Hydrologic Sciences Program
Graduate Coordinator
University of Colorado Boulder
450 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0450
T: 303-735-1882
hydrogrd@colorado.edu
The hydrologic sciences graduate program focuses on quantitative studies of water in the environment including its role in geologic and biogeochemical processes, ecosystem functions and global elemental cycling. The program is interdisciplinary, interdepartmental and designed to encourage students with a variety of academic backgrounds to enter the field. It is intended for science and engineering graduate students, allowing them to obtain recognition for their accomplishments in hydrologic sciences and to demonstrate the quantitative multidisciplinary education desired by many prospective employers.
All hydrologic sciences graduate program students are admitted through one of the participating departments: Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC); Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering (CEAE); Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EBIO); Environmental Studies (ENVS); Earth Science (ERTH); or Geography (GEOG). Graduate students may apply for admission to hydrologic sciences after admission to one of these departments.
The program offers a certificate in hydrologic sciences to research-oriented graduate students in the participating departments. PhD students in ATOC, EBIO, ENVS, ERTH and GEOG may enroll in the hydrologic sciences PhD subplan or the certificate. Course requirements are identical for the subplan and certificate.
Hydrologic sciences students conduct research within participating departments, research institutes and centers (e.g., INSTAAR), or partnering government agency labs in the Boulder area (e.g., USGS, NOAA). Primary supervision of the student's research may be provided by any faculty member approved by their department, though the hydrologic sciences program requires representation from program faculty on students' comprehensive exam and defense committees.
For additional information, please visit the program webpage or contact the Graduate Coordinator.
Requirements
Admission and Eligibility
The Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Program offers certificates or PhD subplans in hydrologic sciences to graduate students enrolled in atmospheric and oceanic studies, ecology and evolutionary biology, environmental studies, geography, geologic sciences, civil engineering (certificate only) and environmental engineering (certificate only).
Applications to the Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Program are accepted after matriculation to a master's or PhD program in ATOC, CVEN, EBIO, ENVS, ERTH, EVEN, or GEOG. See the program website for details.
Requirements
Required Courses and Credits
Interdisciplinary coursework
- Completion with a grade of B or better in all Hydrologic Sciences required courses.
- The course requirements are equivalent for the Certificate and the PhD Subplan.
Research
Certificate
- Thesis or dissertation topic includes substantial use of hydrologic science.
- Thesis or dissertation committee includes at least one Hydrologic Sciences faculty member.
PhD Subplan in ATOC, EBIO, ENVS, ERTH, GEOG
- Dissertation committee includes at least two Hydrologic Sciences faculty members.
- Successful completion of Preliminary and/or Comprehensive Examinations, as required by the home department.
- Successful completion of the Dissertation Defense
Academic discipline
- Completion of degree requirements for graduate degree within the student's home department.
Courses
Hydrologic sciences coursework is designed to assure competency in the appropriate subject matter at the graduate level.
The number of required courses is intentionally kept low so that the student is free to design an overall academic program that meets the needs of their specialized scholarly interests. Hydrologic sciences courses are included in the minimum semester hours required for all graduate students.
Five courses, totaling a minimum of 15 credit hours, are required as follows:
- Advanced Quantitative Skills: one course from List A
- Introduction to a Hydrologic Science: one course from List B or an additional course from List A
- Three electives courses or additional courses from List A and/or List B
Core Requirements
Choose two, at least one must be from the List A (six credits total).
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| List A: Advanced Quantitative Skills | ||
| ATOC 5050 | Atmospheric Thermodynamics and Dynamics | 3 |
| ATOC 5060 | Dynamics of the Atmosphere and Oceans | 3 |
| CVEN 5313 | Environmental Fluid Mechanics | 3 |
| CVEN 5353 | Groundwater Hydrology | 3 |
| CVEN 5464 | Environmental Engineering Processes | 3 |
| ERTH 5110 | Geomechanics | 3 |
| List B: Introduction to a Hydrologic Science | ||
| ATOC 5051 | Introduction to Physical Oceanography | 3 |
| ATOC 5061 | Advanced Ocean Dynamics and Air-Sea Coupled ENSO Mechanisms | 3 |
| CVEN 5333 | Physical Hydrology | 3 |
| CVEN 5404 | Water Chemistry | 3 |
| GEOG 5241 | Topics in Physical Geography (Fluvial Geomorphology) | 3 |
| GEOG 5251 | River Processes and Forms: Fluvial Geomorphology | 3-4 |
| GEOG 5321 | Snow Hydrology | 3-4 |
Elective Courses
Choose 3, additional classes from the core list may serve as electives (nine credits total)
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ATOC 5200 | Biogeochemical Oceanography | 3 |
| ATOC 5235 | Introduction to Atmospheric Radiative Transfer and Remote Sensing | 3 |
| ATOC 5550 | Mountain Meteorology | 3 |
| ATOC 5600 | Physics and Chemistry of Clouds and Aerosols | 3 |
| ATOC 5730 | Physical Oceanography and Climate | 3 |
| ATOC 5750 | Desert Meteorology and Climate | 3 |
| ATOC 5780 | Ice Sheets and Climate | 3 |
| CHEM 5141 | Environmental Water and Soil Chemistry | 3 |
| CVEN 5122 | The Colorado River Water Crisis: Water Policy, Hydrological Variability, and Climate Change | 3 |
| CVEN 5133 | Land Use and Water Quality | 3 |
| CVEN 5303 | Analysis of Urban Water Systems | 3 |
| CVEN 5323 | Applied Stream Ecology | 3 |
| CVEN 5343 | Transport and Dispersion in Surface Water | 3 |
| CVEN 5363 | Modeling of Hydrologic Systems | 3 |
| CVEN 5383 | Applied Groundwater Modeling | 3 |
| CVEN 5424 | Environmental Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| CVEN 5454 | Statistical Methods for Natural and Engineered Systems | 3 |
| CVEN 5537 | Numerical Methods in Civil Engineering | 3 |
| CVEN 5833 | Special Topics (Surface-Groundwater Exchanges) | 3 |
| EBIO 5030 | Limnology | 3 |
| EBIO 5155 | Ecosystem Ecology | 4 |
| ENVS 5840 | Global Biogeochemical Cycles | 3 |
| ERTH 5093 | Remote Sensing of the Environment | 4 |
| ERTH 5270 | Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry | 3 |
| ERTH 5280 | Aqueous and Environmental Geochemistry | 3 |
| ERTH 5305 | Global Biogeochemical Cycles | 3 |
| ERTH 5430 | Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology | 3 |
| ERTH 5700 | Earth Science Topics Seminar (Terrestrial Hydrology) | 1-4 |
| ERTH 5700 | Earth Science Topics Seminar (Sedimentary Modeling) | 1-4 |
| ERTH 5721 | Classics and Frontiers in Hydrology | 2 |
| ERTH 5775 | Introduction to Numerical Modeling in Geoscience | 3 |
| GEOG 5023 | Advanced Quantitative Methods for Spatial Data | 4 |
| GEOG 5093 | Remote Sensing of the Environment | 4 |
| GEOG 5241 | Topics in Physical Geography (Watershed Biogeochemistry) | 3 |
| GEOG 5241 | Topics in Physical Geography (Mountain Hydrology) | 3 |
| GEOG 5241 | Topics in Physical Geography (Snow from Space) | 3 |
| GEOG 5241 | Topics in Physical Geography (Adv in Measuring Mtn Snowpack) | 3 |
| GEOG 5271 | The Arctic Climate System | 3 |
| GEOG 5303 | Geographic Information Science: Spatial Programming | 4 |
| GEOG 5463 | Earth Analytics Data Science Bootcamp | 3 |