M.S. in Water, Society, and Policy

Water sustainability has emerged as perhaps the most critical natural resource issue in the western United States as well as in other semi-arid regions around the world.  More recently, even wet regions have come to face similar problems of water scarcity and conflict, due to growing demands and competition for water. 

To meet the demands imposed by water scarcity, the University of Arizona offers a non-thesis Master of Science in Water, Society and Policy (WSP).  The purpose of this degree is to provide opportunities for students to pursue professionally oriented study in a multi-disciplinary degree program that focuses on water science, society, and policy. The WSP degree combines graduate coursework in social science, policy and hydrology with professional skill-development activities.  Students are exposed to human and environmental processes as they affect water and watersheds. They gain familiarity with quantitative and qualitative techniques for observation, monitoring, and modeling of processes relevant to the management of water from regional to global scales. They develop skills to communicate with decision makers; conduct and understand scientific research; write cogent research reports, proposals, and policy evaluations; and make effective public presentations.

Graduates of the program are able to understand the basic principles of hydrology, social science, management, law, and policy and are able to contribute to making informed decisions regarding water resources. This is a non-thesis MS degree program. 

 Dual MS WSP degrees

WSP/Public Policy

WSP/Public Administration

WSP/Urban Planning

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List of courses

Article about the WSP degree by Sharon Megdal

Career Resources

Faculty

Faculty Advisors

Although you do not need an advisor to be admitted to the program, it is a good idea to contact faculty prior to applying. 

Affiliated Faculty

Degree Requirements

WATER, SOCIETY, AND POLICY MS

Application deadline: No deadline for domestic students (rolling admissions). International students must apply 4 months prior to the start of the semester in which they wish to begin.

MINIMUM ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
• A Bachelor’s degree
• Minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
• For applicants whose native language is not English please go to this link to find the most current test requirements   https://grad.arizona.edu/admissions/requirements/international-applicants#english-proficiency

MANDATORY PREPARATORY COURSEWORK
The program does not have prerequisites, though some core electives require economics (AREC 575) or physics and calculus (WSM 560A).
 

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

This is a NON-Thesis MS degree. Students complete a project or internship and produce a report and give a final presentation. 

Required Coursework  

Total Units for Degree 32

Core courses: 12-13 units
RNR 696W -- Water, Society and Policy Seminar:  2 units

Elective courses: 12-14 units

MS Project:  6 units of RNR 909

No minor required
Final Committee is faculty advisor or 1 tenured, tenure track or equivalent faculty member if approved by faculty advisor.

List of courses

• A PLAN OF STUDY must be completed in the 2nd semester for M.S. Students
• A PROJECT PROPOSAL must be approved by your faculty advisor in the 2nd semester.
• You must file an annual report each year by April 15th
• You will be enrolled in RNR 696W your first and second semester in the program

Note:  Students should become familiar with the Graduate Catalog policies and the WSP Graduate Student Handbook. The latter is available from the Graduate Coordinator or on the SNRE website. If you have questions, contact the Gradaute Coordinator.

Examples of internships and projects
 

Scholarships

Graduate Student Funding Opportunities

Unlike programs in other fields of study (e.g., Chemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology), SNRE does not have departmental funding for students. Because students are rarely accepted with funding, funding is something you will need to think about and discuss with potential faculty advisors very early in your conversations with them.

We are excited to share that the WSP program is a part of the WICHE Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP), a program that allows out-of-state students from participating states to pay in-state tution. This program can substantially offset the cost of attending graduate school if you are unable to find adequate funding to cover your tution expenses. The WSP program is the only SNRE program eligible for the WRGP, and unfortunately, Natural Resources students are not eligible.

Here are the primary ways students are funded:

•Some students come in with funding (e.g. Coverdell Fellowship, Sloane Fellowship, Fulbright, host country sponsorship, CALS Fellowship awards, other fellowships).

•Some faculty fund an incoming student within an existing grant. This means the faculty provides a job for a new student or the new student agrees to perform the research as their own graduate project.  This is the most common situation in SNRE as we don’t have departmental funds to support students.

•Some students supplement the funding they receive from faculty or TAships with grants and fellowships during grad school. You'll find out more about how to apply for them, who is eligible, application deadlines, etc., once you are here.

•Some students in SNRE teach as a teaching assistant (TA). Unlike other schools, TA jobs aren't guaranteed because of the lack of funding for TAs.  Most faculty in the department will give a TA position they have to their own students, but not always—you may get lucky.  Many students seek TAships in other departments.  The General Biology courses usually hire about 30 TAs each semester and our students often get at least a few of those positions.

Here is a list of resources to help you locate funding to support your tuition and fees or your research.

Scholarships, Fellowships and Grants   

Admissions Information and the Online Application

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You must submit an online application with the Graduate College. All application materials can be uploaded into the online application system, including unofficial documents and TOEFL score reports.  The online application will ask you for the program and option to which you are applying and you will need to list all faculty with whom you have been in correspondence. 

Required documents that you will be asked for in the online application include:

For applicants whose native language is not English please go to this link to find the most current test requirements https://grad.arizona.edu/admissions/requirements/international-applicants#english-proficiency

The University Code is 4832 for language test scores.  You do not need a more specific code as the scores are entered into a central system.

Optional documents that you can upload into the application include unofficial transcripts, language test score reports, and your resume. (this can be uploaded into the transcripts section if the question is not specified).

SNRE Admissions Survival Guide

Entrance Requirements for Water, Society and Policy Students

Currently there are no prerequisite coursework requirements for WSP students.  Some individual courses in the core have prerequisites such as economics, physics, or calculus, but there is sufficient breadth in the core curriculum that if you haven’t already taken these prerequisites, other courses are available to fulfill the program requirements.

Deadlines

SNRE Policies

Checklist for Incoming Students

Water, Society and Policy Graduate Student Handbook

Satisfactory Progress Policy
 

Forms

UA GradPath Forms (Plan of Study, Committee Appointment, and other Graduate College forms)

Plan of Study

Other Graduate College forms

Annual Committee Meeting Forms

Annual Report Form MS due April 15th each year

SNRE Internal Graduate Petition for Grievences

Questions? 

Contact the graduate coordinator:

Katie Hughes

Graduate Coordinator/ Academic Advisor

khughes@email.arizona.edu  (email is preferred)

Katie can help with:

For problems with the online application, contact Graduate Admissions at 520-621-3471