College-Level Courses about Water

Science and Other Stories: Reading the Mississippi River part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences:Courses
Julie Maxson, Metropolitan State University
This course is an exploration of the nature of science and sustainability, focusing on the local system of the Upper Mississippi River.

Hydrotopia: Toward a Hydraulic Society in the American West part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences:Courses
Ed Barbanell, University of Utah
Interdisciplinary case study analysis of historical and emerging water issues in the western United States. Students learn the fundamental concepts and major issues related to water resources planning and ...

Sustainable Watersheds and Communities part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences:Courses
Cailin Huyck Orr, Carleton College
Water and land use are explicitly linked through a complex set of challenges surrounding water quantity and quality. In the world today, water scarcities due to economic growth, ecosystem demands, and climate ...

Water: Science and Society part of Water Science and Society
Demian Saffer, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus; Tim Bralower, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus; Michael Arthur, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus; Patrick Belmont, Utah State University
Water: Science and Society is a 10-module (12-week) general education course focused on the interrelationships between water and human activities from a science and policy standpoint. The course blends key readings ...

Water, Agriculture, and Sustainability part of Water, Agriculture, Sustainability
Chris Sinton, Ithaca College; nicole davi, William Paterson University of New Jersey; Robert Turner, University of Washington-Bothell Campus; terri plake, Northwest Indian College; Dave Gosselin, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Water is the most critical substance for the sustenance of life, but the prognosis for the quality and supply of water resources in much of the world is somewhere between troubling and dire. This module provides a ...

Using the Mississippi River Watershed Module in Introduction to Environmental Economics part of BASICS:Teaching Materials:The Wicked Problem of Water Quality in the Mississippi River Watershed:Instructor Stories
Anna Klis, Northern Illinois University
This course offers an overview of economic analyses of environmental issues like pollution and resource management for non-majors. Students will receive an introduction to marginal thinking, market-based solutions, valuation techniques, and government intervention, with a focus on current issues and applying economics in an interdisciplinary manner to other environmental fields.

Robert Turner: Using the Water, Agriculture, and Sustainability Module in Water and Sustainability at University of Washington-Bothell Campus part of Water, Agriculture, Sustainability
Robert Turner, University of Washington-Bothell Campus
Engaging Students in the Unsustainability of Water Use The generation and inclusion of the InTeGrate Module (Water, Agriculture, and Sustainability) in my Water and Sustainability course is another big step in its gradual evolution. It started as hydrology light, which was unsatisfactory for everyone involved. Over time the sustainability aspects of the course grew to the extent that it squeezed out the water focus. This prompted me to take the bulk of what the course had become and generate a new course (Principles and Controversies of Sustainability) so I could pivot back to water challenges and opportunities in this course.

Steve Burian: Using Water Sustainability in Cities at the University of Utah part of Water Sustainability in Cities
The goal of the course is to empower students to effect change, by giving them the knowledge and opportunity to connect global and regional issues to local conditions and behaviors. The focus was water and sustainability, with case studies, position papers, field trips, and guest speakers all providing varied perspectives of the key water issues. Topics include governance, community engagement, climate and water, water institutions, and water management.

Hydrotopia: Water Resources Management in the West part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Engineering, Sustainability, and the Geosciences:Courses
Steven Burian, University of Utah
This is an interdisciplinary water management course. It is co-taught by an engineering instructor and an instructor from humanities. Students experience class sessions involving traditional lectures, guest speakers, position paper debates, and design charettes. Students are required to complete numerous in-class exercises, homework, three position papers, and a team project.

Water and Society part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Teaching about Risk and Resilience:Courses
Adelle Monteblanco, University of Colorado at Boulder
"Water and Society" introduces students to sociological considerations of water, particularly access, distribution and risk management. The course reviews the central role of water in human society, with ...

Conservation of Natural Resources part of Complex Systems:Courses
Jeff Wilson, The University of Texas at Brownsville
This course utilizes current literature seminar-style discussions and integrates the virtual world software SECOND LIFE into some of the content/presentations.

Environment and the Earth Class part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Service Learning:Examples
Compiled by Suzanne Savanick, Science Education Resource Center. Based on Bixby et al. (2003), Ecology on Campus: Service Learning in Introductory Environmental Courses, Journal of College Science Teaching, v. 32, n.5, o, 327-331.
The Environment and the Earth class at the University of South Carolina participated in a campus environmental service-learning project where students collected data lighting, water fixtures, recycling bins, and trash in five academic buildings.

Fundamentals of Water Quality part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, Geochemistry 2013:Courses
Thomas Meixner, The University of Arizona
Introduction to chemical processes affecting the behavior of major and minor chemical species in the aquatic environment. Physical, equilibrium, inorganic/organic, and analytical principles as applied to natural ...

Pollution in the Environment part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, Geochemistry 2013:Courses
Vijay Vulava, College of Charleston
In this course you will obtain theoretical skills required to understand how natural and anthropogenic factors influence pollutant behavior on Earth's near-surface environments. We will primarily focus on ...

Global Change and Human Health part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Using an Earth System Approach:Earth System Science in a Nutshell:Example Courses
The course begins by focusing on the dynamics of Earth's physical systems and the impacts of increasing human population on those systems, and concludes by examining several critical health issues in light of ...

Environmental Analysis part of Complex Systems:Courses
deborah gross, Carleton College
Humans have had a dramatic impact on the chemistry of the earth's environment. In this course, we study the chemistry of molecules in the air, water, and soil. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the ...

Environmental Economics and Policy part of QuIRK:Courses
Aaron Swoboda, Carleton College
This course explores the economic and political institutions affecting the environment. We will use the tools of economics to analyze several contemporary environmental policy issues ranging from climate change, ...

HWR203 - Arizona Water Issues part of Course Design:Goals Database
Jim Washburne, The University of Arizona
Students will research and discuss a wide range of topics related to the use and misuse of water throughout Arizona. Some of the fundamental tools for studying water will be used to examine questions ranging from ...

Global Environmental Obstacles part of Quantitative Skills:Courses
Walter Borowski, Eastern Kentucky University
The course uses Mackenzie's Our Changing Planet as a template and investigates world population, diminishing water resources, anthropogenic effects on the atmosphere (ozone hole and acid rain), and global ...

Oil, Water and Climate part of Complex Systems:Courses
Catherine Gautier, University of California-Santa Barbara
Oil and water are two key strategic resources dominating the international scene. This class provides an overview of global distributions of oil and water resources and analyzes some of the social, economic, and ...