Managing Water for the Future
Water connects agriculture, ecosystems and communities, making thoughtful management essential to California’s future. The Water Science minor prepares you to understand today’s complex water challenges through hands-on learning in irrigation, water policy or watershed management.
What You’ll Study
You’ll explore how water is used, managed and protected while building knowledge in irrigation systems, watershed science, water quality, resource planning and environmental policy.
What You’ll Take Away
You’ll gain the knowledge and practical skills to evaluate water resources, support sustainable management and address real-world challenges in agriculture, environmental protection and water policy.
Dig Deeper
Explore how science, technology and policy come together to manage water resources and meet the needs of agriculture, ecosystems and communities.
Optimize Irrigation
Explore how water moves from supply to soil and plants while learning to measure water use, evaluate irrigation systems and make management decisions that improve efficiency and crop health.
Navigate Water Policy
Discover how laws and policies shape water quality, availability and management in California and beyond while examining real-world freshwater and marine resource challenges.
Design Smarter Irrigation
Gain hands-on experience evaluating drip, sprinkler and surface irrigation systems while exploring scheduling, efficiency, water distribution and pumping costs to improve on-farm water management.
Coursework Highlights
Through hands-on coursework and applied learning experiences, you will develop the technical knowledge and practical skills needed to lead in modern agriculture.
Classes and Labs
Explore how history, culture, economics, technology and individual choices shape the way water is used and managed. You'll examine the challenges and solutions involved in creating more sustainable water systems.
Design and evaluate modern irrigation systems while exploring water delivery, flow measurement, reservoirs and automated controls. You’ll apply engineering solutions to improve the efficiency and performance of real-world irrigation projects.
Explore how state and federal policies shape agriculture, from resource use and production decisions to agribusiness planning. You’ll examine how policy influences the way food and agricultural systems operate.
Gain hands-on experience studying groundwater flow, aquifers, wells and monitoring techniques. You’ll use industry modeling tools to analyze groundwater systems and explore strategies for sustainable water management.
In this lab you’ll get hands-on experience measuring and evaluating watershed systems, from precipitation and streamflow to erosion, riparian habitats and water quality. You’ll use field-based methods to better understand watershed health and management.
Explore how North American ecosystems function and how management decisions influence their health. You’ll study energy flow, nutrient cycles and human impacts while exploring strategies that support healthy, resilient habitats.
Explore the Water Science Minor
Check out the course catalogue and learn more about the courses you’ll take and what you’ll learn.