Watershed Science and Sustainability is the interdisciplinary study of the natural processes and human activities that affect freshwater resources. Water is a critical component of Earth’s ecosystems and is used for human consumption, agriculture, energy production, transportation, and recreation. Sustainable management of freshwater resources is an increasingly important and complex challenge in Colorado and worldwide. Across all of the Watershed Science concentrations, students will gain foundational knowledge in physical, geological, and biological controls on how water moves through ecosystems and how these systems, in turn, are controlled by social and legal systems. Through three different concentrations, students will have the opportunity to specialize in the biophysical, data analysis, or sustainability components of understanding how watersheds work.
No matter which concentration students choose, they will share an ability to immediately engage in the quickly expanding fields of water resource management, watershed monitoring, sustainable water decision making, and other related fields. Students from this program have gone on to work as federal hydrologists, environmental consultants, municipal water resource managers, data scientists, graduate students, and other related fields.
Concentrations
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