CIV5148 Ground hazards engineering
Faculty of Engineering
CIV5148 Ground hazards engineering is a level 5, 6-credit-point, postgraduate unit from the Faculty of Engineering, offered in 2026 in Semester 1 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2026
- Semester 1
- Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 4 tasks
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
This is the 2026 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before CIV5148
Prohibitions
You can't enrol if you have passed any of these.
After CIV5148
No unit lists CIV5148 as a prerequisite in the 2026 handbook.
Enrolment rules
You must be currently enrolled in a master’s course in engineering or related STEM and in a related discipline. The unit assumes that you have the necessary foundational knowledge.
Equivalent units
The same content under another code. Only one of them counts.
Overview
Geotechnical engineering concepts applied to solve or minimise geo-hazard problems specific to waste containment facilities, contaminated sites and redevelopment and construction on marginal land. The unit focuses on geotechnical aspects of ground improvement, as well as in the analysis,
design and construction involving projects located on marginal land. Learning through failure cases to highlight potential pitfalls of the discipline is an important component in this unit.
Offerings in 2026
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| First semester | Clayton | On campus |
Assessment
- Dynamic compactionProject25%
- Ground improvement-reinforcementProject15%
- Failure case studyProject35%
- Research paperProject25%
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Draw on analytical procedures to determine stability.
- 2
Reflect on the importance of ethics and legal matters for geotechnical and geoenvironmental projects.
- 3
Prioritise the minimisation of the likelihood of failures.
- 4
Draw on the concept of ground improvement.
- 5
Design ground improvements using sound analytical methods.
- 6
Communicate professional decisions to specialist and/or non-specialist audiences.
Workload and teaching
- Workshops24 hours
- Practical activities24 hours
- Teaching approachProblem-based learning
- Teaching approachOnline learning
The minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of 3-6 hours of scheduled learning activities and 6-9 hours of independent study per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher-directed learning, peer-directed learning and online engagement. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities.
The unit consists of expert-led sessions and practice classes. Learning in the unit is mainly through project works throughout the whole semester and has a number of components which build to form the final projects. The projects are provided by local consulting firms. The main learning approach is “Project-based learning” which requires students to be involved with the project to become proactive learners. There are no right or wrong answers to many of the project questions. This does not imply that any answer is adequate. Some answers will be better than others as they achieve the criteria in a better way.
2 hours equivalent pre-recorded lecture materials each week on ground improvement, reinforcement, failure cases
Where it fits
CIV5148 is part of 2 areas of study in the 2026 handbook.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Professor Malek Bouazza
- Unit Coordinators
- Professor Malek Bouazza
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for CIV5148?
CIV5148 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is CIV5148 offered?
In 2026, CIV5148 runs in Semester 1 at Clayton.
How much work is CIV5148?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does CIV5148 have an exam?
No. CIV5148 has 4 assessment tasks and no exam.
Which majors and minors include CIV5148?
CIV5148 is part of Civil engineering and Environmental engineering.