Civil Engineering (B.Eng.) (139 credits)
Offered by: Civil Engineering (Faculty of Engineering)
Degree: Bachelor of Engineering
Program credit weight: 139 credits
Program Description
Program credit weight for Quebec CEGEP students: 110 credits
The Civil Engineering program is comprehensive in providing the fundamentals in mechanics and engineering associated with the diverse fields of the profession, in offering choices of specialization, and in fully reflecting the advances in science, mathematics, engineering, and computing that have transformed all fields of engineering in recent years. The resulting knowledge and training enables graduates to not only enter the profession thoroughly well prepared, but also to adapt to further change.
The required courses ensure a sound scientific and analytical basis for professional studies through courses in solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, soil mechanics, environmental engineering, water resources management, structural analysis, systems analysis, and mathematics. Fundamental concepts are applied to various fields of practice in both required and complementary courses.
By a suitable choice of complementary courses, students can attain advanced levels of technical knowledge in the specialized areas mentioned above. Alternatively, students may choose to develop their interests in a more general way by combining complementary courses within the Department with several from other departments or faculties.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Year 0 (Freshman) Courses (29 credits)
Generally, students admitted to Engineering from Quebec CEGEPs are granted transfer credit for these Year 0 (Freshman) courses and enter a 110-credit program.
For information on transfer credit for French Baccalaureate, International Baccalaureate exams, Advanced Placement exams, Advanced Levels, and Science Placement Exams, see http://www.mcgill.ca/engineering/current-students/undergraduate/new-stud... and select your term of admission.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 110 | General Chemistry 1. | 4 |
General Chemistry 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of the fundamental principles of atomic structure, radiation and nuclear chemistry, valence theory, coordination chemistry, and the periodic table. | ||
| CHEM 120 | General Chemistry 2. | 4 |
General Chemistry 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of the fundamental principles of physical chemistry. | ||
| MATH 133 | Linear Algebra and Geometry. | 3 |
Linear Algebra and Geometry. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Systems of linear equations, matrices, inverses, determinants; geometric vectors in three dimensions, dot product, cross product, lines and planes; introduction to vector spaces, linear dependence and independence, bases. Linear transformations. Eigenvalues and diagonalization. | ||
| MATH 140 | Calculus 1. | 3 |
Calculus 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Review of functions and graphs. Limits, continuity, derivative. Differentiation of elementary functions. Antidifferentiation. Applications. | ||
| MATH 141 | Calculus 2. | 4 |
Calculus 2. Terms offered: Summer 2025 The definite integral. Techniques of integration. Applications. Introduction to sequences and series. | ||
| PHYS 131 | Mechanics and Waves. | 4 |
Mechanics and Waves. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The basic laws and principles of Newtonian mechanics; oscillations, waves, and wave optics. | ||
| PHYS 142 | Electromagnetism and Optics. | 4 |
Electromagnetism and Optics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The basic laws of electricity and magnetism; geometrical optics. | ||
AND 3 credits selected from the approved list of courses in Humanities and Social Sciences, Management Studies, and Law, listed below under Complementary Studies (Group B).
Note: FACC 100 Introduction to the Engineering Profession. (Introduction to the Engineering Profession) must be taken during the first year of study.
Required Non-Departmental Courses (28 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COMP 208 | Computer Programming for Physical Sciences and Engineering . | 3 |
Computer Programming for Physical Sciences and Engineering . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Programming and problem solving in a high level computer language: variables, expressions, types, functions, conditionals, loops, objects and classes. Introduction to algorithms such as searching and sorting. Modular software design, libraries, file input and output, debugging. Emphasis on applications in Physical Sciences and Engineering, such as root finding, numerical integration, diffusion, Monte Carlo methods. | ||
| EPSC 221 | General Geology. | 3 |
General Geology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introductory course in physical geology designed for majors in civil and mining engineering. Properties of rocks and minerals, major geological processes, together with natural hazards and their effects on engineered structures are emphasized. The laboratory is an integral part of the course which includes rock and mineral identification, basic techniques of airphoto and geological map interpretation, and structural geology. | ||
| FACC 100 | Introduction to the Engineering Profession. 1 | 1 |
Introduction to the Engineering Profession. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to engineering practice; rights and code of conduct for students; professional conduct and ethics; engineer's duty to society and the environment; sustainable development; occupational health and safety; overview of the engineering disciplines taught at McGill. | ||
| FACC 250 | Responsibilities of the Professional Engineer. | 0 |
Responsibilities of the Professional Engineer. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A course designed to provide all Engineering students with further training regarding their responsibilities as future Professional Engineers. Particular focus will be placed on three professional characteristics that future engineers must demonstrate: i) professionalism, ii) ethical and equitable behaviour, and iii) consideration of the impact of engineering on society and the environment. | ||
| FACC 300 | Engineering Economy. | 3 |
Engineering Economy. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Introduction to the basic concepts required for the economic assessment of engineering projects. Topics include: accounting methods, marginal analysis, cash flow and time value of money, taxation and depreciation, discounted cash flow analysis techniques, cost of capital, inflation, sensitivity and risk analysis, analysis of R and D, ongoing as well as new investment opportunities. | ||
| FACC 400 | Engineering Professional Practice. | 1 |
Engineering Professional Practice. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Laws, regulations and codes governing engineering professional practice. Responsibility and liability. Environmental legislation. Project and organization management. Relations between engineer and client. Technical practice - analysis, design, execution and operation. | ||
| MATH 262 | Intermediate Calculus. | 3 |
Intermediate Calculus. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Series and power series, including Taylor's theorem. Brief review of vector geometry. Vector functions and curves. Partial differentiation and differential calculus for vector valued functions. Unconstrained and constrained extremal problems. Multiple integrals including surface area and change of variables. | ||
| MATH 263 | Ordinary Differential Equations for Engineers. | 3 |
Ordinary Differential Equations for Engineers. Terms offered: Summer 2025 First order ODEs. Second and higher order linear ODEs. Series solutions at ordinary and regular singular points. Laplace transforms. Linear systems of differential equations with a short review of linear algebra. | ||
| MATH 264 | Advanced Calculus for Engineers. | 3 |
Advanced Calculus for Engineers. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Review of multiple integrals. Differential and integral calculus of vector fields including the theorems of Gauss, Green, and Stokes. Introduction to partial differential equations, separation of variables, Sturm-Liouville problems, and Fourier series. | ||
| MECH 261 | Measurement Laboratory. | 2 |
Measurement Laboratory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Basic experimental laboratory measurements, such as measurement of strain, pressure, force, position, and temperature. | ||
| MECH 289 | Design Graphics. | 3 |
Design Graphics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The design process, including free-hand sketching; from geometry construction to engineering construction; the technology and standards of engineering graphic communication; designing with CAD software. The role of visualization in the production of engineering designs. | ||
| WCOM 206 | Communication in Engineering. | 3 |
Communication in Engineering. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Written and oral communication in Engineering (in English): strategies for generating, developing, organizing, and presenting ideas in a technical setting; problem-solving; communicating to different audiences; editing and revising; and public speaking. Course work based on academic, technical, and professional writing in engineering. | ||
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Note: FACC 100 Introduction to the Engineering Profession. must be taken during the first year of study.
Required Civil Engineering Courses (61 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CIVE 202 | Construction Materials. | 4 |
Construction Materials. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Classification of materials; atomic bonds; phase diagrams; elementary crystallography;imperfections; engineering properties, uses and durability of metals, concrete, wood, polymers, composites and asphalt; sustainable development; group laboratory projects. | ||
| CIVE 205 | Statics. | 3 |
Statics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Systems of forces and couples, resultants, equilibrium. Trusses, frames and beams, reactions, shear forces, bending moments. Centroids, centres of gravity, distributed forces, moments of inertia. Friction, limiting equilibrium, screws, belts. | ||
| CIVE 206 | Dynamics. | 3 |
Dynamics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Kinematics and kinetics of particles, systems, and rigid bodies; mass-acceleration, work-energy, impulse-momentum. Moving coordinate systems. Lagrange's equations. Vibrations and waves. | ||
| CIVE 207 | Solid Mechanics. | 4 |
Solid Mechanics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Stress-strain relationships; elastic and inelastic behaviour; performance criteria. Elementary and compound stress states, Mohr's circle. Shear strains, torsion. Bending and shear stresses in flexural members. Deflections of beams. Statically indeterminate systems under flexural and axial loads. Columns. Dynamic loading. | ||
| CIVE 208 | Civil Engineering System Analysis. | 3 |
Civil Engineering System Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to civil engineering systems; system modelling process; systems approach and optimization techniques; application of linear programming; simplex method; duality theory; sensitivity analysis; transportation problem; assignment problem; network analysis including critical path method; integer linear programming method. | ||
| CIVE 210 | Surveying. | 2 |
Surveying. Terms offered: Summer 2025 The construction and use of modern survey instruments; transit, level, etc.; linear and angular measurements and errors; horizontal and vertical curves; error analysis, significance of figures; use of computers and software; recent developments. | ||
| CIVE 225 | Environmental Engineering. | 4 |
Environmental Engineering. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to environmental chemistry; mass balance analyses in engineered and natural systems; water, soil and air pollution characterization and control; water quality parameters; drinking water and wastewater treatment technologies; global climate change: possible causes and effects; risk assessment for pollutant exposure; solid- and hazardous-waste management. | ||
| CIVE 290 | Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer. | 3 |
Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Macroscopic vs. microscopic viewpoint; states and processes; energy conservation and transformation; phase equilibrium; equations of state; thermodynamic properties; work and heat interactions; First Law of thermodynamics and applications; internal energy; enthalpy; specific heat; Second Law of thermodynamics; entropy; humidity and air-conditioning processes; introduction to heat transfer and renewable energy. | ||
| CIVE 302 | Probabilistic Systems. | 3 |
Probabilistic Systems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to probability and statistics with applications to Civil Engineering design. Descriptive statistics, common probability models, statistical estimation, regression and correlation, acceptance sampling. | ||
| CIVE 311 | Geotechnical Mechanics. | 4 |
Geotechnical Mechanics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The origin and formation of soils. Soil classification systems and phase composition in soils. Stress states in geotechnical materials. Total stresses, pore fluid pressures and effective stresses. Terzaghi’s concept of effective stresses. Time-dependent influences of pore pressure development during loading. Water flow in porous media. Darcy’s law. Laboratory and field measurement of hydraulic conductivity. Hydraulic conductivity of soil composites. Deformation of geomaterials. Elastic deformations and consolidation behaviour. Failure of soils. The Mohr-Coulomb criterion. Stress paths. Dilatancy, Taylor’s interpretation of stress dilatancy and applications. | ||
| CIVE 317 | Structural Engineering 1. | 3 |
Structural Engineering 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The design process; loads, sources, classifications, load factors, combinations; limit states design; structural systems and foundations; choice of materials; virtual work and energy methods; statical and kinematic indeterminacy; slope deflection method, introduction to matrix methods; analysis of indeterminate systems; force envelopes. | ||
| CIVE 318 | Structural Engineering 2. | 3 |
Structural Engineering 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Durability and service life; fire resistance and protection; steel, reinforced concrete and timber; behaviour and design of components in tension, compression, bending and shear; slenderness, global and local instability; axial load and moment interaction; curvature, deflection, ductility; connections; bond and anchorage of reinforcement; simple footings. | ||
| CIVE 319 | Transportation Engineering. | 3 |
Transportation Engineering. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to design and operating principles and procedures for surface transportation systems, including vehicle motion and performance, pavements, geometric design of roadbeds, vehicle flow and capacity, traffic control, demand, supply and cost concepts. | ||
| CIVE 320 | Numerical Methods. | 4 |
Numerical Methods. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Numerical procedures applicable to civil engineering problems: integration, differentiation, solution of initial-value problems, solving linear and non-linear systems of equations, boundary-value problems for ordinary-differential equations, and for partial-differential equations. | ||
| CIVE 323 | Hydrology and Water Resources. | 3 |
Hydrology and Water Resources. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Precipitation, evaporation and transpiration. Streamflow, storage reservoirs, flood routing. Groundwater hydrology. Ecohydrology. Statistical analysis in hydrology, stochastic modelling. Simulations using hydrologic models. Case studies in flood damage mitigation, surface and ground water management, and water-energy-food nexus. | ||
| CIVE 324 | Sustainable Project Management. | 3 |
Sustainable Project Management. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Lifecycle approach to project and construction management. Sustainable practices are introduced at all project stages: Team formation, materials and equipment use, cost estimation and economic valuation, financing, scheduling, quality control and safety, monitoring and performance assessment, decision-making. | ||
| CIVE 327 | Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics. | 4 |
Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Fluid properties; hydrostatics; dimensional analysis and similitude, fluxes of mass, momentum and energy; Bemoulli's equation; method of control volume; streamline curvature; potential flow and boundary layers; pipe flow, hydraulic machinery and introduction to open-channel flow. | ||
| CIVE 418 | Design Project. | 4 |
Design Project. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A team-based capstone design project carried out under the supervision of an experienced engineer. Involves a design project in one or more of the subdisciplines; environmental engineering, water resources engineering, transportation engineering, geotechnical engineering or structural engineering. Includes the definition of the problem, contains an iterative solution-finding process, and results in a final design. Addresses professionalism, as well as, economic, environmental, societal, safety and regulatory aspects of design. Contains the writing of a technical report and oral presentations. Emphasis is placed on the completion of a project of professional quality replicating the design process commonly implemented by practicing engineers. | ||
| CIVE 432 | Technical Paper. | 1 |
Technical Paper. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A technical paper, on a suitable topic, is to be prepared in accordance with detailed instructions which are provided by the Department. This paper will normally be written in the U3 year and may be submitted in September or January. | ||
Complementary Courses (21 credits)
List A - Design Technical Complementaries
6-15 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CIVE 416 | Geotechnical Engineering. | 3 |
Geotechnical Engineering. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Earth pressure theory, retaining walls, sheet pile walls, braced excavations. Slope stability analysis. 2D flow through isotropic and anisotropic soils. Bearing capacity and settlement of shallow foundations, stress distribution. Deep foundations, single pile, pile groups. Geotechnical investigation and reports. | ||
| CIVE 421 | Municipal Systems. | 3 |
Municipal Systems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Design of water-related municipal services; sources of water and intake design; estimation of water demand and wastewater production rates; design, construction and maintenance of water distribution, wastewater and stormwater collection systems; pumps and pumping stations; pipe materials, network analysis and optimization; storage; treatment objectives for water and wastewater. | ||
| CIVE 428 | Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering. | 3 |
Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Application of continuity, energy and momentum equations to open channel flow; design of channels considering uniform flow and flow resistance, non-uniform flow and longitudinal profiles; design of channel controls and transitions; unsteady flow and flood routing; river ice engineering; sediment transport and river morphology; sustainability in river engineering; industry standard numerical models. | ||
| CIVE 430 | Water Treatment and Pollution Control. | 3 |
Water Treatment and Pollution Control. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Principles of water and sewage treatment. Water and sewage characteristics; design of conventional unit operations and processes; laboratory analyses of potable and waste waters. | ||
| CIVE 440 | Traffic Engineering and Simulation. | 3 |
Traffic Engineering and Simulation. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Driver, vehicle and traffic flow characteristics; origin-destination studies, traffic studies and analysis, queuing theory applications, microsimulation, highway design and capacity analysis, non-motorized facility design, HOV lane design, public transportation priority design, parking analysis, traffic signal design and control, traffic microsimulation with HCS, VISSIM and SYNCHRO. | ||
| CIVE 462 | Design of Steel Structures. | 3 |
Design of Steel Structures. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Design of structural steel members: plate girders, members under combined loadings, eccentrically loaded connections, composite floor systems. Design of single-storey concentrically braced frame buildings subjected to gravity, wind and seismic loading. Introduction to design software. | ||
| CIVE 463 | Design of Concrete Structures. | 3 |
Design of Concrete Structures. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Design of reinforced concrete members: beams, one-way slabs, columns, disturbed regions, two-way slabs, shear walls, footings, retaining walls. Aspects of seismic design of columns and shear walls. Introduction to design software and the design of prestressed concrete members. | ||
List B - General Technical Complementaries
0-9 credits from the following, or from other suitable undergraduate or 500-level courses:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CHEE 521 | Nanomaterials and the Aquatic Environment. 1 | 3 |
Nanomaterials and the Aquatic Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Environmental impacts and applications of nanomaterials. Topics: physicochemical characterization of nanoparticles in aquatic media, colloid chemistry for understanding nanoparticle aggregation and mobility in the environment, mechanisms of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by nanomaterials, nanomaterials for environmental remediation and water treatment, methodologies for assessing nanoparticle toxicity, novel research developments. | ||
| CIVE 446 | Construction Engineering. | 3 |
Construction Engineering. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Project management principles; construction equipment economics, selection, operation; characteristics of building, heavy, marine, underground and route construction projects; international projects. | ||
| CIVE 460 | Matrix Structural Analysis. | 3 |
Matrix Structural Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Computer structural analysis, direct stiffness applied to two and three dimensional frames and trusses, matrix force method, nonlinear problems, buckling of trusses and frames, introduction to finite element analysis. | ||
| CIVE 470 | Undergraduate Research Project. | 3 |
Undergraduate Research Project. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Independent research project under the supervision of an academic staff member. Selection of a research problem, formulation of hypotheses and objectives, research design, literature review, analysis, discussion, report. | ||
| CIVE 507 | Wind Engineering. | 3 |
Wind Engineering. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Davenport wind loading chain, wind climate, atmospheric boundary layer and turbulence, wind risk and statistics, bluff body aerodynamics, wind loads and structural responses, aeroelastic effects, building code approaches to estimate design wind loads, wind energy and sustainability, and introduction to wind tunnel tests and computational fluid dynamics. | ||
| CIVE 512 | Advanced Civil Engineering Materials. | 3 |
Advanced Civil Engineering Materials. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Production, structure and properties of engineering materials; ferrous alloys, treatments, welding, special steels, cast iron; ceramic materials; polymers; composite materials; concrete, admixtures, structure, creep, shrinkage; asphalt and asphaltic materials; clay materials and bricks; impact of environment on material response, durability, quality assessment and control, industrial specifications; recent advances. | ||
| CIVE 520 | Groundwater Hydrology. | 3 |
Groundwater Hydrology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Fundamentals of subsurface hydrological processes. Field data and simulation under parameter uncertainty. Numerical modelling. Quantifying groundwater resources and groundwater flow to wells. Groundwater sustainability from a multidisciplinary perspective including engineering and policy. | ||
| CIVE 521 | Nanomaterials and the Aquatic Environment. 1 | 3 |
Nanomaterials and the Aquatic Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Environmental impacts and applications of nanomaterials. Topics: physicochemical characterization of nanoparticles in aquatic media, colloid chemistry for understanding nanoparticle aggregation and mobility in the environment, mechanisms of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by nanomaterials, nanomaterials for environmental remediation and water treatment, methodologies for assessing nanoparticle toxicity, novel research developments. | ||
| CIVE 527 | Renovation and Preservation: Infrastructure. | 3 |
Renovation and Preservation: Infrastructure. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Maintenance, rehabilitation, renovation and preservation of infrastructure; infrastructure degradation mechanisms; mechanical, chemical and biological degradation; corrosion of steel; condition surveys and evaluation of buildings and bridges; repair and preservation of materials, techniques and strategies; codes and guidelines; case studies, sustainable development; group project. | ||
| CIVE 528 | Design of Wood Structures. | 3 |
Design of Wood Structures. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Review of wood material properties and grades. Design of sawn lumber and timber tension, bending, compression and beam-column members. Design of engineered wood products, glued-laminated and cross-laminated timber members. Design of connections. Moisture and humidity effects, deterioration and protection, fire performance, prescriptive design versus engineering design. | ||
| CIVE 540 | Urban Transportation Planning. | 3 |
Urban Transportation Planning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Process and techniques of urban transportation engineering and planning, including demand analysis framework, data collection procedures, travel demand modelling and forecasting, and cost-effectiveness framework for evaluation of project and system alternatives. | ||
| CIVE 542 | Transportation Network Analysis. | 3 |
Transportation Network Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to transportation network algorithms; analytical frameworks used in traditional transportation network software, including routing algorithms, deterministic equilibrium approach, static traffic assignment, dynamic traffic assignment, vehicle routing algorithms, network reliability and design and several stochastic variants. | ||
| CIVE 546 | Selected Topics in Civil Engineering 1. | 3 |
Selected Topics in Civil Engineering 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Special topics related to Civil Engineering will be presented by staff and visiting lecturers. | ||
| CIVE 550 | Water Resources Management. | 3 |
Water Resources Management. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. State-of-the-art water resources management techniques; case studies of their application to Canadian situations; identification of major issues and problem areas; interprovincial and international river basins; implications of development alternatives; institutional arrangements for planning and development of water resources; and, legal and economic aspects. | ||
| CIVE 555 | Environmental Data Analysis. | 3 |
Environmental Data Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Application of statistical principles to design of measurement systems and sampling programs. Introduction to experimental design. Graphical data analysis. Description of uncertainty. Hypothesis tests. Model parameter estimation methods: linear and nonlinear regression methods. Trend analysis. Statistical analysis of censored data. Statistics of extremes. | ||
| CIVE 557 | Microbiology for Environmental Engineering. | 3 |
Microbiology for Environmental Engineering. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Microbiological concepts applied to the practice of environmental engineering and biotechnologies including the following topics: cellular and pathway organizations, evolution, growth, gene expression, horizontal gene transfer, metabolic microbial diversity, ecosystem structures, and quantitative mathematical modelling. | ||
| CIVE 560 | Transportation Safety and Design. | 3 |
Transportation Safety and Design. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Fundamental concepts on transportation safety, traffic data collection techniques, crash database management, statistical methods for safety analysis, network screening methods, evaluation and design of treatments, railway safety analysis, surrogate safety methods, intersection safety and engineering countermeasures, non-motorized safety and facilities designs and accident severity analysis. | ||
| CIVE 561 | Greenhouse Gas Emissions. | 3 |
Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Greenhouse gas inventories at various scales from national to institutional. Emission estimation methods including field measurements and engineering calculations for anthropogenic sources including fossil fuel combustion from transportation and energy production, cement production, hydroelectric reservoirs, oil and gas systems, landfills, wastewater treatment and sewer systems, and agriculture. Technical and policy options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Group project. | ||
| CIVE 570 | Solar Driven Environmental Processes and Technologies | 3 |
Solar Driven Environmental Processes and Technologies Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An overview of natural and engineered processes that are driven by solar energy. Fundamental physics of light and environmental photochemistry. Terrestrial energy balance. Solar driven environmental transformation and decay processes, including chemical and biological case studies. Solar energy harnessing materials and their applications in sustainable green energy generation and environmental remediation including solar cells, photocatalysts, solar heating and cooling, and solar water treatment. | ||
| CIVE 572 | Computational Hydraulics. | 3 |
Computational Hydraulics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Computation of unsteady flows in open channels; abrupt waves, flood waves, tidal propagations; method of characteristics; mathematical modelling of river and coastal currents. | ||
| CIVE 573 | Hydraulic Structures. | 3 |
Hydraulic Structures. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Hydraulic aspects of the theory and design of hydraulic structures. Storage dams, spillways, outlet works, diversion works, drop structures, stone structures, conveyance and control structures, flow measurement and culverts. | ||
| CIVE 574 | Fluid Mechanics of Water Pollution. | 3 |
Fluid Mechanics of Water Pollution. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Mixing, dilution and dispersion of pollutants discharged into lakes, rivers, estuaries and oceans; salinity intrusion in estuaries and its effects on dispersion; biochemical oxygen demand and dissolved oxygen as water quality indicators; thermal pollution; oil pollution. | ||
| CIVE 577 | River Engineering. | 3 |
River Engineering. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Fluvial geomorphology; sediment properties; river turbulence; mechanics of the entrainment, transportation and deposition of solids by fluids; threshold of movement; bed forms; suspended load, bed load and total load equations; stable channel design and regime rivers; river modelling; river engineering; and river management. | ||
| CIVE 584 | Mechanics of Groundwater Flow. | 3 |
Mechanics of Groundwater Flow. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Origins and types of groundwater; Darcy's law; hydraulic anisotropy; conservation laws; fundamental equations of porous media flow; Laplace's and Poisson's equations: analytical solution of potential flow problems; determination of hydraulic conductivity; flow in unconfined and confined acquifers; seepage modelling; unsaturated flow; transient flows in porous media; introduction to computational methods. | ||
| URBP 551 | Urban Design and Planning. | 3 |
Urban Design and Planning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Fundamentals of city-building in Canada relative to municipal, regional, and provincial actions used to guide urban growth and development. Contemporary urban design in major metropolitan centres as shaped by legal, political, and cultural realities. Current preoccupations in city-building: reurbanisation and adaptive reuse of infrastructure, collaborative multi-stakeholder projects, strategic initiatives, changing relationships between professional experts and grassroots actors. Introduction to specific aspects of practice: public participation and community engagement; land development and real estate; project feasibility and implementation; policy monitoring and evaluation; emergent city-building regimes. | ||
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Students may choose only one of CHEE 521 Nanomaterials and the Aquatic Environment. or CIVE 521 Nanomaterials and the Aquatic Environment..
Complementary Studies (6 credits)
Group A - Impact of Technology on Society
3 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 212 | Anthropology of Development. | 3 |
Anthropology of Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Processes of developmental change, as they affect small communities in the Third World and in unindustrialized parts of developed countries. Problems of technological change, political integration, population growth, industrialization, urban growth, social services, infrastructure and economic dependency. | ||
| BTEC 502 | Biotechnology Ethics and Society. | 3 |
Biotechnology Ethics and Society. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Examination of particular social and ethical challenges posed by modern biotechnology such as benefit sharing, informed consent in the research setting, access to medical care worldwide, environmental safety and biodiversity and the ethical challenges posed by patenting life. | ||
| ECON 225 | Economics of the Environment. | 3 |
Economics of the Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of the application of economic theory to questions of environmental policy. Particular attention will be given to the measurement and regulation of pollution, congestion and waste and other environmental aspects of specific economies. | ||
| ECON 347 | Economics of Climate Change. | 3 |
Economics of Climate Change. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course focuses on the economic implications of, and problems posed by, predictions of global warming due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. Attention is given to economic policies such as carbon taxes and tradeable emission permits and to the problems of displacing fossil fuels with new energy technologies. | ||
| ENVR 201 | Society, Environment and Sustainability. | 3 |
Society, Environment and Sustainability. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used. | ||
| GEOG 200 | Geographical Perspectives: World Environmental Problems. | 3 |
Geographical Perspectives: World Environmental Problems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to geography as the study of nature and human beings in a spatial context. An integrated approach to environmental systems and the human organization of them from the viewpoint of spatial relationships and processes. Special attention to environmental problems as a constraint upon Third World development. | ||
| GEOG 203 | Environmental Systems. | 3 |
Environmental Systems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to system-level interactions among climate, hydrology, soils and vegetation at the scale of drainage basins, including the study of the global geographical variability in these land-surface systems. The knowledge acquired is used to study the impact on the environment of various human activities such as deforestation and urbanisation. | ||
| GEOG 205 | Global Change: Past, Present and Future. | 3 |
Global Change: Past, Present and Future. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of global change, from the Quaternary Period to the present day involving changes in the physical geography of specific areas. Issues such as climatic change and land degradation will be discussed, with speculations on future environments. | ||
| GEOG 302 | Environmental Management 1. | 3 |
Environmental Management 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes. | ||
| MGPO 440 | Strategies for Sustainability. 1 | 3 |
Strategies for Sustainability. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course explores the relationship between economic activity, management, and the natural environment. Using readings, discussions and cases, the course will explore the challenges that the goal of sustainable development poses for our existing notions of economic goals, production and consumption practices and the management of organizations. | ||
| PHIL 343 | Biomedical Ethics. | 3 |
Biomedical Ethics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An investigation of ethical issues as they arise in the practice of medicine (informed consent, e.g.) or in the application of medical technology (in vitro fertilization, euthanasia, e.g.) | ||
| RELG 270 | Religious Ethics and the Environment. | 3 |
Religious Ethics and the Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Environmental potential of various religious traditions and secular perspectives, including animal rights, ecofeminism, and deep ecology. | ||
| SOCI 235 | Technology and Society. | 3 |
Technology and Society. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of the extent to which technological developments impose constraints on ways of arranging social relationships in bureaucratic organizations and in the wider society: the compatibility of current social structures with the effective utilization of technology. | ||
| SOCI 312 | Sociology of Work and Industry. | 3 |
Sociology of Work and Industry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The development of the world of work from the rise of industrial capitalism to the postindustrial age. Responses of workers and managers to changing organizational, technological and economic realities. Interrelations between changing demands in the workplace and the functioning of the labour market. Canadian materials in comparative perspective. | ||
| URBP 201 | Planning the 21st Century City. | 3 |
Planning the 21st Century City. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The study of how urban planners respond to the challenges posed by contemporary cities world-wide. Urban problems related to the environment, shelter, transport, human health, livelihoods and governance are addressed; innovative plans to improve cities and city life are analyzed. | ||
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Note: Management courses have limited enrolment and registration dates. See Important Dates at http://www.mcgill.ca/importantdates.
Group B - Humanities and Social Sciences, Management Studies, and Law
3 credits at the 200 level or higher from the following departments:
Anthropology (ANTH)
Economics (any 200- or 300-level course excluding ECON 227 Economic Statistics. and ECON 337 Introductory Econometrics 1.)
History (HIST)
Philosophy (excluding PHIL 210 Introduction to Deductive Logic 1. and PHIL 310 Intermediate Logic.)
Political Science (POLI)
Psychology (excluding PSYC 204 Introduction to Psychological Statistics. and PSYC 305 Statistics for Experimental Design., but including PSYC 100 Introduction to Psychology.)
Religious Studies (RELG) (excluding courses that principally impart language skills, such as Sanskrit, Tibetan, Tamil, New Testament Greek, and Biblical Hebrew)1
School of Social Work (SWRK)
Sociology (excluding SOCI 350 Statistics in Social Research.)
OR one of the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ARCH 528 | History of Housing. | 3 |
History of Housing. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Indigenous housing both transient and permanent, from the standpoint of individual structure and pattern of settlements. The principal historic examples of houses including housing in the age of industrial revolution and contemporary housing. | ||
| BUSA 465 | Technological Entrepreneurship. 2 | 3 |
Technological Entrepreneurship. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Concentrating on entrepreneurship and enterprise development, particular attention is given to the start-up, purchasing and management of small to medium-sized industrial firms. The focal point is in understanding the dilemmas faced by entrepreneurs, resolving them, developing a business plan and the maximum utilization of the financial, marketing and human resources that make for a successful operation. | ||
| CLAS 203 | Greek Mythology. | 3 |
Greek Mythology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of the myths and legends of Ancient Greece. | ||
| ENVR 203 | Knowledge, Ethics and Environment. | 3 |
Knowledge, Ethics and Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies. | ||
| ENVR 400 | Environmental Thought. | 3 |
Environmental Thought. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars. | ||
| FACC 220 | Law for Architects and Engineers. | 3 |
Law for Architects and Engineers. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Aspects of the law which affect architects and engineers. Definition and branches of law; Federal and Provincial jurisdiction, civil and criminal law and civil and common law; relevance of statutes; partnerships and companies; agreements; types of property, rights of ownership; successions and wills; expropriation; responsibility for negligence; servitudes/easements, privileges/liens, hypothecs/ mortgages; statutes of limitations; strict liability of architect, engineer and builder; patents, trade marks, industrial design and copyright; bankruptcy; labour law; general and expert evidence; court procedure and arbitration. | ||
| FACC 500 | Technology Business Plan Design. | 3 |
Technology Business Plan Design. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course combines several management functional areas such as marketing, financial, operations and strategy with the skills of creativity, engineering innovation, leadership and communications. Students learn how to design an effective and winning business plan around a technology or engineering project in small, medium or large enterprises. | ||
| FACC 501 | Technology Business Plan Project. | 3 |
Technology Business Plan Project. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Students work in teams to develop a comprehensive business plan project based on a technological or engineering innovation while utilizing site visits. | ||
| HISP 225 | Hispanic Civilization 1. | 3 |
Hispanic Civilization 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of historical and cultural elements which constitute the background of the Hispanic world up to the 18th century; a survey of the pre-Columbian indigenous civilizations (Aztec, Maya and Inca) and the conquest of America. | ||
| HISP 226 | Hispanic Civilization 2. | 3 |
Hispanic Civilization 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of the constitution of the ideological and political structures of the Spanish Empire in both Europe and America until the Wars of Independence; a survey of the culture and history of the Hispanic people from the early 19th Century to the present. | ||
| INDR 294 | Introduction to Labour-Management Relations. 2 | 3 |
Introduction to Labour-Management Relations. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to labour-management relations, the structure, function and government of labour unions, labour legislation, the collective bargaining process, and the public interest in industrial relations. | ||
| INTG 215 | Entrepreneurship Essentials for Non-Management Students. 3 | 3 |
Entrepreneurship Essentials for Non-Management Students. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Fundamental concepts, theories, and practices of entrepreneurship. Focus on identifying opportunities, developing business ideas, and understanding key components of starting and managing a business. | ||
| MATH 338 | History and Philosophy of Mathematics. | 3 |
History and Philosophy of Mathematics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek, Indian and Arab contributions to mathematics are studied together with some modern developments they give rise to, for example, the problem of trisecting the angle. European mathematics from the Renaissance to the 18th century is discussed, culminating in the discovery of the infinitesimal and integral calculus by Newton and Leibnitz. Demonstration of how mathematics was done in past centuries, and involves the practice of mathematics, including detailed calculations, arguments based on geometric reasoning, and proofs. | ||
| MGCR 222 | Introduction to Organizational Behaviour. 2 | 3 |
Introduction to Organizational Behaviour. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Individual motivation and communication style; group dynamics as related to problem solving and decision making, leadership style, work structuring and the larger environment. Interdependence of individual, group and organization task and structure. | ||
| MGCR 352 | Principles of Marketing. 2 | 3 |
Principles of Marketing. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Introduction to marketing principles, focusing on problem solving and decision making. Topics include: the marketing concept; marketing strategies; buyer behaviour; Canadian demographics; internal and external constraints; product; promotion; distribution; price. Lectures, text material and case studies. | ||
| ORGB 321 | Leadership. 2 | 3 |
Leadership. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Leadership theories provide students with opportunities to assess and work on improving their leadership skills. Topics include: the ability to know oneself as a leader, to formulate a vision, to have the courage to lead, to lead creatively, and to lead effectively with others. | ||
| ORGB 423 | Human Resources Management. 2 | 3 |
Human Resources Management. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Issues involved in personnel administration. Topics include: human resource planning, job analysis, recruitment and selection, training and development, performance appraisal, organization development and change, issues in compensation and benefits, and labour-management relations. | ||
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If you are uncertain whether or not a course principally imparts language skills, please see an adviser in the McGill Engineering Student Centre (Frank Dawson Adams Building, Room 22) or email an adviser.
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Note: Management courses have limited enrolment and registration dates. See Important Dates at http://www.mcgill.ca/importantdates.
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INTG 215 Entrepreneurship Essentials for Non-Management Students. is not open to students who have taken INTG 201 Integrated Management Essentials 1. and INTG 202 Integrated Management Essentials 2..
Note regarding language courses: Language courses are not accepted to satisfy the Complementary Studies Group B requirement, effective for students who entered the program as of Fall 2017.