百花视频

The Water Resources Program (WRP) offers the Master of Water Resources (MWR) degree, an interdisciplinary professional degree designed to prepare students for careers in water resources management and related fields. The MWR degree is generally directed towards students wishing to further develop their qualifications and expertise in the practice of water resources management. Therefore, although it does include considerable exposure to research topics and methods in this area, its principal orientation is towards practice rather than research. Entering students are assumed to have a basic proficiency in at least one water-related discipline (defined rather broadly) such as engineering, sociology, management, public administration, environmental studies, economics, law, chemistry, planning, political science, geology, geography, and biology, or professional experience in a water-related field. The program seeks to expand and deepen students' knowledge of their primary disciplines, provide them with an integrated perspective on water in nature and society, improve their capacity to think carefully and comprehensively, and develop their technical and communications skills.

The MWR degree is obtained by following one of two tracks or options: the Hydroscience (HS) track or the Policy/Management (PM) track. Each track consists of 39 semester credits: 36 credits of coursework plus 3 credits for a professional project. The Hydroscience track is designed primarily for students with technical backgrounds and interests (biology, chemistry, earth/environmental sciences, mathematics, toxicology, physics, physical geography, engineering, etc.) who wish to complement their primary discipline by obtaining expertise in the scientific and/or engineering aspects of water resources and its management. Students without technical backgrounds may select this track but may need to take remedial HS classes to prepare for graduate level course work. The Policy/Management track is designed for students with backgrounds in the natural sciences, political science, economics, sociology, management, engineering, geography, psychology, public administration, law, community and regional planning, public health, etc. who wish to emphasize aspects of water dealing with economics, policy, administration, management and planning. The curriculum for each track is flexible, enabling a student, with guidance from his/her advisor and committee, to design a course of study in accord with his/her career objectives.

Students all work through three semesters of core shared curriculum:

A policy-oriented look at contemporary issues in water management
A modeling course, using the Goldsim software platform to develop an understanding of hydrologic and economic dynamic simulations
A field course, learning to measure water

The interdisciplinary nature and practical orientation of the MWR program reflect the growing complexity of water issues. Over the past several decades, population shifts, industrial developments, changes in water law, and advances in technology have intensified competition for water resources and placed new burdens of decision on the people who manage them. Increasing problems of water pollution, for example, require not only an understanding of water chemistry and transport systems, but also an appreciation for the short- and long-term implications of water allocation and land-use practices, and the valuation of negative externalities, as well as an ability to communicate and work effectively with specialists in various fields, policymakers, and concerned citizens.