Texas A&M University Catalogs
Doctor of philosophy in water management and hydrological science.
Program Chair: Thomas McDonald
Program Coordinator: Raquel Granados Aguilar
The Water Management and Hydrological Science (WMHS) graduate degree program is supervised by an interdisciplinary faculty from multiple department and colleges. The faculty have expertise in the bio-physical, geo-chemical, management, public health, social sciences, and engineering fields. The program offers two masters’ degrees (thesis and non-thesis options) and a PhD. The curriculum is designed to allow students to become leaders in their focal areas of water while making connections with colleagues in other related disciplines.
Each student must have a graduate committee chair before being accepted in the program. Students work with their chair and the advisory committee to develop a course of study satisfying the curriculum. A minimum of 64 credit hours beyond a master’s degree, with thesis, is required. Students complete 9 hours of WMHS courses, 18 hours of water courses, one research methods course, two statistics courses, 9 hours or more of free electives and a minimum of 18 credit hours of research.
Graduate research assistantships are available on a competitive basis.
Work leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is designed to give students a comprehensive knowledge of water science and hydrology and provide training in research methods. The final basis for granting the degree shall be the candidate’s grasp of the subject matter of a broad field of study and a demonstrated ability to do independent research. In addition, the candidate must have acquired the ability to express thoughts clearly and forcefully in both oral and written communication The degree is not granted solely for the completion of coursework, residence and technical requirements, although these must be met.
For more information on degree application, course requirements and program advisors go to the Water Management & Hydrological Science website .
Steps to Fulfill a Doctoral Program
Program Requirements
- Student's Advisory Committee
Degree Plan
Transfer of credit, research proposal, preliminary examination, preliminary examination format, preliminary examination scheduling, preliminary examination grading, failure of the preliminary examination, retake of failed preliminary examination, final examination, final examination grading, dissertation, student’s advisory committee.
After receiving admission to graduate studies and enrolling, the student will consult with the head of their major or administrative department (or chair of the intercollegiate faculty) concerning appointment of the chair of the advisory committee. The student’s advisory committee will consist of no fewer than four members of the graduate faculty representative of the student’s several fields of study and research, where the chair or co-chair must be from the student’s department (or intercollegiate faculty, if applicable), and at least one or more members must have an appointment to a department different from the chair of the student's committee.
The chair, in consultation with the student, will select the remainder of the advisory committee. Only tenure or tenure-track members of the Graduate Committee Faculty, affiliated with the Water Management and Hydrological Science program, and located on Texas A&M University campuses may serve as chair of a student’s advisory committee. Other graduate faculty members located off-campus may serve as a member or co-chair (but not chair), with a member as the chair. The chair of the committee, who usually has immediate supervision of the student’s degree program, has the responsibility for calling meetings at any other time considered desirable.
If the chair of a student’s advisory committee voluntarily leaves the University and the student is near completion of the degree and wants the chair to continue to serve in this role, the student is responsible for securing a current member of the University Graduate Faculty, from the student’s academic program and located near the Texas A&M University campus site, to serve as the co-chair of the committee. The Department Head or Chair of Intercollegiate faculty may request in writing to the Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate and Professional School that a faculty member who is on an approved leave of absence or has voluntarily separated from the university, be allowed to continue to serve in the role of chair of a student’s advisory committee without a co-chair for up to one year. The students should be near completion of the degree. Extensions beyond the one year period can be granted with additional approval of the Dean.
The committee members’ signatures on the degree plan indicate their willingness to accept the responsibility for guiding and directing the entire academic program of the student and for initiating all academic actions concerning the student. Although individual committee members may be replaced by petition for valid reasons, a committee cannot resign en masse . The chair of the committee, who usually has immediate supervision of the student’s research and dissertation or record of study, has the responsibility for calling all meetings of the committee. The duties of the committee include responsibility for the proposed degree plan, the research proposal, the preliminary examination, the dissertation or record of study and the final examination. In addition, the committee, as a group and as individual members, is responsible for counseling the student on academic matters, and, in the case of academic deficiency, initiating recommendations to the Graduate and Professional School.
The student’s advisory committee will evaluate the student’s previous education and degree objectives. The committee, in consultation with the student, will develop a proposed degree plan and outline a research problem which, when completed, as indicated by the dissertation (or its equivalent for the degree of Doctor of Education or the degree of Doctor of Engineering), will constitute the basic requirements for the degree. The degree plan must be filed with the Graduate and Professional School prior to the deadline imposed by the student’s college and no later than 90 days prior to the preliminary examination.
This proposed degree plan should be submitted through the online Document Processing Submission System located on the website http://ogsdpss.tamu.edu . A minimum of 64 hours is required on the degree plan for the Doctor of Philosophy for a student who has completed a master’s degree. A student who has completed a DDS/DMD, DVM or a MD at a U.S. institution is also required to complete a minimum of 64 hours. A student who has completed a baccalaureate degree but not a master’s degree will be required to complete a 96-hour degree plan. Completion of a DDS/DMD, DVM or MD degree at a foreign institution requires completion of a minimum of 96 hours for the Doctor of Philosophy. A field of study may be primarily in one department or in a combination of departments. A degree plan must carry a reasonable amount of 691 (research). A maximum of 9 hours of 400-level undergraduate courses may be used toward meeting credit-hour requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy.
Additional coursework may be added by petition to the approved degree plan by the student’s advisory committee if it is deemed necessary to correct deficiencies in the student’s academic preparation. No changes can be made to the degree plan once the student’s Request for Final Examination is approved by the Graduate and Professional School.
Approval to enroll in any professional course (900-level) should be obtained from the head of the department (or Chair of the intercollegiate faculty, if applicable) in which the course will be offered before including such a course on a degree plan.
No credit may be obtained by correspondence study, by extension or for any course of fewer than three weeks duration.
For non-distance degree programs, no more than 50 percent of the non-research credit hours required for the program may be completed through distance education courses.
To receive a graduate degree from Texas A&M University, students must earn one-third or more of the credits through the institution’s own direct instruction. This limitation also applies to joint degree programs.
Courses for which transfer credits are sought must have been completed with a grade of B or greater and must be approved by the student’s advisory committee and the Graduate and Professional School. These courses must not have been used previously for another degree. Except for officially approved cooperative doctoral programs, credit for thesis or dissertation research or the equivalent is not transferable. Credit for “internship” coursework in any form is not transferable. Courses taken in residence at an accredited U.S. institution or approved international institution with a final grade of B or greater will be considered for transfer credit if, at the time the courses were completed, the courses would be accepted for credit toward a similar degree for a student in degree-seeking status at the host institution. Credit for coursework taken by extension is not transferable. Coursework in which no formal grades are given or in which grades other than letter grades (A or B) are earned (for example, CR, P, S, U, H, etc.) is not accepted for transfer credit . Credit for coursework submitted for transfer from any college or university must be shown in semester credit hours, or equated to semester credit hours.
Courses used toward a degree at another institution may not be applied for graduate credit. If the course to be transferred was taken prior to the conferral of a degree at the transfer institution, a letter from the registrar at that institution stating that the course was not applied for credit toward the degree must be submitted to the Graduate and Professional School.
Grades for courses completed at other institutions are not included in computing the GPA. An official transcript from the university at which transfer courses are taken must be sent directly to the Office of Admissions.
The general field of research to be used for the dissertation should be agreed on by the student and the advisory committee at their first meeting, as a basis for selecting the proper courses to support the proposed research.
As soon thereafter as the research project can be outlined in reasonable detail, the dissertation research proposal should be completed. The research proposal should be approved at a meeting of the student’s advisory committee, at which time the feasibility of the proposed research and the adequacy of available facilities should be reviewed. The approved proposal, signed by all members of the student’s advisory committee, the head of the student’s major department (or chair of the intercollegiate faculty, if applicable), must be submitted to the Graduate and Professional School at least 20 working days prior to the submission of the Request for the Final Examination.
Compliance issues must be addressed if a graduate student is performing research involving human subjects, animals, infectious biohazards and recombinant DNA. A student involved in these types of research should check with the Office of Research Compliance and Biosafety at (979) 458-1467 to address questions about all research compliance responsibilities. Additional information can also be obtained on the website http:// rcb.tamu.edu .
Examinations
The student’s major department (or chair of the interdisciplinary degree program faculty, if applicable) and their advisory committee may require qualifying, cumulative or other types of examinations at any time deemed desirable. These examinations are entirely at the discretion of the department and the student’s advisory committee.
The preliminary examination is required. The preliminary examination for a doctoral student shall be given no earlier than a date at which the student is within 6 credit hours of completion of the formal coursework on the degree plan (i.e., all coursework on the degree plan except 681, 684, 690, 691, 692, 693, 695, 697, 791, or other graduate courses specifically designated as S/U in the course catalog). The student should complete the Preliminary Examination no later than the end of the semester following the completion of the formal coursework on the degree plan.
The objective of preliminary examination is to evaluate whether the student has demonstrated the following qualifications:
a. a mastery of the subject matter of all fields in the program;
b. an adequate knowledge of the literature in these fields and an ability to carry out bibliographical research;
c. an understanding of the research problem and the appropriate methodological approaches.
The format of the preliminary examination shall be determined by the student’s department (or interdisciplinary degree program, if applicable) and advisory committee, and communicated to the student in advance of the examination. The exam may consist of a written component, oral component, or combination of written and oral components.
The preliminary exam may be administered by the advisory committee or a departmental committee; herein referred to as the examination committee.
Regardless of exam format, a student will receive an overall preliminary exam result of pass or fail. The department (or interdisciplinary degree program, if applicable) will determine how the overall pass or fail result is determined based on the exam structure and internal department procedures. If the exam is administered by the advisory committee, each advisory committee member will provide a pass or fail evaluation decision.
Only one advisory committee substitution is allowed to provide an evaluation decision for a student’s preliminary exam, and it cannot be the committee chair.
If a student is required to take, as a part of the preliminary examination, a written component administered by a department or interdisciplinary degree program, the department or interdisciplinary degree program faculty must:
a. offer the examination at least once every six months. The departmental or interdisciplinary degree program examination should be announced at least 30 days prior to the scheduled examination date.
b. assume the responsibility for marking the examination satisfactory or unsatisfactory, or otherwise graded, and in the case of unsatisfactory, stating specifically the reasons for such a mark.
c. forward the marked examination to the chair of the student’s advisory committee within one week after the examination.
Students are eligible for to schedule the preliminary examination in the Academic Requirements Completion System (ARCS) if they meet the following list of eligibility requirements:
Student is registered at Texas A&M University for a minimum of one semester credit hour in the long semester or summer term during which any component of the preliminary examination is held. If the entire examination is held between semesters, then the student must be registered for the term immediately preceding the examination.
An approved degree plan is on file with the Graduate and Professional School prior to commencing the first component of the examination.
Student’s cumulative GPA is at least 3.000.
Student’s degree plan GPA is at least 3.000.
At the end of the semester in which at least the first component of the exam is given, there are no more than 6 hours of coursework remaining on the degree plan (except 681, 684, 690, 691, 692, 693, 695, 697, 791, or other graduate courses specifically designated as S/U in the course catalog). The head of the student’s department (or Chair of the Interdisciplinary Degree Program, if applicable) has the authority to approve a waiver of this criterion.
Credit for the preliminary examination is not transferable in cases where a student changes degree programs after passing a preliminary exam.
If a written component precedes an oral component of the preliminary exam, the chair of the student’s examination committee is responsible for making all written examinations available to all members of the committee. A positive evaluation of the preliminary exam by all members of a student’s examination committee with at most one dissension is required to pass a student on their preliminary exam.
The student’s department will promptly report the results of the Preliminary Examination to the Graduate and Professional School via the Academic Requirements Completion System (ARCS) within 10 working days of completion of the preliminary examination.
If an approved examination committee member substitution (one only) has been made, their approval must be submitted to the Graduate and Professional School via ARCS. The approval of the designated department approver is also required on the request.
After passing the required preliminary oral and written examinations for a doctoral degree, the student must complete the final examination within four years of the semester in which the preliminary exam is taken. Exams taken in between terms will expire at the end of the term that ended prior to the exam. For example, a preliminary exam taken and passed during the Fall 2023 semester will expire at the end of the Fall 2027 semester. A preliminary exam taken in the time between the Summer and Fall 2023 semesters will expire at the end of the Summer 2027 semester.
First Failure
Upon approval of a student’s examination committee (with no more than one member dissenting), and approval of the Department and Graduate and Professional School, a student who has failed a preliminary examination may be given one re-examination. In accordance with Student Rule 12.5, the student’s department head or designee, intercollegiate faculty, or graduate advisory committee should make a recommendation to the student regarding their scholastic deficiency.
Second Failure
Upon failing the preliminary exam twice in a doctoral program, a student is no longer eligible to continue to pursue the PhD in that program/major. In accordance with Student Rule 12.5.3 and/or 12.5.4, the student will be notified of the action being taken by the department as a result of the second failure of the preliminary examination.
Adequate time must be given to permit a student to address inadequacies emerging from the first preliminary examination. The examination committee must agree upon and communicate to the student, in writing, an adequate time-frame from the first examination (normally six months) to retest, as well as a detailed explanation of the inadequacies emerging from the examination. The student and committee should jointly negotiate a mutually acceptable date for this retest. When providing feedback on inadequacies, the committee should clearly document expected improvements that the student must be able to exhibit in order to retake the exam. The examination committee will document and communicate the time-frame and feedback within 10 working days of the exam that was not passed.
Candidates for the doctoral degrees must pass a final examination by deadline dates announced in the Graduate and Professional School Calendar each semester. A doctoral student is allowed only one opportunity to take the final examination.
No unabsolved grades of D, F, or U for any course can be listed on the degree plan. The student must be registered for any remaining hours of 681, 684, 690, 691, 692, 791 or other graduate courses specifically designated as S/U in the course catalog during the semester of the final exam. No student may be given a final examination until they have been admitted to candidacy and their current official cumulative and degree plan GPAs are 3.00 or better.
Refer to the Admission to Candidacy section of the graduate catalog for candidacy requirements.
A request to schedule the final examination must be submitted to the Graduate and Professional School via ARCS a minimum of 10 working days in advance of the scheduled date. Any changes to the degree plan must be approved by the Graduate and Professional School prior to the submission of the request for final examination.
The student’s advisory committee will conduct this examination. Only one committee member substitution is allowed with the approval of the Graduate and Professional School. If the substitution is for the sole external member of the advisory committee - with an appointment to a department other than the student's major department - then the substitute must also be external to the student's major department. In extenuating circumstances, with the approval of the Graduate and Professional School, an exception to this requirement may be granted.
The final examination is not to be administered until the dissertation or record of study is available in substantially final form to the student’s advisory committee, and all concerned have had adequate time to review the document. Whereas the final examination may cover the broad field of the candidate’s training, it is presumed that the major portion of the time will be devoted to the dissertation and closely allied topics. Persons other than members of the graduate faculty may, with mutual consent of the candidate and the chair of the advisory committee, be invited to attend a final examination for an advanced degree. A positive vote by all members of the graduate committee with at most one dissension is required to pass a student on their exam. A department can have a stricter requirement provided there is consistency within all degree programs within a department. Upon completion of the questioning of the candidate, all visitors must excuse themselves from the proceedings.
The student’s department will promptly report the results of the Final Examination to the Graduate and Professional School via the Academic Requirements Completion System (ARCS) within 10 working days of completion of the final examination. The Graduate and Professional School will be automatically notified via ARCS of any cancellations.
A positive evaluation of the final exam by all members of a student’s advisory committee with at most one dissension is required to pass a student on their final exam. If an approved committee member substitution (1 only) has been made, their approval must be submitted to the Graduate and Professional School via ARCS.
The dissertation, which must be a candidate's original work demonstrates the ability to perform independent research . Whereas acceptance of the dissertation is based primarily on its scholarly merit, it must also exhibit creditable literary workmanship. Dissertation formatting must be acceptable to the Graduate and Professional School as outlined in the Guidelines for Theses, Dissertations, and Records of Study.
After successful defense and approval by the student’s advisory committee and the head of the student’s major department (or chair of intercollegiate faculty, if applicable), a student must submit the dissertation in electronic format as a single PDF file to https://etd.tamu.edu/ . Additionally, a dissertation approval form with original signatures must be received by the Graduate and Professional School through the Academic Requirements Completion System (ARCS). Both the PDF file and the completed ARCS approval form must be received by the deadline.
Deadline dates for submitting are announced each semester or summer term in the Graduate and Professional School Calendar (see Time Limit statement). These dates also can be accessed via the Graduate and Professional School website .
Each student who submits a document for review is assessed a one-time thesis/dissertation processing fee through Student Business Services. This processing fee is for the thesis/dissertation services provided. After commencement, dissertations are digitally stored and made available through the Texas A&M Libraries.
A dissertation that is deemed unacceptable by the Graduate and Professional School because of excessive corrections will be returned to the student’s department head or chair of the intercollegiate faculty . The manuscript must be resubmitted as a new document, and the entire review process must begin anew. All original submittal deadlines must be met during the resubmittal process to graduate.
Additional Requirements
Continuous registration, admission to candidacy.
- 99-Hour Cap on Doctoral Degree
Application for Degree
A student who enters the doctoral degree program with a baccalaureate degree must spend one academic year plus one semester in resident study at Texas A&M University. A student who holds master’s degree when they enter a doctoral degree program must spend one academic year in resident study. One academic year may include two adjacent regular semesters or one regular semester and one adjacent 10-week summer semester. The third semester is not required to be adjacent to the one year. Enrollment for each semester must be a minimum of 9 credit hours each to satisfy the residence requirement. A minimum of 1 credit hour must be in a non-distance education delivery mode. Semesters in which the student is enrolled in all distance education coursework will not count toward fulfillment of the residence requirement.
To satisfy the residence requirement, the student must complete a minimum of 9 credit hours per semester or 10-week summer semester in resident study at Texas A&M University for the required period. A student who enters a doctoral degree program with a baccalaureate degree may fulfill residence requirements in excess of one academic year (18 credit hours) by registration during summer sessions or by completion of a less-than-full course load (in this context a full course load is considered 9 credit hours per semester).
Students who are employed full-time while completing their degree may fulfill total residence requirements by completion of less-than-full time course loads each semester. In order to be considered for this, the student is required to submit a Petition for Waivers and Exceptions along with verification of employment to the Graduate and Professional School. An employee should submit verification of employment at the time they submit the degree plan. See Registration.
See Residence Requirements .
All requirements for doctoral degrees must be completed within a period of ten consecutive calendar years for the degree to be granted. A course will be considered valid until 10 years after the end of the semester in which it is taken. Graduate credit for coursework more than ten calendar years old at the time of the final oral examination may not be used to satisfy degree requirements.
After passing the required preliminary oral and written examinations for a doctoral degree, the student must complete the final examination within four years of the semester in which the preliminary exam is taken. Exams taken in between terms will expire at the end of the term that ended prior to the exam. For example, a preliminary exam taken and passed during the fall 2019 semester will expire at the end of the fall 2023 semester. A preliminary exam taken in the time between the summer and fall 2019 semesters will expire at the end of the summer 2023 semester.
A final corrected version of the dissertation or record of study in electronic format as a single PDF file must be cleared by the Graduate and Professional School within one year of the semester in which the final exam is taken. Exams taken in between terms will expire at the end of the term that ended prior to the exam. For example, a final exam taken and passed during the fall 2022 semester will expire at the end of the fall 2023 semester. A final exam taken in the time between the summer and fall 2022 semesters will expire at the end of the summer 2023 semester. Failure to do so will result in the degree not being awarded.
A student in a program leading to a Doctor of Philosophy who has completed all coursework on a degree plan other than 691 (research) are required to be in continuous registration until all requirements for the degree have been completed. See Continuous Registration Requirements .
To be admitted to candidacy for a doctoral degree, a student must have:
- completed all formal coursework on the degree plan with the exception of any remaining 681, 684, 690 and 691 or 791.
- a 3.0 Graduate GPA and a Degree Plan GPA of at least 3.0 with no grade lower than C in any course on the degree plan,
- passed the preliminary examination (written and oral portions),
- submitted an approved dissertation proposal,
- met the residence requirements. The final examination will not be authorized for any doctoral student who has not been admitted to candidacy.
A student is required to possess a competent command of English. For English language proficiency requirements, see the Admissions section of this catalog. The doctoral (PhD) foreign language requirement at Texas A&M University is a departmental option, to be administered and monitored by the individual departments of academic instruction.
99-Hour Cap on Doctoral Degrees
In Texas, public colleges and universities are funded by the state according to the number of students enrolled. In accordance with legislation passed by the Texas Legislature, the number of hours for which state universities may receive subvention funding at the doctoral rate for any individual is limited to 99 hours. Texas A&M and other universities will not receive subvention for hours in excess of the limit.
Institutions of higher education are allowed to charge the equivalent of non-resident tuition to a resident doctoral student who has enrolled in 100 or more semester credit hours of doctoral coursework.
Doctoral students at Texas A&M have seven years to complete their degree before being charged out-of-state tuition. A doctoral student who, after seven years of study, has accumulated 100 or more doctoral hours will be charged tuition at a rate equivalent to out-of-state tuition. Please note that the tuition increases will apply to Texas residents as well as students from other states and countries who are currently charged tuition at the resident rate. This includes those doctoral students who hold GAT, GANT, and GAR appointments or recipients of competitive fellowships who receive more than $1,000 per semester. Doctoral students who have not accumulated 100 hours after seven years of study are eligible to pay in-state tuition if otherwise eligible.
Doctoral students who exceed the credit limit will receive notification from the Graduate and Professional School during the semester in which they are enrolled and exceeding the limit in their current degree program. The notification will explain that the State of Texas does not provide funding for any additional hours in which a student is enrolled in excess of 99 hours. Texas A&M University will recover the lost funds by requiring students in excess of 99 hours to pay tuition at the non-funded, non-resident rate. This non-funded, non-resident tuition rate status will be updated for the following semester and in all subsequent semesters until receipt of a doctoral degree. Please see the Tuition Calculator at the non-resident rate for an example of potential charges.
The following majors are exempt from the 99-Hour Cap on Doctoral Degrees and have a limit of 130 doctoral hours:
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
- Biomedical Sciences
- Clinical Psychology
- Counseling Psychology
- Genetics and Genomics
- Health Services Research
- Medical Sciences
- Microbiology
- Neurosciences (College of Medicine)
- Oral and Craniofacial Biomedical Sciences
- Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Public Health Sciences
- School Psychology
The hour limit for these majors is 130 doctoral hours
For information on applying for your degree, please visit the Graduation section.
- Academics Home
- Directories
Quick Links
- Directories Home
- Colleges, Schools, and Departments
- Administrative Units
- Research Centers and Institutes
- Resources and Services
- Employee Directory
- Contact UNLV
- Social Media Directory
- UNLV Mobile Apps
Doctor of Philosophy in Water Resources
Jump to section:, learning outcomes, career possibilities, requirements.
- Documents and Downloads
The Water Resources Ph.D. program is built on an integrative curriculum and an interdisciplinary approach. It focuses on solving water-related challenges that transcend traditional academic boundaries. It is a technically and scientifically based program that blends the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of water resources with public health, policy, and management. The program is designed to provide students from a wide-range of educational backgrounds an opportunity to develop into water resource professionals. Program graduates are expected to become part of a much-needed diverse, highly educated, and well-trained interdisciplinary workforce that supports water-related entities in Nevada and beyond.
Available Options
Post-bachelor's, post-master's, accreditation.
For information regarding accreditation at UNLV, please head over to Academic Program Accreditations .
- Develop, evaluate, and assess new techniques, skills, and tools to solve water resources related problems in an interdisciplinary manner.
- Acquire extensive water resources related knowledge in their area of interest (Water Technology, Water Science and Health, and Social Science and Public Policy) and a demonstration of mastery of knowledge in that area" to "Demonstrate mastery of knowledge in the chosen sub-plan concentration (Water Technology, Water Science and Health, and Social Science and Public Policy).
- Critically read and analyze literature, develop research hypothesis, and create methodology to solve research problems related to water resources.
- Collect and analyze research data interpret and synthesize the findings through peer reviewed conference proceedings and journal papers.
- Effectively communicate technical and research information.
Professional opportunities for graduates of the program are diverse, including but not limited to scientific and engineering consulting firms, private industries that deal with water, academic and research institutions, government sectors (e.g., United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Agency for International Development, United States Department of Energy, United States Department of Defense, United States Geological Survey, state departments of health/environment, and cities and municipalities), non-governmental organizations (e.g., Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities), and international organizations (e.g., World Bank, World Health Organization, United Nations Environment Program).
Documents/Downloads
Plans of study.
- CEE 704 184.92 KB
- CEE 755 210.47 KB
Degree Worksheets
Graduate handbooks.
- Graduate Handbook 271.94 KB
Additional Downloads
Related links.
- 2024-25 24.38 KB
- 2023-24 23.36 KB
- 2024-25 23.47 KB
- 2023-24 23.41 KB
Graduate Coordinator
Eakalak khan, ph.d., p.e., college of liberal arts.
The College of Liberal Arts offers students a well-rounded education in the humanities and social sciences. Students develop strong analytical and communication skills for a lifetime of learning and discovery that can be applied to a wide variety of careers.
College of Sciences
The School of Life Sciences offers programs that meet the needs of students intending to enter the workforce or pursue advanced training in the sciences, medicine, and other professional and technical fields. We provide a well-rounded foundation in natural, physical, and mathematical sciences that can set students up for successful careers and professional programs.
Graduate College
The Graduate College supports a wide range of graduate certificate, master's, specialist, and doctoral degrees offered through the university's many academic units. Students are provided with a quality academic experience in their coursework, research/creative activity, and professional development opportunities.
Greenspun College of Urban Affairs
The Greenspun College of Urban Affairs is committed to creating contemporary solutions for resilient communities. Our academic programs focus on making effective public policy, creating support structures to meet behavioral and mental health challenges, ensuring cities are safe and prepared to meet emergency situations, effective and ethical journalism, and interpersonal and public communication strategies.
Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering
The College of Engineering provides students a well-rounded foundation in several engineering disciplines for a successful career in engineering and computer science. Through the hands-on, experiential education experience we offer, students are enabled to achieve excellence in their respective fields.
School of Public Health
The School of Public Health is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of people worldwide. Our departments, programs, and research units work to provide a diverse education, practical training experience, and numerous community involvement opportunities to prepare students to become leaders and professionals in the field of public health.
Doctor of Philosophy in Hydrology and Water Resources
Description.
(Effective Fall 2019) TIMEFRAME: The program is designed for students interested in the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the hydrologic cycle, as well as water resources systems, environmental studies, or water policy and the social sciences related to water resources. Students may concentrate in one or a combination of these areas but are expected to acquire fundamental proficiency in all aspects of hydrology and water resources. Research-based study programs are individually planned to meet the student's special interests and professional objectives. Time-to-completion for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Hydrology is approximately 3.5-5 years (coursework, research, writing the dissertation, all exams) for well-prepared students. All candidates must submit a dissertation or dissertation publication manuscript which has been judged by the student's committee to be eligible for publication in appropriate scientific journals and present the results at two regional, national, or international scientific meetings.
STUDY TOPICS: Active research areas include hydrogeology, hydrogeochemistry, hydrometeorology, hydroclimatology, environmental hydrology, ground-water hydrology, surface water hydrology, vadose zone hydrology, mathematical and statistical methods in hydrology (including stochastic and numerical modeling), water resources sytems, and water resources policy.
PREPARATION: Doctoral applicants should have completed a Master of Science degree with a major in hydrology, water resources, environmental sciences, environmental engineering, or a related field. (Holders of a Bachelor's degree cannot enter the program directly.) Students who have completed all of the required undergraduate mathematics and science prerequisites may have a decreased time to completion. NOTE: Students must have completed at least 2 semesters of calculus and have no more than 4 outstanding course deficiencies at the time of matriculation. All students are expected to acquire basic computer programming/coding skills (e.g. Python, MATLAB, Fortran, C++) and complete a field methods/laboratory-field synthesis course sequence. To satisfy the professional development requirement, students are required to attend weekly seminars and colloquia at the beginning of academic residency, officially enroll in the HWRS colloquium (595A) for at least one semester at some time during residency, and make two formal seminar presentations of their dissertation research (at least one oral presentation) at approved regional, national, or international conferences near the end of their academic residency.
FORMAL EXAMINATIONS: Where gaps exist in background knowledge of basic hydrology and water resources (primary areas of surface water hydrology, subsurface hydrology, water quality-chemistry, water resources systems), first-year doctoral students may be required to complete fundamental core courses in preparation for the Doctoral Qualifying Examination. This exam must be passed by the end of the second semester in residence. After all course work for the Major and Minor has been completed (typically by the end of 2 1/2 to 3 years in residence), the Comprehensive Examination process -- which will include multiple Written exams and one Oral exam -- is initiated. When the Comprehensive Exams have been passed, the student becomes an official doctoral degree candidate. A Final Doctoral Oral Examination, or Dissertation Defense, is required in the final semester. See the PHD HWRS Program Guide for full details.
Apply at the Graduate College website : Click on the Apply Now button for the Program of Study "Hydrology (PHD)." You will be required to upload a variety of documents, including:
- All Applicants:
- Scanned copies of original transcripts (do not send original transcripts with official seal and signature until after you are accepted into the program)
- Names/contact information for three (3) letters of recommendation (referees will submit letters to us online)
- Resume or curriculum vitae
- Statement of research interests
- International Applicants Only: English Proficiency scores also required (details below)
English Proficiency Guidelines: Non-native speakers of English should consult the Graduate College website for information about documenting their proficiency in English . Currently, these minimum scores satisfy the English Proficiency requirement:
- TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language): Minimum score 79 (or 60 on the revised PBT, with no section score lower than 15). Individual MyBest scores must also be dated within 2 years of the enrollment term to be considered valid.
- IELTS (International English Language Testing System): Minimum composite score of 7, with no subject area below a 6
- Pearson PTE Academic : Minimum score of 60
- Graduate English Language Endorsement from the University of Arizona's Center for English as a Second Language (CESL)
- CEPT Full Academic Test at the University of Arizona's Center for English as a Second Language (CESL), minimum total score of 110
- Exemptions by Country from submitting English proficiency scores may be found at the Graduate College website, Requirements by Country
Admission deadlines:
- Domestic Applicants: January 15 for Fall Semester. October 1 for Spring Semester.
- International Applicants: January 15 for Fall Semester. August 1 for Spring Semester.
Students may be eligible for support through Graduate Assistantships in research and teaching, fee waivers (scholarships), and fellowships. Other funding opportunities are provided by the Graduate College at their Financial Resources website .
Degree Program Reqs
(Effective Fall 2019) The degree requires a minimum of 54 semester units in the Major field of study (HWRS) which includes 36 course units and 18 dissertation units. A complementary Minor field of study (number of units varies) is also required (see Doctoral Minor below). All undergraduate prerequisite courses in math and science should be completed by the end of the first year in residence. See the PHD HWRS Program Guide for full details.
UNDERGRADUATE COURSE PREREQUISITES*
- Physical geology: 1 semester
- College chemistry: 2-semester sequence in inorganic/analytical chemistry
- College physics: 2-semester sequence, one course in mechanics and one course in electricity/magnetism or optics/thermodynamics
- Fluid mechanics: 1 semester
- Mathematics: Calculus 1, calculus 2, vector calculus, and introductory differential equations
- Statistics: 1 semester in statistics or probability theory for the physical sciences or engineering
- *You must have received a grade of C or higher to satisfy these course prerequisite requirements. Grades below C are not recognized the UA Graduate College.
- *Please note that we cannot accept students with more than four undergraduate course deficiencies, and you must have completed at least two semesters of calculus. If you have a course in progress or course/courses to be completed prior to beginning our program, you may note this on the graduate application.
CORE COURSES
No specific core courses are required for doctoral students, although inclusion of one or more in the plan of study may help students prepare for the Doctoral Oral Qualifying Examination (end of second semester/Year 1). Consult with the Director of Graduate Studies-Hydrology for advice.
- HWRS 517A Fundamentals of Water Quality (3 units) Fall
- HWRS 518 Fundamentals in Subsurface Hydrology (3 units) Fall
- HWRS 519 Fundamentals in Surface Hydrology (3 units) Spring
- HWRS 528 Fundamentals: Systems Approach to Hydrologic Modeling (3 units) Fall
HWRS PRIMARY FACULTY ADVANCED ELECTIVES
Advanced elective course work must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies-Hydrology. The Doctoral Plan of Study must include a minimum of 21 semester units in this category (includes core courses and HWRS Primary Faculty advanced elective courses). (Independent study, professional development enrollment, and field methods are not included in this category.) Refer fo the PHD HWRS Program Guide for a list of approved HWRS Primary Faculty courses .
OTHER ELECTIVES & TRANSFER COURSE WORK
The plan of study should also include 12 additional units from: 1) the HWRS Primary Faculty course list, 2) approved transfer course work, and/or 3) approved graduate-level courses from other UA departments. Refer fo the PHD HWRS Program Guide for a list of pre-approved courses outside the department. Consult with the Director of Graduate Studies-Hydrology regarding potential transfer course work.
FIELD METHODS
- HWRS 513A Field Methods (2 units) Spring
- HWRS 513B Field Synthesis (1 unit) Summer Presession (completed by end of May)
DISSERTATION
- HWRS 920 Dissertation (18 units total) -- delete any excess units from Doctoral Plan of Study prior to submission
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Enrollment in HWRS 595A Weekly Colloquium, Current Topics in Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, for at least one semester is required. These units are not included in the Doctoral Plan of Study.
- Two oral or poster presentations (minimum one oral) of the doctoral dissertation research at approved regional, national, or international conferences is required. No academic credit is awarded for oral or poster presentations.
- Submit an email memo with details to the Director of Graduate Studies-Hydrology (see Program Guide for instructions)
DOCTORAL MINOR
- A doctoral minor area of study (outside the department) that complements and supports the dissertation research is required. The minimum semester units required vary by department, ranging from 9-15 semester units (the average is 12 units).
- Common Minors and their course prefixes include Applied Mathematics (APPL), Arid Lands Resource Science (ARL), Atmospheric Sciences (ATMO), Chemical Engineering (CHEE), Civil Engineering (CE), Computer Science (CS), Geography and Development (GEOG), Geological Engineering (GEN), Geosciences (GEOS), Global Change (GC), Mining Engineering (MNE), Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (REM), Renewable Natural Resource Studies (RNR), Soil-Water-Environmental Sciences (ENVS/SWES), and Systems Engineering (SIE). Other Minor areas of study may also be possible.
EXAMINATIONS
- End Year 1/Second Semester: Doctoral Qualifying Examination in the Major -- Contact the HAS Program Coordinator for details
- End Year 1 Doctoral Qualifying Examination for the Minor -- May be optional, so consult Minor Department
- End Year 3 Doctoral Written and Oral Comprehensive Examinations in the Major and Minor -- Initiate after all course work completed
- Year 4-5 Doctoral Final Oral Examination -- Dissertation Defense
DISSERTATION ARCHIVAL
Electronic submission of the doctoral dissertation to the Graduate College and archival with ProQuest UMI is required. The department does not require a copy, although members of the student's faculty committee may request a copy of the manuscript.
Be aware of the Graduate College's Steps to Your Degree requirements timeline when planning your examinations (Comprehensive Process and Final Oral/Defense). Allow yourself enough time to make any required revisions of the doctoral dissertation before submission to the Graduate College. The Graduate College's electronic degree audit system includes the following GradPath forms which are required for all Doctor of Philosophy degree candidates. You can complete these forms by logging on to the university's Student UAccess system. You can also refer to the department's PHD HWRS Program Guide and the Dissertation Manuscript Options for instructions and guidance:
- Responsible Conduct of Research Form
- Only if using external transfer courses
- Doctoral Plan of Study
- Comprehensive Exam Committee Appointment Form
- Announcement of Doctoral Comprehensive Examination
- Submitted by Committee Chair
- Candidacy Fees charged to student bursar's account upon advancement to doctoral candidacy
- Verification of Prospectus/Proposal Approval
- Doctoral Dissertation Committee Form
- Must be submitted and approved at least one week before the date of final examination/defense
- Submission of Final Dissertation Manuscript for Archiving
- Exit Survey
Learning Outcomes
Refer to the Assessment section for learning outcomes and measures.
General Inquiry:
Admissions Contact:
Lupe Romero
Director of Graduate Studies:
Martha P.L. Whitaker
| University of Delaware | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Work leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is designed to give students a comprehensive knowledge of water science and hydrology and provide training in research methods.
The Water Management and Hydrological Science (WMHS) graduate degree program is supervised by an interdisciplinary faculty from multiple department and colleges. The faculty have expertise in the bio-physical, geo-chemical, management, public health, social sciences, and engineering fields.
Hydrology and Water Management students will learn how to assess available amounts of water in a certain region, establish quantities of drinking water, study the potential impact of floods and design ways to prevent them, evaluate how polution impacts the quality of water, and much more.
The Water Resources Ph.D. program is built on an integrative curriculum and an interdisciplinary approach. It focuses on solving water-related challenges that transcend traditional academic boundaries.
Description. (Effective Fall 2019) TIMEFRAME: The program is designed for students interested in the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the hydrologic cycle, as well as water resources systems, environmental studies, or water policy and the social sciences related to water resources.
Find the best PhD programmes in the field of Hydrology & Water Management from top universities worldwide. Check all 49 programmes.
Demonstrate a solid understanding of fundamental principles and advanced-level knowledge of water resources engineering concepts such as groundwater hydraulics, contaminant transport, and hydrology and apply these concepts to new problems.
Contribute to the creation of academic knowledge by developing methods, systems, concepts, and tools for sustainability management while discovering innovative ways to tackle global water challenges with the PhD in Sustainability Management Collaborative Water program.
PhD Programme. Would you like to conduct advanced research to help accelerate the global transition to sustainability? PhD studies at IHE Delft are designed to have an impact and prepare you for academic and senior technical careers.
The Hydrology and Water Resources PhD program focuses on processes that control the transport and distribution of water in the environment and their influence on water supplies, flooding, ecosystems and climate.