The MWR Curriculum (for students entering prior to Fall 2005)

Prerequisites

The MWR degree prerequisites are:

* Intermediate Microeconomics (ECON 300 or equivalent);
* Two semesters of calculus (MATH 162L and 163L or Math 180 and 181, or equivalents) OR one semester of calculus + one semester of statistics (MATH 245 or equivalent); and
* Two semesters of introductory college-level science courses, distributed as follows: one semester of introductory chemistry (CHEM 121L or equivalent) AND: one additional semester of introductory chemistry (CHEM 122L or equivalent) OR one semester of introductory biological sciences (BIOL 121L or equivalent) OR one semester of physical geology (E&PS 101, ENVSC 101 or equivalent).

Students entering the MWR program with deficiencies in the prerequisites must take them as soon as possible. They must be taken for a letter grade, not Pass/Fail or CR/NC. A student who takes the prerequisite courses as an MWR student must receive a grade no lower than B in each course.

Requirements

The MWR degree is a Plan II (non-thesis) degree; there two formal concentrations: 1) Policy/Management; and 2) Hydroscience. The selection of a concentration should be made as soon as possible after the student enters the Program (normally by the time 12 graduate credits are completed) in consultation with his/her faculty advisor and the Director.

39 credits are required: 36 credits of formal coursework and 3 credits for a professional project. The 39 credits are distributed as follows:

* Twelve (12) credits in the WRP interdisciplinary (core) courses: WR 571, WR 572, WR 573.
* Six (6) credits in the Policy/Management Group, which must include LAW 547 - Water Law (see the following list of suggested courses).
* Six (6) credits in the Hydroscience Group (see following list of suggested courses).
* Twelve (12) credits of electives, selected from one of two lists of suggested courses. These lists reflect the two options. A student will select electives consistent with his/her professional project and with the advice/consent of the student's advisor/committee. These lists are as broad as possible, allowing quite a bit of latitude in curriculum design. Students may take courses outside these lists with the approval of the Director and their committee. Note that current policy excludes acceptance of any 300-level courses for graduate credit.

Students taking 400-level courses should ensure that these courses are available for graduate credit and, if so, that they are registered for graduate credit (see the instructor). Dual-listed (400/500) courses must be taken as the 500 number to receive graduate credit.

* Three (3) credits of WR 598 (Professional Project). The student can take more than 3 credits of WR 598, but only 3 credits will count towards the degree. (Note: your committee chair's department may have its own Professional Project number (example: C E 588 - Master's Project. You may take that instead of WR 598 if your committee chair requests you do so.)

A flow chart (in Adobe Acrobat) depicting the sequence of events in moving through the MWR degree program is downloadable.

Coursework

The following list of courses is not exhaustive and is based upon the 2003-2005 UNM Catalog; new courses are continuously being developed and existing courses deleted. Indeed, other courses may be suitable for a particular student's program of study. If you are interested in taking a course not listed here, contact the Director or your advisor/committee chair.

If a course is dual listed as a 400/500 course, you must register for the 500-level course to receive graduate credit. 400-level courses available for graduate credit are asterisked in the UNM Catalog.

Main-campus course descriptions and prerequisites are available at the UNM Registrar's Web Page (click on "University Catalog") Semester schedules are also at the previous URL (click on "Schedule of Classes"). School of Law courses and schedules are accessed from the School of Law Webpage. Detailed syllabi may be available on departmental or instructor homepages.

If you wish detailed information on a certain course, contact the instructor. Note that some of the courses listed below may have prerequisites beyond those required for the MWR degree. It is up to the students to satisfy these, or seek the instructor's permission to take the course.

Suggested Hydroscience Courses

Each student takes at least 6 credits from this group, including but not limited to the following list (the number of credit hours for each course is shown in parentheses; "AOA" means "also offered as").

Biology
495 Limnology (3)
496L Limnology Laboratory (1)
507L Bosque Biology (3)
514 Ecosystem Studies (3)
535 Freshwater Ecosystems (AOA E&PS 535) (3)

Earth and Planetary Sciences
515 Geochemistry of Natural Waters (3)
535 Freshwater Ecosystems (AOA Biology 535) (3)
536 Climate Dynamics (3)
555L Computational and GIS Applications in Geomorphology (3)
557L Mathematical Modeling in the Geosciences (3)
562 Hydrogeology (3)
564 Geological Fluid Mechanics (3)
570 Physical Climatology (AOA Geography 570) (3)
572 Subsurface Fate and Transport Processes (3)
574L Hydrogeology Laboratory (1)
576 Physical Hydrology (AOA WR 576) (3)
580 Advanced Hydrogeology (3)
581L Geomorphology and Surficial Geology (4)

Environmental Science
530 Advanced Environmental Science (3)

Civil Engineering
442 Hydraulic Engineering and Hydrology (3)
531 Physical-Chemical Water and Wastewater Treatment (3)
532 Advanced Physical-Chemical Water and Wastewater Treatment (3)
534 Environmental Engineering Chemistry (3)
536 Biological Wastewater Treatment (3)
537L Aqueous Environmental Chemistry and Analysis (3)
541 Groundwater Engineering (3)
542 Intermediate Hydrology (3)
543 Introduction to Groundwater and Contaminant Transport Modeling (3)
545 Open Channel Hydraulics (3)
547 GIS in Water Resources Engineering (3)
549 Vadose Zone Hydrology (3)

Community and Regional Planning
527 Watershed Management (3)
570 Modeling the Environment (3)

Geography
512 Seminar in Climatology (3-6)
521 Environmental Modeling and Geographic Information Systems (3-6)
553 Energy Balance Climatology (3)
556 Microclimatology (3)
559 Water Resources and GIS (3)
570 Physical Climatology (AOA E&PS 570) (3)
587L Intermediate Geographic Information Systems (3)
588L Advanced Geographic Information Systems (3)

Water Resources
576 Physical Hydrology (AOA E&PS 576) (3)
590 Internship (3) (see following section on "For-Credit Internships" before taking)
595 Topics in Water Resources (1-4) (offered irregularly; content varies)

Suggested Policy/Management Courses

(Water Well Image at right from Lifewater, Canada)

Each student takes at least 6 credits from this group (LAW 547 is required) including but not limited the following list (the number of credit hours for each course is shown in parentheses; "AOA" means "also offered as").

American Studies
523 Environmental Justice (3)
524 Environmental Conflicts in the U.S. West (3)
525 Environmental Theory and Practice (3)

Civil Engineering
535 Introduction to Hazardous Waste Risk Assessment (3)
538 Introduction to Hazardous Waste Management (3)
544 Water Resources Engineering (3)

Community and Regional Planning
515 Natural Resources Field Methods (3)
524 Environmental Planning Methods (3)
527 Watershed Management (3)
564 Foundations of Natural Resources (3)
569 Rural Community Development (3)
570 Seminar - Natural Resources Methods (3)
575 Natural Resource Economics (AOA Pub Ad 575) (3)
577 Practice of Policy Development (AOA Pub Ad 577) (3)

Economics
442 Topics in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (3)
466 Public Sector Project Analysis (3)
535 Evaluation of Public Programs (3)
540 Environmental and Natural Resource Modeling (3)
541 Sustainable Development (3)
542 Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: Survey (3)
543 Natural Resource Economics (3)
544 Environmental Economics (3)

Geography
513 Seminar: Contemporary Issues in Water Resources (3-6)
595 Environmental Conservation (3)
562 Water Resources Management (3)

Law
547 Water Law (3)
554 Indian Water Rights (2-3)
580 Environmental Law (3)
605 Advanced Water Law (2-3)
630 Environmental Problems (2-3)
643 New Mexico Land and Water Law (1-3)

Political Science
470 Public Policy Analysis (3)
475 Environmental Politics (3)
500 Contemporary Public Administration (3)
535 Comparative Public Administration (AOA Pub Ad 535) (3)

Public Administration
500 Public Management and Policy (3)
521 Institutional Development and Behavior (3)
524 Intergovernmental Administrative Problems (3)
525 Human Resources Management in the Public Sector (3)
535 Comparative Public Administration (AOA Pol Sc 535) (3)
544 Public Budgeting (3)
546 Public Financial Administration (3)
574 Seminar on Environmental Policy and Administration (3)
575 Natural Resource Economics (AOA CRP 575) (3)
577 Practice of Policy Development (AOA CRP 577) (3)

Water Resources
590 Internship (3) (see following section on "For-Credit Internships" before taking)
595 Topics in Water Resources (1-4) (offered irregularly; content varies)

The Water Resources Interdisciplinary Courses

How do the Interdisciplinary (core) courses fit into the curriculum and when should students take them? This section will provide guidance. If questions persist, consult the Director. To take each core course, the student must have completed all five MWR prerequisite courses.

WR 571. Water Resources I - Contemporary Issues (4).
Students examine contemporary issues in water resource systems, including water Flood at Rendija Canyon, near Los Alamos, Summer 2000 quality; ecosystem health; stakeholder concerns; economics; and water supply, policy, management and allocation. Emphasis on teamwork, cooperation and oral, written and graphic communication. [Fall]

This is the first of the 4-credit interdisciplinary courses and is offered each fall. The structure of the course has varied over the years, but in general, student teams focus on water resource systems (aquifer, river basin, metropolitan area, etc.) and study them in detail, defining water resources issues and suggesting management alternatives. The teams make oral and written presentations throughout the course, culminating in a team-produced final report and oral presentation. Emphasis is on teamwork, cooperation, coordination, issue definition, and communication. This course is normally taken at the start of a student's program.

WR 572. Water Resources II - Models (4).
(also offered as Economics 545). Practical aspects of the different technical models used by water resource professionals: hydrological, economic, ecological, etc. Students use models to solve problems. Emphasis on oral, written and graphic communication. Prerequisites: WR 571, Economics 300, and one course in hydrology or hydrogeology (e.g., E&PS 562, WR 576, CE 541, CE 542); or permission of instructor. [Spring].

This is the second interdisciplinary course and is offered each spring. It emphasizes the use of models: hydrological, economic, and other related models. It is not an in-depth exposure to modeling but is designed to give the students an appreciation of the limitations and uses of models. Students are given exercises in using computer models of water resources systems (hydrology, economics, etc.).

This course should be taken only after students have had (at a minimum) ECON 300 and coursework in hydrology or hydrogeology (e.g., E&PS 562, WR 576, CE 542, CE 441); ideally, it is best to take this course about halfway through a student's program. The course also has a strong communications component.

WR 573. Water Resources III - Field Problems (4).
Intensive experience with a field-based problem or suite of problems. Students work Weir and gaging station at Parajito Canyon, near Los Alamos, Summer 2000through problem identification and definition, collect/analyze data, propose solutions and present conclusions and recommendations in a appropriate forum. Prerequisites: WR 571 and WR 572; or permission of instructor. [Summer].

This is the last of the interdisciplinary courses and is offered each summer. It is a capstone course in that it represents a culmination of the student's experience in the Program and should be taken near the end of a student's program. In the course, teams of students work on field problems, and use their previous coursework and acquired skills to produce a final written and/or oral report. Again, strong emphasis is placed on communications skills. For the past four summers, WR 573 has been conducted in Honduras; we expect to continue this through 2005. WRP students pay only for the course tuition; the WRP pays the travel expenses.

For-Credit Internships (WR 590)

As a professional degree program, the MWR degree recognizes the value of “real-world” experience. To that end, students may obtain three (3) semester credits of the 39 required by serving an internship with a government agency, private firm or similar, non-UNM organization. The student will be required to provide a deliverable, generally a report, which should be on the scale of a Professional Project report. The topic of the internship should be consistent with the student's concentration (HS or PM). A key element of the internship is that the student work under the mentorship of a water resources professional. It is not to be an “independent studies” or Problems course.

The student must obtain advance approval from his/her committee (if the student has a committee) and the Director before the semester in which he/she intends to serve an internship. The student must submit a proposal of at least three (3) pages with the following elements:

* where the internship will be served;
* the nature of the tasks to be performed and/or the problem to be solved;
* how the internship will benefit the student and its relevance to the student's track;
* the student's mentor/supervisor; and
* the deliverable.

This proposal must be submitted to the WRP office at least one month prior to the start of the semester during which the student will serve the internship. Once approved, the student will then register for 3 credits of Internship (WR 590). Students may not take WR 590 for any reason other than serving an internship according to the above requirements.

WR 598 Professional Project (1-3)

Required for Master of Water Resources degree. Maximum of 3 credits can be counted toward degree. Offered on a PR/CR/NC basis only.

All students must take at least 3 credits of WR 598. More than 3 credits can be taken, and usually are, but only 3 count. It should generally not be taken until a student has a committee and an approved Professional Project proposal. Not all the credits must be taken in the same semester. There are many different sections of WR 598 – sign up for the section corresponding to your committee chair. If one does not exist, contact the Director. A student must be registered for at least 1 credit of WR 598 during the semester in which he/she graduates.

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1915 Roma Avenue NE
Albuquerque, NM 87131