Preparing tomorrow’s climate change leaders

Water and the California Legislature

Produced by Chris Bowman/UC Davis
(48 min 3 sec)

UC Davis is tackling some of the most formidable climate change and water challenges through an innovative and interdisciplinary graduate program that cuts across several fields.

Students enrolled in the Climate Change, Water and Society Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program benefit from a collaborative approach to examining how climate change affects water resources and vice versa—“hydroclimatology”—while learning how to develop sound scientific rationales for public policy action.

Under the instruction of distinguished faculty, IGERT students study the research connections between climate change, water and society and how to most effectively communicate that knowledge to the public and policymakers.

Key areas of emphasis are improving research quality and using quantitative tools for modeling and interpreting climate change data. The curriculum spans atmospheric science, computer science, ecology, engineering, geology, hydrologic science, political science and resource economics, among others.

As part of the learning experience, faculty and students in the program blog about global climate change issues, such as pollution and global warming. In addition, the program is co-sponsoring the winter quarter Water Policy Seminar Series, featuring key players in California, that can be viewed via iTunes at UC Davis.

This program aims to educate a new generation of scientists about the complexities of climate change, water and society.

The Yolo Basin, located between Davis and Sacramento (seen in the distance) has been the subject of warring land-use and water policy issues over the decades. Karin Higgins/UC Davis photo