University of Waterloo

Waterloo, Canada

Available Courses

This course examines the importance of plants and the role they have in the local and global community. It introduces students to the impact of plants on the past, present and future of human civilization and describes the importance of plants as sources of food, medicine, fuel, shelter, clothing and psychoactive agents. Topics include medicinal plants and human health, the origin of agricultural crops, plants that changed the course of history, plant-based biofuels, the green revolution, plant biotechnology and genetic engineering of plants.

This course explores the geological processes of the Earth’s interior and surface. These include volcanism, earthquakes, mountain building, glaciation and weathering. Students will gain an appreciation of how these processes have controlled the evolution of our planet and the role of geology in meeting society’s current and future demand for sustainable energy and mineral resources.

Introduction to film analysis via national cinemas and their worldwide reception, taking into account the role of new technologies. This course acknowledges not only the importance of multiple languages and cultures on the planet today but also the rapidly growing international contexts, complicated chains of production and distribution, and vastly different cultures of spectatorship.

This course focuses on the dynamics of growth and change in global emerging cities, with a focus on the urban transition underway in cities, with emphasis on Asia and Africa. Current urban challenges (e.g. social inequality, uneven development, climate change) are discussed, as well as opportunities for innovative planning and sustainable urban development.

Environmental issues, including climate change, are some of the most pressing concerns of the 21st Century. This course examines the role of green entrepreneurship in finding solutions. This course is divided into two main parts. The first investigates the concept of green entrepreneurship. Questions to be explored include: What is green entrepreneurship? What forces are shaping contemporary green entrepreneurship? What is the entrepreneurship ecosystem? What support is available for entrepreneurs? The second part of this course introduces the entrepreneurship process by assessing an environmental challenge, finding a solution, and developing a green business model.

A practical introduction to everyday technology, this course will look at the physics behind common devices used in consumer products and industry. Examples include air conditioners, microwave ovens, household wiring, nuclear reactors, and medical imaging.

This course provides an introduction to microeconomic analysis relevant for understanding the Canadian economy. The behaviour of individual consumers and producers, the determination of market prices for commodities and resources, and the role of government policy in the functioning of the market system are the main topics covered.

A general survey course designed to provide the student with an understanding of the basic concepts and techniques of modern psychology as a behavioural science.

This course introduces the field of environmental studies through an exploration of environmental issues that contribute to crises and challenges at the global, national and local levels.

This course provides foundations for studying in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability. The course emphasizes the need to understand how we can use social, natural and physical sciences to understand and solve environmental and resource problems in sustainable ways. The course also considers the limitations of approaches that perceive and attempt to manage issues as isolated phenomena. We will learn how to recognize the broader context around environment and resource issues and examine the roots of our problems within and ecological, political, social, and economic systems.