Water Resources Management MS

Water is fundamental to all life. Meeting the increasing human demand for water while ensuring its future availability and quality is a significant societal challenge. The Water Resources Management (WRM) program prepares students to face the complexities of managing this critical natural resource.

Putting Knowledge Into Practice

The core of the Water Resources Management curriculum is the practicum where graduate students take on a water resources management issue facing a local community. Instead of doing individual research projects, graduate students collaboratively carry out an applied two-year project. From start to finish, students gain real-world experience working with a government agency or nonprofit organization client. The end goal of the practicum is to inform water policy and deliver water management recommendations to decision makers.

Two students measuring the width of a stream in a wetland area

Where Can Your Degree Take You?

Since its founding in 1965, the Water Resources Management Program has prepared more than 500 graduates for professional work in water resources planning and management. Our graduates can be found all over the world working in fields ranging from federal agencies to urban and regional planning. Job titles of our alumni include:

Senior Water Resources Coordinator
Oregon Water Resources Department (Salem, Oregon)

Vice President of Organizational Development
The Wilderness Society (Washington, D.C.)

Vice President of Ecological Design
North American Wetland Engineering (White Bear Lake, Minnesota)

Contact Us

Wondering if the Water Resources Management program is right for you? Our staff is happy to answer your questions.

Ken Genskow
Chair of Water Resources Management Program, Professor of Planning and Landscape Architecture
kgenskow@wisc.edu

Jim Miller
Graduate Program Manager
jemiller@wisc.edu

Support Water Resources Management

Gifts to the Water Resources Management Program play a crucial role in enhancing the reach and quality of our research and educational programs and support and advance WRM’s legacy of excellence in water science.

Make a gift today