University of Idaho Faculty Senate passed a proposal Tuesday approving a Master of Science in groundwater hydrology, a program that will provide specialized training in addressing the state’s water needs.
The new graduate program at UI stemmed from requests by the Idaho Department of Water Resources as well as graduates within the industry, according to Chair of Geography and Geological Sciences Jerry Fairley.
The program is intended to meet the requirements for potential professionals pursuing employment within the specialized field.
“In order to practice groundwater hydrology, you actually have to be a registered professional geologist or a registered professional engineer in the state,” Fairley said.
A program that can fulfill these barriers of entry is particularly beneficial in Idaho, where 95% of drinking water is sourced from groundwater.
According to an outline of the program, the advanced training required by the state to enter the field would be fulfilled by the master’s program, offering a thesis and non-thesis professional option.
The program will be open to students with an undergraduate degree in geology in addition to students with enough upper-division credit hours in the Department of Geological Sciences, Fairley said.
Despite this graduate program being newly approved, hydrology already has a significant connection to the university.
More than half of the Idaho’s Hydrology Section consists of UI graduates, according to Fairley.
The proposal states the program will stand as the only master’s program of its kind in the Northwest.
The groundwater hydrology master program will become effective in the 2022-2023 academic year.
Royce McCandless can be reached at arg-news@uidaho.edu