Study programme

Water Management for Climate Adaptation is a two-year English-taught Master’s programme consisting of courses and projects, totalling 120 points in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). On this page you will find information concerning the curriculum, courses, educational methods, examinations and extracurricular opportunities.

The Water Management for Climate Adaptation master's programme combines knowledge from the natural and the social sciences as a response to the emerging need for academic professionals in the field of climate adaptation and water management.The program is intended for students with a natural sciences background who are eager to make an impact on society and contribute to climate adaptation in their careers, by analyzing the water-related effects of climate change and developing efficient adaptation measures in the water system.

Curriculum

The first year is devoted to basic knowledge and skills, which students acquire through courses, culminating in a living lab held at the Delta Climate Center in Zeeland. In the second year, students may further explore the field through elective courses and are required to complete their master's thesis.

Below you can find an overview of the courses per period.

Electives

Besides the courses named above, you follow 15 EC of elective courses. You can find a list of recommended electives below. Recommended electives do not need to be approved by the programme leader but must still be approved before starting by the Board of Examiners. 

Possibly interesting electives Copernicus Institute:

• Land Surface Hydrology
• Statistics & Data Analysis for Geosciences
• Advanced GIS for Geoscientists
• Environmental Ethics and Sustainable Development 
• Global Environmental Change
• Squaring the Circular Economy
• Sustainable Food Systems  
• Integrated Assessment of Climate Change
• Bio-Based Economy

Educational Methods

• Lectures and seminars
• Living lab
• Master’s thesis

Examinations

• Final research papers
• Short papers or written exams
• In-class presentations
• Active participation and concluding reports
• Thesis

Master’s thesis

During your Master’s thesis, you will work on an individual research project. You may perform this research as an internship to obtain insight into the demands and constraints of doing research within the day-to-day practice of the professional water manager. This includes reading relevant literature to formulate research questions and hypotheses, planning and performing the research, and presenting the work in a Master’s thesis and oral presentation.