Online Master’s in Hydrology and Water Security

Fundamentals of Project Management
Credit Hours: 3
Foundational survey course that considers both technical and sociocultural aspects of project management across the full project life cycle.

Water Law
Credit Hours: 3
A course for non-lawyers that explores systems of water rights; riparian, appropriation, and prescriptive rights; stream, surface, and ground water; development of water supplies; nationwide conflicts; water pollution control; federal and Indian rights and federal water resource issues and problems, so that water managers, environmental scientists or policy makers can provide needed input to threats to and protection of water.

Hydroclimatology
Credit Hours: 3
Theory and concept of hydroclimatology across atmospheric science and hydrology. An in-depth study of the local to global climate of precipitation with a specific focus on drought, pluvial, and how they vary in a changing climate system. Data analysis and computational methods for hydroclimatology. A basic level of scientific programming is helpful but not mandatory.

Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems
Credit Hours: 3
Designed to help students learn introductory to intermediate concepts of geographic information science (GIScience) and become proficient users of geographic information systems (GIS). The course covers a variety of topics but focuses on GIS data models, data structures, and spatial analysis. Teaching formats include lectures, in-class exercises, and lab exercises.

Hydrometeorology
Credit Hours: 3
Hydrometeorology is part of meteorology directly concerned with hydrologic problems, such as forecasting and observing heavy precipitation and floods and how such features impact flood control, hydroelectric power, irrigation and similar fields of engineering and water resource management.

Water Resources Systems Modeling
Credit Hours: 3
An in-depth study of the theory of optimization, hydrologic modeling, reservoir and dams' operation. Data analysis and computational methods for hydrology and water resources management. Special emphasis on system modeling and parameter tuning using automatic calibration approaches. Basic level of scientific programming.

Hydrology
Credit Hours: 3
Hydrology is the study of water across the globe. This is an applied course on hydrology dealing with environmental water problems; principles of hydrologic systems, their structure and components; and methods of analysis and their application to various purposes of water resources planning and development.

Groundwater and Seepage
Credit Hours: 3
An applied course dealing with properties of aquifers, modeling of groundwater flow, groundwater hydrology, and its interrelation with surface water, well hydraulics, pumping tests, and safe yield of aquifers.

Water Policy and Institutions
Credit Hours: 3
This course examines the evolution of water policy in the United States and the substantive roles that federal and state water resource institutions have played. Students will gain an understanding of the legal and institutional frameworks within which water resources are managed and the broader implications of climate change for water security.

Water Security
Credit Hours: 3
This course defines water security as existing at the water quantity-quality-equity nexus, looks at historical examples of water insecurity, discusses major water security challenges (e.g., natural disasters, global warming, the water-food-energy nexus, urbanization, transboundary issues) as well as responses to these challenges (e.g., water resilience plans, LID, desalination/reuse technologies, developing a water ethic) and evaluates pioneering water security initiatives.

Fundamental Hydrology
Credit Hours: 3
A science-based course for students who desire to be water managers, environmental scientists, or policy makers. The course provides a quantitative introduction to atmospheric, surface, and subsurface hydrology. Modules present the storage and movement of water between the environmental compartments, the effect of human activities on the natural water cycle, and the threats to and protection of water security.

Water Management Chemistry
Credit Hours: 3
This course provides knowledge of water chemistry encountered in the management and assessment of water quality. Course goals are: 1) to become proficient in interpreting water chemistry data so as to be able to successfully evaluate the water quality status of a water resource, and 2) to know which specific water chemistry parameters are essential to measure for monitoring water quality problems.

Hydrology
Credit Hours: 3
Hydrology is the study of water across the globe. This is an applied course on hydrology dealing with environmental water problems; principles of hydrologic systems, their structure and components; and methods of analysis and their application to various purposes of water resources planning and development.

Aqueous Geochemical Modeling
Credit Hours: 3
Provides an interactive platform to improve our understanding of complex biogeochemical reactions and processes in natural systems. The course will cover the mathematical and thermodynamic basis for widely used geochemical modeling programs, including PHREEQC, Visual MINTEQ, and Geochemists Work Bench (GWB). Various types of modeling approaches will be explored using geochemical data representative of real-world applications.