Βι¶ΉΣ³»­

Βι¶ΉΣ³»­ our program

Concerned about the Earth's future? We are, too.

The Graduate Program of Hydrologic Sciences (GPHS) needs YOUR support to continue offering student scholarships, bringing leading scientists to speak at our colloquium series and hosting our annual WaterWorks networking event. Even small gifts can support critical thought exchange among students, researchers and scientists.

Hydrology students meeting at Lake Tahoe

The goals of the program are to provide fundamental and advanced training to students in the critical fields of surface and subsurface hydrology. Over 70 faculty at the Βι¶ΉΣ³»­, DRI, and agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and the Agricultural Research Service conduct research in areas such as contaminant transport (surface and subsurface), watershed hydrology, ecohydrology, aqueous geochemistry, global climate change, groundwater hydraulics, vadose zone hydrology, surface water hydrology and water resources engineering. Thus, students have a tremendous range of options to study.

In addition to the outstanding educational opportunities, Reno and its surroundings offer tremendous opportunities for recreation. The Reno-Tahoe area offers some of the greatest skiing, mountain biking, climbing and kayaking of any university. Whether it's kayaking at the new Reno Whitewater Park (10 minutes from campus) or sledding at Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort (40 minutes from campus), students can unwind from their studies.

Snow-covered mountains and a lake surrounded by pine trees.

Research strengths

  • Climate Science
  • Ecohydrology
  • Geochemistry
  • Geomorphology
  • Hydrogeology
  • Hydrology
  • International water resources
  • Modeling
  • Monitoring and methods

In the lab or in the field, you can't beat the Great Basin.

Students in the Graduate Program of Hydrologic Sciences are surrounded by world quality facilities at the Βι¶ΉΣ³»­ and the Desert Research Institute. The University campus encompasses 60 major buildings across 200 acres. There are six colleges, a division of continuing education, and four independent schools, including the School of Medicine -- all to serve more than 19,000 students. The 32-acre DRI campus is located approximately five miles north of the University. 

Research facilities

There are numerous laboratories and facilities to support the research undertaken by students in the program. For example, DRI has a certified analytical chemistry laboratory in which the staff also help train graduate and undergraduate students in the use of analytical and field instrumentation along with proper sampling methods.  The systems microbial ecology lab examines the transfer of energy and cycling of materials within ecosystems that are mediated by microbial interactions. The University has a stable isotope laboratory to measure the relative abundances (or the ratio) of the stable isotopes of C, O, H, N and S. There is an  for limnological studies of aquatic ecosystems.

At DRI, the students visualize complex hydrologic data.  Both the University and DRI have Access Grid Nodes (AGN) – a video conferencing system that connects users to many sites throughout the world.  DRI also houses numerous computer clusters for hydrologic simulations.  Both DRI and the University also have dedicated computer laboratories for teaching purposes.