Program Overview

Water Science and Management (Water Economics and Policy) - Master of Science

The Master's degree in Water Science and Management with a concentration in Water Economics and Policy is designed for students who wish to complement their primary discipline by obtaining scientific, technical, and managerial expertise in water. This degree can be earned with 26 credits of formal coursework, plus 6 additional thesis research credits.

Requirements

• The program requires 26 credits of formal coursework and 6 credits of thesis research.
• The degree has five available concentrations.
• Core courses include:
  • AEEC 5350: Economics of Water Resource Management and Policy (3 credits)
  • RGSC 518: Watershed Methods and Management (3 credits)
  • Alternatively, SOIL 456: Irrigation and Drainage (3-4 credits)
• Students must select one course from the following:
  • A ST 505: Statistical Inference I (4 credits)
  • C E 582: Statistical Hydrology (3 credits)
  • GEOG 585: Spatial Analysis and Modeling (3 credits)
• Seminar credit or one of the following courses:
  • WSAM 605: Arid Land Water Resources (3 credits)
  • WSAM 610: Water and Sustainable Economic Development (3 credits)
  • GEOG 501: Geographic Theory and Application (3 credits)
• Concentration courses:
  • ECON 457: Mathematical Economics (3 credits)
  • AEEC 5240: Econometrics (3 credits)
  • Alternatively, ECON 545: Econometrics II (3 credits)
  • AEEC 5120: Microeconomic Theory (3 credits)
• Students must work with their committee to select 3 credits of elective course(s) that meet the Water Economics and Policy concentration.
• Electives chosen in consultation with the student's committee to meet the required minimum of 32 credits.
• Thesis: WSAM 599: Master's Thesis (6 credits)

Total Credits

The total credits required for the program are 32-33.

Ideas for Water Economics & Policy Electives

• AEEC 5350: Economics of Water Resource Management and Policy
• PHLS 4130: Environmental Health
• ECDV 661: Regional Economic Modeling
• ECDV 664: Population Economics
• ECDV 668: Economic Development Finance
• ECDV 671: Sustainable Economic Development
• PHLS 5150: Environmental Public Health Issues
• PHLS 5640: Rural Health Issues
• PHLS 5660: U.S.-Mexico Border Health Issues

MAP Requirements

The Master's Accelerated Program (MAP) allows qualified undergraduate students to begin working on a master's degree during their junior and senior years while completing a bachelor's degree.

• Undergraduate students may apply for acceptance to the accelerated master's program after completing 60 semester hours of undergraduate coursework, with a minimum of 25 semester credit hours completed at NMSU.
• The grade point average must be at a minimum of 2.75.
• Students must receive a grade of B or higher in this coursework to be counted for graduate credit.

Accepted MAP Courses

The following courses are accepted for use in the MAP program:

• ENVS 462: Sampling and Analysis of Environmental Contaminants (3 credits)
• ENVS 470: Environmental Impacts of Land Use and Contaminant Remediation (3 credits)
• SOIL 456: Irrigation and Drainage (3 credits)
• C E 452: Geohydrology (3-4 credits)
• C E 483: Surface Water Hydrology (3 credits)
• A ST 505: Statistical Inference I (4 credits)
• GEOG 481: Fundamentals of GIS (4 credits)