Hydrologic Science and Engineering
Directors
Jonathan (Josh) Sharp, HSE Director, Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
David Benson, HSE Associate Director, Professor, Geology & Geological Engineering
Department of Chemistry
James Ranville, Professor
Bettina Voelker, Professor
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Eric Anderson, Associate Professor
Christopher Higgins, Professor
Terri Hogue, Dean of Earth & Society Programs
Tissa Illangasekare, Professor and AMAX Distinguished Chair
Ning Lu, Professor
Junko Munakata Marr, Professor and Department Head CEE
John McCray, Professor
John Spear, Professor
Department of Economics and Business
Steven M. Smith, Assistant Professor
Department of Geology and Geological Engineering
Adrienne Marshall, Assistant Professor, Geology and Geological Engineering
Reed Maxwell, Professor
Danica Roth, Assistant Professor
Paul Santi, Professor
Kamini Singha, Professor
Alexis Sitchler, Associate Professor
Wendy Zhou, Professor
Department of Geophysics
John Bradford, Vice President for Global Initiatives
Brandon Dugan, Professor and Baker Hughes Chair in Petrophysics & Borehole Geophysics and Associate Department Head GP
Matthew Siegfried, Assistant Professor
Department of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Hussein Amery, Professor
Adrianne Kroepsch, Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Nils Tilton, Associate Professor
Department of Mining Engineering
Rennie Kaunda, Assistant Professor
Department of Petroleum Engineering
Yu-Shu Wu, Professor
Program Requirements
MS non-thesis: 30 credits total, including a design course or independent study. (See a list of design courses below)
MS thesis: 30 credits total, consisting of 24 credits of coursework and 6 credits of thesis credit. Students must also write and orally defend a research thesis.
PhD: 72 total credits, consisting of coursework (at least 36 hours), and research (at least 24 hours). Students must also successfully complete qualifying examinations, write and defend a dissertation proposal, write and defend a doctoral dissertation, and are expected to submit the dissertation work for publication in scholarly journals.
Thesis and Dissertation Committee Requirements
Students must meet the general requirements listed in the graduate bulletin section Graduate Degrees and Requirements. In addition, the student’s advisor or co-advisor must be an HSE faculty member. For MS thesis students, at least two committee members must be members of the HSE faculty. For doctoral students, at least two faculty on the committee must be a member of the HSE faculty. For PhD committee the required at-large member must be from a Mines department outside the student’s home department, and where applicable, outside the students minor department.
Prerequisites
- Baccalaureate degree in a science or engineering discipline
- College calculus: two semesters required
- Differential equations: one semester required
- College physics: one semester required
- College chemistry: two semesters required
- College statistics: one semester required
- Fluid mechanics
Note that some prerequisites may be completed in the first few semesters of the graduate program if approved by the HSE director/ program manager. Contact Rachel McDonald for questions at rmcdonald@mines.edu.
Mines’ Combined Undergraduate/Graduate Degree Program
Students enrolled in Mines’ combined undergraduate/graduate program may double count up to 6 credits of graduate coursework to fulfill requirements of both their undergraduate and graduate degree programs. These courses must have been passed with B- or better, not be substitutes for required coursework, and meet all other university, department, and program requirements for graduate credit.
Students are advised to consult with their undergraduate and graduate advisors for appropriate courses to double count upon admission to the combined program.
Required Curriculum
Students will work with their academic advisors and graduate thesis committees to establish plans of study that best fit their individual interests and goals. Each student will develop and submit a plan of study to their advisor during the first semester of enrollment. Doctoral students may transfer in credits from an earned MS graduate program according to requirements listed in the Graduate Degrees and Requirements section of the graduate bulletin, and after approval by the student's thesis committee.
Core Curriculum
Curriculum areas of emphasis consist of core courses, and electives. Core courses cover four areas of knowledge: Groundwater, Surface Water, Chemistry, and Contaminant Fate and Transport. Students can elect to take 9 or 12 credits of core curriculum depending on selected option below. Courses that meet core requirements include the following:
| Option #1 (9 credit hrs.) | ||
| GEGN566 | GROUNDWATER ENGINEERING | 3.0 |
| GEGN582 | INTEGRATED SURFACE WATER HYDROLOGY | 3.0 |
| CEEN/GEGN587 | HYDROCHEMICAL AND TRANSPORT PROCESSES | 3.0 |
| Option #2 (12 credit hrs.) | ||
| GEGN566 | GROUNDWATER ENGINEERING | 3.0 |
| GEGN582 | INTEGRATED SURFACE WATER HYDROLOGY | 3.0 |
| CEEN550 | PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY | 3.0 |
| AND Choose one of the following: | ||
| CEEN584 | SUBSURFACE CONTAMINANT TRANSPORT | 3.0 |
| CEEN580 | CHEMICAL FATE AND TRANSPORT IN THE ENVIRONMENT | 3.0 |
Students who have completed coursework for a previous degree that satisfies one of these requirements can get core curriculum requirements waived with the appropriate Waiver form and approval of advisor.
In addition, a fluid mechanics class is required for students to complete the HSE degree programs. If a student has previously taken a fluid mechanics course (for example as part of an undergraduate degree) then this requirement is met; if a student has not previously taken a fluid mechanics course this requirement can be satisfied by taking: GEGN/ CEEN 585 – Fluid Mechanics for Hydrology.
Areas of Specialization
Students may choose to complete an rea of specialization within the MS in Hydrology degrees by taking additional defined courses. These areas of specialization are: Hydrogeophysics, Hydrobiogeochemistry, and Hydrology, Policy, and Management. The area of specialization will appear on the transcripts of students who register for and complete the required coursework. Courses required for these areas of specialization are:
1. Hydrogeophysics:
| GPGN574 | ADVANCED HYDROGEOPHYSICS | 3.0 |
| GPGN533 | GEOPHYSICAL DATA INTEGRATION & GEOSTATISTICS | 3.0 |
| GPGN570 | APPLICATIONS OF SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING | 3.0 |
| or GPGN520 | ELECTRICAL AND ELECTROMAGNETIC EXPLORATION | |
2. Hydrobiogeochemistry
Students choose three of the following courses with at least one from each of microbiology-focused and geochemistry focused courses. Students with a Hydrobiogeochemistry area of specialization are encouraged to enroll in CEEN550 and a separate Contaminant Fate and Transport course (CEEN580 or CEEN584) to satisfy the HSE core, leaving GEGN586 and CEEN551 as the geochemistry focused courses.
| Microbiology Focus: | ||
| CEEN562 | ENVIRONMENTAL GEOMICROBIOLOGY | 3.0 |
| CEEN560 | MOLECULAR MICROBIAL ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT | 3.0 |
| Geochemistry Focus: | ||
| CEEN550 | PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY | 3.0 |
| GEGN586 | NUMERICAL MODELING OF GEOCHEMICAL SYSTEMS | 3.0 |
| CEEN551 | ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 3.0 |
3. Hydrology, Policy, and Management
Students pursuing the Hydrology, Policy, and Management specialty track will choose two of the following three courses focused on water policy and management.
| EBGN537 | ECONOMICS OF WATER | 3.0 |
| HASS588 | GLOBAL WATER POLITICS AND POLICY | 3.0 |
| HASS584 | US WATER POLITICS AND POLICY | 3.0 |
In addition, students will choose a third course from a broader list that also includes courses in complementary areas of communication, economics, law, philosophy, and policy. Current course options are listed below. Because course options are continually expanding, additional complementary courses (beyond those listed here) may be approved on an ad hoc basis by the coordinator of the Hydrology, Policy, and Management track and the HSE program director in response to individual student requests.
| EBGN537 | ECONOMICS OF WATER | 3.0 |
| EBGN570 | ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS | 3.0 |
| HASS521 | ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY | 3.0 |
| HASS523 | ADVANCED SCIENCE COMMUNICATION | 3.0 |
| HASS525 | ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION | 3.0 |
| HASS560 | GEOPOLITICS OF NATURAL RESOURCES | 3.0 |
| HASS565 | SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY | 3.0 |
| HASS568 | ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE | 3.0 |
| HASS588 | GLOBAL WATER POLITICS AND POLICY | 3.0 |
| HASS584 | US WATER POLITICS AND POLICY | 3.0 |
| HASS593 | NATURAL RESOURCES & ENERGY POLICY: THEORIES AND PRACTICE | 3.0 |
| MNGN571 | ENERGY, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND SOCIETY | 3.0 |
| PEGN530 | ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND SUSTAINABILITY | 3.0 |
| A grade of B- or better is required in all core classes for graduation. | ||
Design Courses
For non-thesis MS students, the following is a list of Design Courses that may be completed in lieu of an Independent Study:
| CEEN515 | HILLSLOPE HYDROLOGY AND STABILITY | 3.0 |
| CEEN581 | WATERSHED SYSTEMS MODELING | 3.0 |
| CEEN575 | HAZARDOUS WASTE SITE REMEDIATION | 3.0 |
| CEEN584 | SUBSURFACE CONTAMINANT TRANSPORT | 3.0 |
| GEGN532 | GEOLOGICAL DATA ANALYSIS | 3.0 |
| GEGN575 | APPLICATIONS OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS | 3.0 |
| GEGN583 | MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF GROUNDWATER SYSTEMS | 3.0 |
| GEGN584 | FIELD METHODS IN HYDROLOGY | 3.0 |
| GEGN586 | NUMERICAL MODELING OF GEOCHEMICAL SYSTEMS | 3.0 |
Elective courses may be chosen from the approved list below or as approved by your advisor or thesis committee.
| CEEN511 | UNSATURATED SOIL MECHANICS | 3.0 |
| CEEN512 | SOIL BEHAVIOR | 3.0 |
| CEEN515 | HILLSLOPE HYDROLOGY AND STABILITY | 3.0 |
| CEEN560 | MOLECULAR MICROBIAL ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT | 3.0 |
| CEEN562 | ENVIRONMENTAL GEOMICROBIOLOGY | 3.0 |
| CEEN570 | WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT | 3.0 |
| CEEN571 | ADVANCED WATER TREATMENT ENGINEERING AND WATER REUSE | 3.0 |
| CEEN575 | HAZARDOUS WASTE SITE REMEDIATION | 3.0 |
| CEEN581 | WATERSHED SYSTEMS MODELING | 3.0 |
| GEGN532 | GEOLOGICAL DATA ANALYSIS | 3.0 |
| GEGN573 | GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING SITE INVESTIGATION | 3.0 |
| GEGN575 | APPLICATIONS OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS | 3.0 |
| GEGN581 | ANALYTICAL HYDROLOGY | 3.0 |
| GEGN584 | FIELD METHODS IN HYDROLOGY | 3.0 |
| GEGN586 | NUMERICAL MODELING OF GEOCHEMICAL SYSTEMS | 3.0 |
| GEOL540 | ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY AND GEOCHRONOLOGY | 3.0 |
| MATH530 | INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICAL METHODS | 3.0 |
| MATH531 | THEORY OF LINEAR MODELS | 3.0 |
| MATH532 | SPATIAL STATISTICS | 3.0 |
| EBGN510 | NATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMICS | 3.0 |
| HASS588 | GLOBAL WATER POLITICS AND POLICY | 3.0 |
| GEGN585 | FLUID MECHANICS FOR HYDROLOGY | 2.0 |