Water Science, Policy and Management

Overview

The water science theme develops knowledge and understanding in physical, chemical, ecological and epidemiological aspects of water science in temperate, tropical and semi-arid zones. 

It provides a foundation in basic processes in each key subject area, as well as interactions throughout the hydrological cycle, and the role of society in altering natural hydrological processes and function, and the impact this has on health.

The water and society theme explores how contested domains of power, interests and knowledge influence water decision-making, illustrated through institutional, socio-economic and policy analysis. 

This covers areas of water security and governance, law and regulation, trans-boundary water, water economics, water access, ownership and rights, water for development, and interactions between the state and civil society within dynamic and varied political, cultural, social and economic contexts.

Supervision

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the School of Geography and the Environment and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the School of Geography and the Environment.

Graduate destinations

The aim of the Water Science, Policy and Management course at the University of Oxford  is to train future decision makers, managers and policy makers in water policy and management.

Past graduates have gone on to obtain positions in a range of water-related jobs. Examples include policy positions in government departments (eg Environment Canada, UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); Chinese Ministry of Works), business/enterprise (eg Arup, ERM, Halcrow, Mott MacDonald, Public Utilities Board-Singapore, SMEC, Global Water Intelligence, etc.), non-governmental organisations (eg WaterWise, Children's Hunger Fund, CSE, WWF) and international agencies (eg World Bank, UNICEF, European Commission, IFAD, GTZ, USAID, etc). A number of students use the course as a gateway to start DPhil (PhD) research.