Water Resources Certificate

Certificate Overview

Advance your career in water resources planning, management, or policy with this online graduate certificate addressing an array of water issues in Colorado and the western United States. Expand your knowledge with case studies and applied exercises. Areas of study include:

• The historical basis for rules governing the allocation of water
• Water law development in Colorado in response to evolving customs and uses
• The two major water allocation doctrines used in the U.S.
• Development and operation of interstate compacts for allocating water among multiple states
• Water law application in planning future water policies
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) fundamentals to analyze data for water allocation, distribution, and use
• The hydrologic cycle and its impact on society and environmental change
• Physical processes that drive surface and groundwater interaction and how humans adapt the hydrologic cycle to their needs
• Creation of spatial products to understand water resources use and development

After completion of this online certificate, apply your knowledge to a career in the public or private sector. Career opportunities may be found in forests, parks, wildlife refuges, public lands, special-purpose water districts, academia, water resources engineering and consulting firms, nonprofit organizations, and municipal, tribal, county, state, or federal agencies.

Curriculum

Courses can be taken in any order.

Water Resources Certificate

Play

Dr. Melinda Laituri discusses the Water Resources certificate curriculum. The three course certificate addresses an array of water issues in Colorado and the western United States. [Transcript]