About the WRS Program

Water Resources Science (WRS) is a science-based graduate program with three educational goals:

  • to produce scientists with strong technical skills in disciplines relevant to water resources science;
  • to develop a holistic understanding of the hydrologic cycle and associated ecosystems, as well as the interconnectedness of the sciences needed to understand and manage aquatic resources; and
  • to generate an understanding of the interplay between the bio-physical sciences and the social sciences in developing and implementing public policies related to water.

Students in the program develop the breadth of scientific knowledge appropriate to understand the complicated aquatic ecosystems and watersheds on which they will work, as well as social dimensions of the topic, including the public policy and legal frameworks in which water resources are protected and managed.

The program draws on numerous water-related courses from departments on the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Duluth campuses and is administered by the University of Minnesota Water Resources Center.