Below is a list of approved core courses on the Twin Cities campus. A course can fulfill only one core or elective requirement (no double counting). If you want to take a course for which you lack a prerequisite, consult with your advisor, the DGS, or the instructor to determine if you may register. The list is subject to change depending on availability of courses.
More information about program and course requirements can be found on the Degree Requirements page and in the WRS student handbook.
If you are interested in pursuing a degree in our Limnology & Oceanography track, please see the Limnology & Oceanography Courses page.
Core Courses
- Master's and Doctoral students are required to take one course in each of the 6 core areas (equals at least 13 credits)
- Courses offered on both the A-F and S/N grade basis must be taken A-F with a minimum grade of C-.
| Core Areas | Course Number | Course Options | Typically Offered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrology | BBE 8513 | Hydrologic Modeling of Small Watersheds (3 crd) | Even Years (Sp) |
| Hydrology | CEGE 4501 | Hydrologic Design (4 crd) | Every Semester |
| Hydrology | ESCI 4702 | General Hydrogeology (4 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
| Hydrology | FNRM 5114 | Hydrology and Watershed Management (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| Hydrology | FNRM 5153 | Forest Hydrology and Watershed Biogeochemistry (3 crd) | Odd Years (Sp) |
| Environmental Chemistry | CEGE 5541 | Environmental Water Chemistry (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| Environmental Chemistry | ESCI 4401/8401 | Aqueous Environmental Geochemistry (3 crd) | Odd Years (Sp) |
| Environmental Chemistry | LAAS 5311 | Soil Chemistry and Mineralogy (3 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
| Environmental Chemistry | PUBH 6190 | Environmental Chemistry (3 crd) | Odd Years (F) |
| Limnology | EEB 5601 | Limnology (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| Water Policy | ESPM 5245 | Sustainable Land Use Planning and Policy (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| Water Policy | PA 5761 | Environmental Systems Analysis at the Food-Energy-Water Nexus (3 crd) | Spring 2026 |
| Water Policy | WRS 5101 | Water Policy (3 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
| Seminar | WRS 8100 | Interdisciplinary Seminar in Water Resources (.5 crd) | Annual (F) |
| Ethics | WRS 8581 | Research and Professional Ethics in Water Resources and Environmental Science (.5 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
WRS Approved List of Electives
- Plan A Master's students need at least 9 credits from the following list and 10 Master's thesis research credits (WRS 8777).
- Plan B Master's students need at least 17 credits from the following list.
- Doctoral students need at least 11 credits from the following list and 24 Doctoral thesis research credits (WRS 8888).
- Courses offered on both the A-F and S/N grade basis must be taken A-F with a minimum grade of C-.
- Credits from a minor can fulfill your electives. Talk with the Graduate Program Coordinator in advance.
- NEW....Courses with ** behind them are approved, but may not show in the Electives section in your GPAS. Talk with the Graduate Program Coordinator to request they be moved out of Courses Not Allocated.
| Course Number | Electives | Typically Offered |
|---|---|---|
| AGRO/ENT 5121 | Applied Experimental Design (4 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
| BBE 5513 | Watershed Engineering (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| BBE 5523 | Ecological Engineering Design (3 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
| BBE 5535 | Assessment and Diagnosis of Impaired Waters (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| BBE 8013 ** | Parameter Estimation in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering | |
| BBE 8513 | Hydrologic Modeling of Small Watersheds (3 crd) | Even Years (Sp) |
| CEGE 4351 | Groundwater Mechanics (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| CEGE 4352 | Groundwater Modeling (3 crd) | Periodically (Sp) |
| CEGE 4501 | Hydrologic Design (4 crd) | Every Semester |
| CEGE 4502 | Water and Wastewater Treatment (3 crd) | Every Semester |
| CEGE 4512 | Open Channel Hydraulics (4 crd) | Periodically |
| CEGE 4562 | Environmental Remediation Technology (3 crd) | Periodically |
| CEGE 4563 | Pollutant Fate and Transport: Processes and Modeling | |
| CEGE 5180 | The Science and Engineering of Streams | |
| CEGE 5511 | Urban Hydrology and Water Quality | |
| CEGE 5512 | Stochastic Ecohydrology | |
| CEGE 5515 | Remote Sensing of Environment and Water Resources | |
| CEGE 5541 | Environmental Water Chemistry (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| CEGE 5542 | Experimental Methods in Environmental Engineering (3 crd) | Periodically |
| CEGE 5543 ** | Intro Environmental Fluid Mechanics | Annual (F) |
| CEGE 5551 | Environmental Microbiology (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| CEGE 8504 | Theory of Unit Operations (4 crd) | Periodically |
| CEGE 8505 | Biological Processes (3 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
| CEGE 8506 | Stochastic Hydrology (4 crd) | Periodically |
| CEGE 8507 | Advanced Methods in Hydrology (4 crd) | Periodically |
| CEGE/ESCI 8511 | Mechanics of Sediment Transport (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| CEGE 8542 | Chemistry of Organic Pollutants in Environmental Systems (3 crd) | Periodically |
| CEGE 8572 | Computational Environmental Fluid Dynamics (4 crd) | Periodically (Sp) |
| CEGE/EEB/ESCI 8601 | Introduction to Stream Restoration (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| CEGE/EEB/ESCI 8602 | Stream Restoration Practice (2 crd) | Annual (Sum/F) |
| CONS 8004 | Economic and Social Aspects of Conservation Biology (3 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
| EEB 4611 | Biogeochemical Processes (3 crd) | Periodically (Sp) |
| EEB 5601 | Limnology (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| ENT 5081 | Insects, Aquatic Habitats, and Pollution (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| ENT 4361 | Aquatic Insects (4 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
| ESCI 4401 | Aqueous Environmental Geochemistry (3 crd) | Periodically |
| ESCI 4402 | Biogeochemical Cycles in the Ocean (3 crd) | Even Years (F) |
| ESCI 4702 | General Hydrogeology (3 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
| ESCI 5204 | Geostatistics and Inverse Theory (3 crd) | Periodically (F) |
| ESCI 5331 ** | Hydrologic Modeling | (Even Sp) |
| ESCI 5705 | Limnogeology and Paleoenvironment (3 crd)- New Course | Periodically |
| ESCI 5971 | Field Hydrogeology (2 crd) | Annual (Sum) |
| ESPM 4216 | Contaminant Hydrology (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| ESPM 5015 | Invasive Plants and Animals (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| ESPM 5061 | Water Quality and Natural Resources (3 crd) | Every Semester |
| ESPM 5111 | Hydrology and Water Quality Field Methods (3 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
| ESPM 5211 | Survey, Measurements, and Modeling for Environmental Analysis (3 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
| ESPM 5256 | Natural Resource Law & the Management of Public Lands & Waters (3 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
| ESPM 5295 | GIS in Environmental Science and Management (4 crd) | Annual (F) |
| ESPM 5402 | Biometeorology (3 crd) | Even Years (F) |
| ESPM/SOIL 5555 | Wetland Soils (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| ESPM 5575 | Wetlands (3 crd) | Annual (Sp) |
| FNRM 5114 | Hydrology and Watershed Management (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| FNRM 5131 | GIS for Natural Resources (4 crd) | Annual (F) |
| FNRM 5153 | Forest Hydrology and Watershed Biogeochemistry | Odd Years (Sp) |
| FNRM 5262 | Remote Sensing and Geospatial Analysis of Natural Resources and Environment (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| FW 4001 | Biometry | |
| FW 4136 | Ichthyology (4 crd) | Annual (F) |
| FW 5459/8459 | Stream and River Ecology (3 crd) | Even Years (F) |
| FW 8051 | Statistical Modeling of Ecological Data Using R and WinBugs/JAGS | |
| FW 8465 | Fish Habitats and Restoration (3 crd) | Odd Years (F) |
| GEOG 5426 | Climatic Variations (3 crd) | Periodically (F) |
| HORT 5071 | Ecological Restoration (4 crd) | Annual (F) |
| LAAS 5311 | Soil Chemistry and Mineralogy (3 crd) | Every Semester |
| NR 5021 | Statistics for Agricultural and Natural Resource Professionals (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| PMB 4121 | Microbial Ecology and Applied Microbiology | Annual (sp) |
| PUBH 6190 | Environmental Chemistry (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| PUBH 6450 | Biostatistics I (4 crd) | Annual (F & Sp) |
| PUBH 6451 | Biostatistics II (4 crd) | Annual (F & Sp) |
| SOIL 5232 | Vadose Zone Hydrology (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| STAT 5021 | Statistical Analysis (4 crd) | Every Semester |
| STAT 5302 | Applied Regression Analysis (4 crd) | Annual (F, Sp, & Su) |
| STAT 5303 | Designing Experiments (4 crd) | Annual (F, Sp, & Su) |
| STAT 5401 | Applied Multivariate Methods (3 crd) | Annual (F) |
| WRS 5150 | Watershed Specialist Training (2 crd) | Periodically |
| WRS 8095 | WRS Plan B Project (3 crd) For Plan B Masters students only and in consultation with the GPC | Annual (F, Sp) |