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Watershed Management Certificate Program

This course runs from:
January 2012 to April 2012

Who Should Apply? | Program Format | Required Courses | Elective Courses

Please read this content carefully. If you have any further questions please contact Hans Schreier.

Watersheds form the most appropriate functional landscape units that can be used to determine the dynamic interactions between land use activities and water resources. Land use activities such as forestry, mining, agriculture, urbanization, fisheries and recreation all impact water resources to various degrees. Interactions between natural and human induced processes can best be assessed in a watershed context because the water quantity and quality at the outlet of a watershed provides an excellent indication of how well we manage the resources in it, and what the cumulative impacts are of all these activities. Water resource problems are reaching global proportions and given the complexity of all the processes that affect the hydrological cycle there is a need for a holistic treatment of this topic at the post-baccalaureate level.

There are very few university degree programs in water resource management and few graduates have the opportunity to be exposed to the interdisciplinary nature and methods of watershed management per se. For these reasons, the University of British Columbia developed the Certificate in Watershed Management program. It provides professionals with the conceptual and technical skills to formulate responses to water resource issues.

The Certificate in Watershed Management program familiarizes practicing professionals with the interdisciplinary nature inherent in watershed management while also providing a more detailed understanding of particular aspects. It will increase participants’ understanding of the ways in which knowledge from a number of disciplinary areas must be linked, and the collaboration required to resolve the escalating number of water resource conflicts. Elective courses allow participants to focus on specific aspects of watershed management that relate to their area of interest.

The program reflects the views and needs of those in industry and government, as well as those independently involved in watershed management, either directly or in relation to some aspect of resource management or governance in which watershed management is a factor. It is derived from needs analysis and broad consultation, as well as through the counsel of an advisory committee.

A unique aspect of the UBC Certificate in Watershed Management is the combination of distance education and face-to-face delivery of courses. Distance education responds to the expressed needs of working professionals for programs that provide flexibility in the time and location of learning.

Who Should Apply?

The UBC Certificate in Watershed Management is designed to benefit those working as:

• Municipal and Corporate Environmental Coordinators
• Land Use Planners
• Consultants
• Stream keepers and Fisheries Management staff
• Foresters and Forest Company Employees
• Agrologists
• Biologists
• Geoscientists
• Mining company personnel
• Engineers
• Public Health employees
• Government employees in areas of: Environment, Forestry, Lands and Parks, Agriculture, Planning, Energy, Mining, Fisheries and more.

Program Format

To attain the Certificate in Watershed Management five courses must be successfully completed. The five courses must comprise of the three required courses and two elective course (chosen from among the approved elective courses). The candidate must take Integrated Watershed Management and one elective from outside of the core courses. Those who do not wish to enroll for the Certificate but who do want to enhance their knowledge in a particular area may take the courses separately and individually.

Candidates are required to complete the certificate within a 3-year time frame. Students are required to obtain a minimum of 68% in each course in order to obtain the Certificate. Each course generally requires 30-35 hours of instructional contact or the equivalent self-study time, spread over a 12-13 week period. Students are expected to undertake additional hours of study, in the preparation of assignments and project work.

A distributed learning technology-based approach has been adopted. The intent is to make the entire program available through distance education via the Internet. A multi-media CD-ROM is provided for each course and this serves as electronic textbook. Email, Internet Bulletin Boards and the World Wide Web are tools that are used to deliver the course and communicate with the participants. All courses make full use of computer-based materials, video, interactive distance education technology and self-directed project work.

All courses delivered for the Certificate are academic credit courses at the graduate level. They can be taken individually, for professional credit or for academic credit. Admission to the University of British Columbia is required for students who want to take the course for academic credit towards a graduate degree. Acceptance to the university is not required for the Professional Certificate but a B.Sc. or equivalent degree and/or experience is required to enter the Certificate program.

Please see below for course descriptions.

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