HYDPHD - Hydrology

63

Minimum credits for MAJOR in Hydrology: 54 (Coursework = 36 units, Dissertation = 18 units)

Minimum credits complementary MINOR selected: Varies based on department selected (12 units on average; see below for details)

Coursework: Of the 36 units required for the major, a minimum of 21 units of coursework and 3 units of field methods/synthesis course work with HWRS Primary Faculty instructors is required. The remaining 12 units may include approved transfer coursework, approved non-primary instructor HWRS coursework (courses cross-listed with HWRS where another department is considered the "home" department), and University of Arizona courses outside the HWRS department.

Core courses provide fundamental knowledge in the general areas of hydrology and water resources. No specific core courses are required for doctoral students, although one or more may be included in the Doctoral Plan of Study. Students should consult the Director of Graduate Studies-Hydrology to choose courses that will provide breadth of study. They may be useful in preparation for the Doctoral Oral Qualifying Examination to be taken in the first year of residence

Potential core courses include:

• course: Fundamentals of Water Quality (3 units)

• course: Fundamentals of Subsurface Hydrology (3 units)

• course: Fundamentals of Surface Water Hydrology (3 units)

• course: Fundamentals: Systems Approach to Hydrologic Modeling (3 units)

In addition to advanced elective course work (see below), doctoral students are required to complete the Field Methods-Field Synthesis course sequence (total 3 units):

• course: Field Hydrology Methods (2 units, spring semester)

• course: Field Hydrology Synthesis (1 unit, presession summer semester)

As noted above, of the 36 units required for the Major in Hydrology, the Plan of Study must include a minimum of 21 credit hours of coursework with Primary HWRS faculty members. (Independent study, professional development enrollment, and field sequence units are not included in the core or advanced elective categories.) Advanced elective course work is intended to provide more in-depth study in a student's specific area of interest. A clear, thematic area of emphasis should be developed. Coursework must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies-Hydrology.

The department offers several areas of concentration; examples include, but are not limited to:

• Courses in subsurface hydrology, groundwater modeling (including computer and numerical modeling)

• Courses in surface hydrology (including climate change, risk assessment, remote sensing and spatial analysis)

• Courses in environmental water quality (including chemical modeling and isotope tracer studies)

• Courses in water resources systems (including optimization, data assimilation, management)

• Combination of courses in related areas: For example, subsurface hydrology and surface hydrology interaction, water quality and surface hydrology interaction

There are more than twenty potential Primary advanced elective courses available; all are 3-unit lecture format courses unless noted. A student should complete an approved combination of Core and Primary advanced elective coursework to satisfy the 21-unit Primary faculty requirement.

• courseHWRS 503 Subsurface Fluid Dynamics

• courseHWRS 504 Numerical Methods for Environmental Transport Problems (available for 3 or 4 units)

• courseHWRS 505 Vadose Zone Hydrology

• course: Hydrologic Transport Processes

• courseHWRS 521 Water Resources Systems Planning and Management

• courseHWRS 524 Hydroclimatology

• courseHWRS 531 Hydrogeology (4 units total = 3 units lecture, 1 unit laboratory)

• courseHWRS 532 Environmental Hydrogeology Laboratory (a 3-unit laboratory and advanced field course)

• courseHWRS 535 Advanced Subsurface Hydrology

• courseHWRS 543A Risk Assessment for Environmental Systems

• courseHWRS 549 Statistical Hydrology

• courseHWRS 570 Computer Simulation of Water Quality Processes

• HWRS 573 Hydrology of Water Resources Management

• courseHWRS 580 Isotope Tracers in Hydrology

• courseHWRS 582 Applied Groundwater Modeling

• courseHWRS 596G Water-Rock-Microbial Processes

• courseHWRS 630 Advanced Catchment Hydrology

• courseHWRS 642 Analysis of Hydrologic Systems

• courseHWRS 645 Stochastic Methods in Subsurface Hydrology

• courseHWRS 655 Stochastic Methods in Surface Hydrology

• HWRS Newly approved Primary faculty HWRS courses may be available - consult the Director of Graduate Studies-Hydrology

This list does not include cross-listed HWRS courses in the catalog which may be taught by faculty members from other University of Arizona departments. Cross-listed courses are not included in the Primary faculty course list and are not automatically approved for inclusion in the Doctoral Plan of Study.

Language Requirements: None

Academic Progress and Formal Examinations: Students attending full-time and making good academic progress complete a series of formal examinations within the following (typical) timeline:

• Year 1: Doctoral Qualifying Examination in the Major* (written and oral components)

• Year 1: Doctoral Qualifying Examination in the Minor (may be optional; consult Minor Department

• Year 2.5 to Year 3: Doctoral Written and Oral Comprehensive Examination process in Major and Minor

• Year 4: Doctoral Final Oral Examination (aka Dissertation Defense)

• *Qualifying Examination in HWRS: A student must complete and pass the doctoral qualifying examination by the end of the second semester in residence. Consult with the Director of Graduate Studies-Hydrology and the Graduate Program Coordinator for scheduling. Details about this examination process are included in the PHD HWRS Program Guide.

Transfer Coursework: The number of transfer graduate units that may be included in the Plan of Study is limited to 12 units; however, this will also affect the potential for a student to complete non-Primary Faculty advanced HWRS electives (cross-listed courses with the HWRS prefix) or non-HWRS courses (courses from outside the department). Consult with the Director of Graduate Studies-Hydrology for advice. 

Professional Development: Two components are required to satisfy the professional development: 1) Enrollment in department's weekly invited-speaker seminar series and 2) presentation of dissertation research at two approved regional or national conferences.

1. Enrollment in HWRS 595A Current Topics in Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences Sec 001 (one unit) for at least one semester. These units are not included in the Doctoral Plan of Study.

2. Two presentations of Doctoral Dissertation research (minimum one oral presentation) at approved regional or national conferences. No academic credit is awarded for paper or poster presentations. One presentations may be made at an approved local conference, such as the department's annual student research symposium, El Dia del Agua y la Atmosfera, or the Arizona Hydrological Society Annual Conference. Other conference venues include annual meetings for the American Geophysical Union (or European Geophysical Union), the American Meteorological Society, and the Geological Soceity of America. Consult with the Director of Graduate Studies-Hydrology for other venues that may satisfy this requirement.

Dissertation Archival: Electronic submission of the Doctoral Dissertation to the Graduate College and archival with ProQuest UMI is required. The department does not maintain a separate archive, although members of the student's faculty committee may request a copy of the manuscript.

Choice of Doctoral Minor: Doctoral students majoring in HWRS must choose a minor area of study that complements and supports the dissertation research. This decision is made in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies-Hydrology and the primary faculty dissertation director. The minimum number of units required varies based on the choice of minor department (12 units is average). The student should also consult with the Minor Department early in their academic residency to learn about other requirements, such as core and elective course requirements, the use of transfer coursework for inclusion in the Minor Plan of Study, and the number of required Minor faculty advisors. Typical Minors for HWRS students include:

• Applied Mathematics

• Atmospheric Sciences

• Chemical Engineering

• Civil Engineering

• Environmental Science (Soil-Water-Environmental Science)

• Geological Engineering

• Geosciences

• Global Change

• Mining Engineering

• Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis

• Renewable Natural Resource Studies

• Systems Engineering

• Other minor areas of study may also be possible

If you are student majoring in another department (if you are not an HWRS major), contact the Director of Graduate Studies-Hydrology regarding the Doctoral Minor in Hydrology and Water Resources. Courses for the Doctoral Minor in HWRS must be chosen in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies-Hydrology. You can find more information here.

Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.