Grad program to address many sides of water

Tufts graduate students will soon be able to declare a concentration in water.

The new program, called Water: Systems, Science, and Society (WSSS), will begin next fall and is expected to have about 30 students. The program is run by faculty from six Tufts schools.

Students in the program will still major in their selected field, but the water concentration will have additional requirements. Students will specialize in WSSS while fulfilling the requirements of existing M.A. or Ph.D. graduate degree programs.

Four core courses are required in systems analysis, water science and engineering, biological aspects of water, health and nutrition, and water resources planning and policy.

"When it comes to water issues, people historically have been trained in only one discipline," WSSS co-chair and civil and environmental engineering professor Paul Kirshen said. "We want to train people who are strong in one discipline to understand others, as water challenges often have many dimensions."

Students will also participate in field internships and seminars in topics of water, climate, and environmental change; water and public health; watershed restoration and management; water, livelihood, and food security; and water and national and international security.

Urban and environmental policy and planning professor Rhonda Ryznar, one of the faculty members participating in the program, said "planners need to be able to view problems from many different perspectives."

For example, she said, Tufts has "a partnership with Massachusetts fishermen and we need to consider the environmental health of ecosystems and fisheries, as well as the economic implications of regulations and policies."

Program faculty expect WSSS students to pursue jobs in government agencies, non-profit organizations, and academic research. Undergraduates may also benefit from the program by taking courses, seminars, and working in water research.

Another example of a problem WSSS may address, Kirshen said, is water supply to rural areas, such as in African villages. "On one hand, you need to understand the hydrology of the region," he said. "But you also have to take the social fabric into account. For example, is there a place for mechanized pumps in a culture where women traditionally gather water?"

Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy Beatrice Rogers -- who is also the co-director of WSSS -- and the faculty involved specifically chose water to be the program's focus.

"The program really developed under the leadership of President Bacow and Provost [Jamshed] Barucha and the vision of the Graduate Education Council," Kirshen said. "We basically picked up the ball and decided to focus on water."

Five Tufts schools are involved in the program: the School of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the School of Medicine; the School of Veterinary Medicine; the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy; and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

The program will link Tufts' three campuses -- Medford/Somerville, Boston, and Grafton -- and some classes will likely be taught through videoconferencing.