills to allow you
to work in functions described under Geotechnical and Environmental interests, but with
options to focus more on geology and mineral deposits (e.g., EOSC 331, 424), geological
mapping (e.g., EOSC 328 instead of EOSC 428), mining methods (e.g., MINE 485) and
indigenous rights (MINE 470). You will be able to find employment with companies
involved directly in resource exploration, development and production, or with companies
providing services such as mineral resource consulting.
Relevant electives:
EOSC 321 Igneous Petrology
EOSC 322 Metamorphic Petrology
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EOSC 331 Introduction to Mineral Deposits
EOSC 421 Advanced Sedimentology
EOSC 422 Structural Geology II
EOSC 424 Advanced Mineral Deposits
MINE 395 Mineral Deposit Modeling
MINE 406 Mine Project Valuation and Risk Assessment
MINE 420 Applied Geostatistics
MINE 470 Indigenous Peoples and Mining in Canada
MINE 485 Cave Mining Systems: Design and Planning
MINE 486 Mining and the Environment
Mix and Match Interest
If your interests are broad and you would like exposure in two, three or all four areas, you
can mix and match electives as you prefer.
Program Changes and Year Standing

We are always looking for ways to improve the Geological Engineering program, resulting
in periodic changes to the courses needed to fulfill the degree requirements. This can
sometimes be confusing in years where new requirements have been introduced. The rule
is that you must complete the 2nd, 3rd or 4th year of your program as it appears in that year’s
UBC Calendar when you received standing for the year you are in. For example, if you
received 3rd year standing for the start of the 2023/24 academic year, you must complete
the 3rd year program as it appears in the 2023/24 calendar. If you received 3rd year standing
in 2022/23 but are completing part of 3rd year in 2023/24 (for example due to co-op or
exchange), you must complete your 3rd year program as it appeared in the 2022/23
calendar.
Your Degree Navigator should be programmed for this and is a useful tool to help you track
which courses you need to complete. However, errors do sometimes occur in Degree
Navigator and the official record of what courses you need to complete is the UBC
Calendar. Click here to access UBC’s archive of past calendars. If you have any questions
regarding this, or would like permission to substitute an older program requirement with a
newer option, please contact the Director of Geological Engineering (see Advising).
Schedule Conflicts
Where possible, we have tried to avoid course conflicts, particularly with core courses.
However, as our program contains courses from many departments, it is impossible to
ensure that all elective courses will fit into your schedule. We therefore encourage you to
look at your 3rd and 4th year courses together, and plan your electives far in advance so
that you acquire the proper prerequisites for the electives you are most interested in. You
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may also find it easier to take a 4th year course in 3rd year so that you can fit a technical
elective into your timetable in 4th year.
Hint #1: Make a list of courses you wish to take, and then check the course schedules.
You will see right away where potential conflicts with lecture times and labs occur. Then,
check that all your prerequisites are okay.
Applied Science Co-Op

Co-op offers an excellent opportunity to gain some valuable practical experience.
Approximately 40% of Geological Engineering students take the Co-op option. In most
years, the job market for Geological Engineering is relatively strong. However, all
engineering disciplines can experience difficulties in finding work placements when the
B.C. or Canadian economy is down. Remember, Co-op is not a job placement service. It
has also been our experience that students receive better work experiences by going
through Co-op than seeking their own summer jobs. This is of course your choice.
However, many of the companies that hire preferentially from our program state that they
can give a student a richer work experience when it involves an 8-month Co-op placement
compared to a 4-month summer job.
Geological Engineering students interested in Co-op can find more information, including
application requirements and procedures, through the Applied Science Co-Op website.
The 3rd year of the Geological Engineering program is designed to be especially flexible to
facilitate Co-op experiences. For Co-op, students have the option of taking a combination
of 4- and 8-month placements to meet the minimum Co-op requirements, up to a 16-month
continuous work period (divided between two different company placements). Common
schedules include:
4-12-4 WINTER Term 1 WINTER Term 2 SUMMER

Schedule (Sept – Dec) (Jan – April) (May – Aug)
YEAR 2 study study work‐term 1
YEAR 3 study work‐term 2 work‐term 3
YEAR 4 work‐term 4 study work‐term 5
YEAR 5 study study graduation
8-4-8 WINTER Term 1 WINTER Term 2 SUMMER

YEAR 3 work‐term 2 study work‐term 3
YEAR 4 study work‐term 4 work‐term 5
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16-4 WINTER Term 1 WINTER Term 2 SUMMER

YEAR 3 work‐term 2 work‐term 3 work‐term 4
4-16 WINTER Term 1 (Sept WINTER Term 2 SUMMER

Schedule – Dec) (Jan – April) (May – Aug)
YEAR 4 work‐term 3 work‐term 4 work‐term 5
Coordinated International Experience and International Exchange

The 3rd year of the Geological Engineering Program is designed to be especially flexible to
facilitate an international exchange experience. Options include doing so through the
Applied Science Coordinated International Experience (CIE) or UBC’s GoGlobal. Note that
both work best when the courses you take at the host university target meeting your
unconstrained technical elective requirements.
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Appendix 1: List of Pre-Approved Technical Electives

Note: The courses listed here are “pre-approved” with respect to qualifying as being eligible
to be counted towards the technical elective requirements in Geological Engineering.
Approval to register for these classes is at the discretion of the host department who may
need to limit numbers due to classroom size. It is also your responsibility to check that you
have the necessary pre-requisites for the courses listed here. In some cases, instructors
may be willing to waive the pre-requisites, but you will need to check with them or through
their department to make this request. Also note that not all classes are taught every year.
Please consult the UBC Calendar to confirm which classes are being offered in the current
year.
APSC 367 Humanitarian Engineering: Politics and Practice W1

402 Living Language: Science and Society W1
461 Global Engineering Leadership S1
462 Global Engineering Leadership Practicum S2
ATSC 313 Renewable Energy Meteorology W2
CIVL 301 Modelling and Decision-Making in Civil Engineering W1
305 Introduction to Environmental Engineering Applications W2
315 Fluid Mechanics II (4 credits) W1
320 Civil Engineering Materials W1
340 Transportation Engineering I W2
406 Water Treatment and Waste Management W1
407 Environmental Laboratory Analysis W1
408 Geo-Environmental Engineering W2
413 Design of Earth Dams and Containment Structures W2
415 Water Resource Engineering W2
416 Environmental Hydraulics W1
417 Coastal Engineering W1
418 Engineering Hydrology W2
426 Virtual Design and Construction W1
475 Environmental Stewardship in Civil Engineering W1
CONS 330 Conservation Science and Sustainability W2
425 Sustainable Energy: Policy and Governance W2
440 Conservation Decision-Making and Policy W1
481 Conservation Planning in Practice W1
CPSC 330 Applied Machine Learning W1 or W2
340 Machine Learning and Data Mining W1 or W2
440 Advanced Machine Learning W2
DSCI 320 Visualization for Data Science W2
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ENVR 410 Energy, Environment, and Society W1 or W2

420 Ecohydrology of Watersheds and Water Systems W2
430 Ecological Dimensions of Sustainability W1
440 Analytical Methods in Sustainability Science W2
EOSC 320 Sedimentology W2
321 Igneous Petrology W1
322 Metamorphic Petrology W2
326 Earth and Life Through Time W1, W2, S1
331 Introduction to Mineral Deposits W1
332 Tectonic Evolution of North America W2
340 Global Climate Change W1 or W2
352 Geophysical Continuum Dynamics W2
353 Seismology W2
410 Geoscientific Data Analysis and Empirical Modelling W1
420 Volcanology W1
421 Advanced Sedimentology W1
422 Structural Geology II W2
424 Advanced Mineral Deposits W2
430 Aqueous Geochemistry W1
431 Groundwater Remediation W2
442 Climate Measurement and Analysis (1 credit course) W1 or W2
454 Applied Geophysics W2
FRST 385 Watershed Hydrology W1
443 Remote Sensing for Ecosystem Management W2
GEOG 302 Climate Justice W2
310 Environment and Sustainability W1, W2, S1
312 Climate Change: Science and Society W1
313 Environmental Justice and Social Change W2
314 Analysing Environmental Problems W2
316 Geography of Natural Hazards W1
318 Sustainability in a Changing Environment W2 or S1
319 Environmental Impact Assessment W1
410 Environment and Society W1 W2 S2
412 Water Management: Theory, Policy, and Practice W1 or W2
423 Development of Environmental Thought W2
497 The Arctic W1
GEOS 305 Introduction to Hydrology W2
17
308 Quaternary and Applied Geomorphology W1

309 Geographical Sciences Field Course S1
370 Advanced Geographic Information Science W1 or W2
373 Introductory Remote Sensing W2
405 Fluvial Geomorphology W2
406 Watershed Geomorphology W1 or W2
408 The Changing Cryosphere W1
IGEN 450 Pipeline Engineering W1
451 Pipeline Systems and Infrastructure W2
ISCI 360 Systems Approaches to Regional Sustainability W1
361 Field Course: Regional Sustainability W2 or S1
MINE 302 Underground Mining and Design (4 credits) W2
304 Rock Fragmentation W2
310 Surface Mining and Design (4 credits) W1
380 Mine Waste Management W2
395 Mineral Deposit Modeling W1
403 Rock Mechanics Design W2
406 Mine Project Valuation and Risk Assessment W2
420 Applied Geostatistics W2
455 Mine Water Management W2
470 Indigenous Peoples and Mining in Canada W1
485 Cave Mining Systems: Design and Planning W2
486 Mining and the Environment W2
18

GeoEng Student Guide 2023-24

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UBC Geological Engineering

“Escape the Office”

May 15, 2023

UBC Geological Engineering - Escape the Office - www.geoeng.ubc.ca

Geological Engineering entry in the UBC Calendar

New Program Changes!!

Administrative Structure of the Program

Course Registration: Standard Time Tables (STT)

Course Registration: Individual Courses/Non-STT

2nd Year Credits

EOSC 210 Earth Science for Engineers 3

EOSC 2231 Field Techniques 3

3rd Year Credits

EOSC 330 Principles of Geomorphology 3

Field School Requirement2 (choose one of):

EOSC 320 Sedimentology

4th Year Credits

EOSC 433 Geological Engineering Practice I - Rock Engineering 3

EOSC 434 Geological Engineering Practice II - Soil Engineering 3

CIVL 403 Engineering Economic Analysis

Engineering Design Project

Specialization (Technical Elective Selection)

Broadly speaking, this is the application of engineering and geological understanding to

An essential component of engineering design is recognizing and mitigating/minimizing the

Critical Minerals Interest

EOSC 328 Field Geology

Mix and Match Interest

Program Changes and Year Standing

Applied Science Co-Op

4-12-4 WINTER Term 1 WINTER Term 2 SUMMER

8-4-8 WINTER Term 1 WINTER Term 2 SUMMER

16-4 WINTER Term 1 WINTER Term 2 SUMMER

4-16 WINTER Term 1 (Sept WINTER Term 2 SUMMER

Coordinated International Experience and International Exchange

Appendix 1: List of Pre-Approved Technical Electives

APSC 367 Humanitarian Engineering: Politics and Practice W1

ENVR 410 Energy, Environment, and Society W1 or W2

308 Quaternary and Applied Geomorphology W1

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