Water Resource Management Certificate

Chairperson
Dr. Duke U. Ophori

Because water is such a critical aspect of our physical and human environment, all of our programs require some understanding of water systems and water management including: physical water cycles; physics and chemistry of rock-water interactions; human impact on water supplies due to pollution and overuse; water use policy-making; and water resource management. As such, we have assembled a faculty in our department with expertise to support the water-related aspects of our programs.

This certificate program in Water Resource Management takes advantage of our faculty expertise by assembling our water-related courses into one coherent program rather than simply a series of discrete courses taken as part of several different degree programs. This certificate provides an integrated sequence of courses covering drainage basin-scale cycling of water, water contamination, surface and groundwater modeling, and water-related policy and resource management issues.

Career Opportunities

The program is designed primarily for people employed or seeking employment in a wide array of careers related to water management. These include:

• Private environmental engineering and consulting companies. Typical projectsencountered in this industry range from assessing groundwater pollution levels or predicting movement of contamination in a groundwater system to assessing the spatial distribution of wetland regions, which serve as principle groundwater recharge areas.
• Public agencies involved in environmental assessment and regulation enforcement such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, N.J. Department of Environmental Protection and county agencies such as Passaic County Environmental Health. Tasks performed by these agencies include monitoring water quality, identifying and monitoring contamination sources, enforcing environmental regulation, and developing recommendations for public policy that will impact water resource availability and quality.
• Manufacturing, transportation and service industry (both public and private). Many large corporations in industries such as pharmaceuticals and petroleum refining as well as public agencies, such as NY/NJ Port Authority, maintain environmental health and safety divisions responsible for ensuring compliance with environmental regulation, interactions with environmental enforcement agencies, and development of recommendations for safe practice within the industry. The vast majority of regulations that must be handled involve potential contamination of water resources.
• Public and private utilities. The most obvious utility requiring water resource expertise are water utilities, where expertise is required in maintaining water quality and adequate sources of clean water. Solid and liquid waste treatment facilities as well as gas and electric utilities also maintain staff with water resource expertise to ensure adequate supply of water needed for the utility (i.e. coolant for power plants) or to ensure that the utilities activities do no damage to existing water resources.

Many people working in these industries enter with a traditional natural science undergraduate degree (i.e. geology, biology, chemistry, and physics), environmental science degree or engineering degree. While many of these undergraduate programs may include one or two courses in hydrology, hydrogeology or water chemistry, few students entering the industries noted above with BA or BS degrees have a coherent body of coursework related specifically to water resources. This type of specific, applied study is usually reserved for graduate degree work.

The certificate course provides people already employed in these industries the opportunity to gain new skills directly applicable to their employment without committing to completion of the longer M.S./M.A. graduate degree program. It enhances productivity and chances of promotion for those already working in the industries.

REQUIREMENTS

As in the current M.S./M.A. degree programs, courses required for the Certificate program are offered in the evenings. This will provide flexibility for people already employed in the industry to enroll in the program without special arrangements with their employers.

The required courses are selected to provide students with training in four (4) areas: general surface and ground water hydrology, ground water modeling, drainage basin management (decision-making and policy development) and water quality

Required Courses

Fall Courses:
GEOS 452, Geohydrology, 3 credits
GEOS 509, Water Resource Management, 3 credits

Spring Courses: 
GEOS 454, Environmental Geochemistry, 2 credits
GEOS 552, Groundwater Modeling, 3 credits

Other Information

The two 500-level courses (Water Resource Management and Ground Water Modeling) may be transferred into existing geoscience, environmental science and environmental management degree programs in the Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, upon student applications and admission to one of these programs.

ADMISSION

All candidates must meet the basic admissions requirements for graduate study at Montclair State.  The completion of a major from an accredited college or university is preferred.  Candidates with degrees in closely related areas will be considered, although prematriculation coursework may be required.

DEADLINES

Credentials are processed as soon as they are received.  This program does not have a specific deadline; however, the Office of Graduate Admissions & Spport Services recommends that students submit their credentials as far in advance as possible for the semester they plan to begin their studies to ensure a timely review of their application.

TO APPLY TO THIS PROGRAM, PLEASE VISIT http://www.montclair.edu/graduate/prospective/app.shtml