Field Trip & Fieldwork Guidelines - Application Review Process (May 23)

Aug 31, 2026

Guidelines for planning and approving field trips and fieldwork for the University of Waterloo Faculty of Environment, defining key terms and mapping approval steps to trip categories. The document explains how risk level is assessed based on both location and activity, and how those levels drive required forms, training, and safe operating procedures. It provides direction to supervisors and participants on decision-making under uncertainty, remote-situation risk communication, and escalation paths for high-risk destinations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatDOCX

Pages19

Reading Time7 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

General Considerations

Risk Levels

Lower Risk Work

Significant Risk Work

Types of Fieldwork, Field Trips & Application Processes

On-campus Fieldwork & Field Trips

Domestic Fieldwork & Field Trips

International Fieldwork & Field Trips

Travel Advisory Levels, Registration & Approval Processes

Training Requirements

Safe Operating Procedures

Additional Resources & Information

Fieldtrip Guidelines

Guidelines for Instructors

Guidelines for Participants

Roles & Responsibilities

Forms & Links

University of Waterloo Faculty of Environment Field Trip & Fieldwork Guidelines Contents Ctrl and click to use links below to skip to the relevant section. TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u HYPERLINK \l "INTRODUCTION" Introduction PAGEREF _Toc108012225 \h 1 HYPERLINK \l "GENERALCONSIDERATIONS" General Considerations PAGEREF _Toc108012226 \h 1 HYPERLINK \l "RISKLEVELS" Risk Levels PAGEREF _Toc108012226 \h 1 HYPERLINK \l "LOWERRISKFIELDWORK" Lower Risk Work - 2 HYPERLINK \l "HIGHERRISKFIELDWORK" Significant Risk Work - 2 HYPERLINK \l "EXAMPLELEVELSOFFIELDWORK" Examples - Levels of Risk for Fieldwork - 3 HYPERLINK \l "TYPESOFFIELDWORKANDFIELDTRIPS" Types of Fieldwork, Field Trips & Application Processes 3 HYPERLINK \l "ONCAMPUSFIELDWORK" On-campus Fieldwork & Field Trips - 3 HYPERLINK \l "DOMESTICFIELDWORK" Domestic Fieldwork & Field Trips - 3 HYPERLINK \l "INTERNATIONALFIELDWORK" International Fieldwork & Field Trips - 4 HYPERLINK \l "DOMESTICHUMANANDANIMALS" Domestic & International Human Participant Research, or Research Involving Animals - 4 HYPERLINK \l "WORKINGALONE" Working Alone 4 HYPERLINK \l "TRANSPORTATIONINSURANCE" Transportation - Insurance Requirements 5 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc108012226" Travel Advisory Levels, Registration & Approval Processes 5 HYPERLINK \l "LEVEL1AND2DESTINATIONS" Level 1 & 2 Destinations - 5 HYPERLINK \l "PREDEPARTUREANDTRAVELRISKMITIGATION" Pre-departure & Travel Risk Mitigation - 6 HYPERLINK \l "LEVEL3AND4DESTINATIONS" Level 3 & 4 Desinations - 9 HYPERLINK \l "TRAININGREQUIREMENTS" Training Requirements 10 HYPERLINK \l "SUPERVISORTRAINING" Supervisor Training - 10 HYPERLINK \l "TRAININGFORALLFIELDPARTICIPANTS" Training for All Fieldwork Participants - 10 HYPERLINK \l "FIRSTAIDTRAINING"First Aid Training PAGEREF _Toc108012226 \h 11 HYPERLINK \l "STANDARDSAFEOPERATINGPROCEDURES" Safe Operating Procedures 12 HYPERLINK \l "ADDITIONALRESOURCESANDINFORMATION" Additional Resources & Information - 12 HYPERLINK \l "FILEDTRIPS" Fieldtrip Guidelines PAGEREF _Toc108012226 \h 13 HYPERLINK \l "GuidelinesInstructors" Guidelines for Instructors - 13 HYPERLINK \l "GuidelinesParticipants" Guidelines for Participants - 14 HYPERLINK \l "ROLESANDRESPONSIBILITIES" Roles & Responsibilities PAGEREF _Toc108012226 \h 15 HYPERLINK \l "FORMSANDLINKS" Forms & Links PAGEREF _Toc108012226 \h 17 University of Waterloo Faculty of Environment Field Trip & Fieldwork Guidelines Introduction The following guide will outline the application processes, and responsibilities for field trips and field work. It is important that we distinguish between the terms field trips and field work: Different approval processes are in place depending on the category of the trip: On Campus Field Trips Domestic Field Trips International Field Trips Domestic Fieldwork International Fieldwork Domestic Human Participant Research International Human Participant Research General Considerations A field trip is an organized group educational activity that occurs outside of regular University of Waterloo classrooms. Field work refers to first-hand, direct investigation of a topic under study in a project for the purpose of observing and collecting information, usually as part of a thesis. Field trips organized by units of the Faculty of Environment are approved by the Department Chair or Director of that unit The Associate Dean of Undergraduate studies will approve field trips for all ENVS courses Field work is approved by the Department Chair, with additional approvals required from the Provost for certain high-risk destinations Supervisors should prepare themselves to be able to make appropriate decisions when there is risk and uncertainty, particularly in remote situations. Students should be given appropriate advice and reasons why certain rules are to be followed. Course field trips are educational endeavors, and it

FAQs

How are field trips and fieldwork defined in these guidelines?

A field trip is an organized educational activity outside regular University of Waterloo classrooms. Field work is first-hand, direct investigation of a topic in a project to observe and collect information, often as part of a thesis.

What determines the risk level for fieldwork or field trips?

Both the location and the activity are used to determine the risk level. The requirements for planned activities depend on the resulting level of risk.

Who approves field trips and high-risk fieldwork destinations?

Field trips are approved by the Department Chair or Director of the unit, with the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies approving field trips for all ENVS courses. Fieldwork is approved by the Department Chair, with additional approvals required from the Provost for certain high-risk destinations.

Aug 31, 2026

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