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What are the requirements to get admitted to the program?
A bachelor’s degree, and admission to both the graduate school and certificate program are the primary requirements. It is recommended that students applying for the on campus program follow instructions provided at http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/training/admissions.htm. Similar procedures are available for students interested in the online program through http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-degrees/graduate/water-conflict-management/admissions.htm.
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What are the deadlines for admission to the university?
Regarding admission deadlines, please visit Oregon State University’s Graduate Application for Admission Deadlines Website at http://oregonstate.edu/admissions/graduate/deadlines.html. And, for other academic-related dates, visit the Academic Calendar Website at http://catalog.oregonstate.edu/ChapterDetail.aspx?key=148.
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Can I complete the entire certificate program online?
Yes, this entire certificate program can now be completed online. With the development of the online version of the certificate program, offered through OSU’s Extended Campus (Ecampus), it is hoped that part-time, evening, and weekend professional non-residents will have the opportunity to participate in the program while continuing with their careers and family commitments. To learn more about this online certificate program, visit http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/water. Students are provided with support services appropriate to online learners such as phone and email support, searchable knowledge base, and communications to optimize their opportunities for successful completion of the program. Full information is available on the OSU Extended Campus website, http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu.
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Is this a degree program?
This is a certificate program, not a degree program. You can however, earn a graduate degree and certificate simultaneously. This can be achieved, if you design your program of study early in your studies, with the full consent of your advisory committee. To learn more about advanced degrees offered through OSU’s Water Resources Graduate Program, visit the http://oregonstate.edu/gradwater/degreeprograms/ website and contact Dr. Mary Santelmann, Program Director at santelmm@onid.orst.edu.
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Is there a need for this kind of certificate program?
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - a lead water cooperation facility, through its recent five-year program Potential Conflict to Cooperation Potential, identified key needs to alleviate the conflict potential over shared waters, and found the lack of training in conflict management among stakeholders and water managers to be of paramount importance. With OSU’s strong core faculty and experience in these issues, it is ideally poised to take a leading role in this international initiative. On issues related to water conflict management and water governance programs, these courses are demand-driven. They are the result of a year of extensive interviews of students and professionals in the field who helped identify precisely what Oregon State University (OSU) can best do to help support this complex, interdisciplinary field. The question was brought also to several watershed councils, participants of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board's biennial conference (e.g. citizens, state and federal agencies, local governments and stakeholders), and to the state's “Salmon Strategy Team” comprised of state and federal agencies and coordinated by the Governor's Natural Resources Office. Recent policy initiatives illustrate that such a program is a priority at the state, regional, and national levels. And, project manager’s employed in local, state and federal agencies indicated that they could benefit from this program. The agencies include watershed councils; Oregon Department of Environmental Quality; US Environmental Protection Agency; US Bureau of Reclamation; US Fish and Wildlife; and the US Army Corps of Engineers. Other benefactors would also include environmental consultants. Furthermore, OSU faculty have been asked by the World Bank to design a course in international water conflict management based on their bi-annual course for water ministers, to meet what they see as a growing demand for the field at the professional and graduate student levels throughout the world. International organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Conservation Union have begun to focus and fund large international river basin projects to meet overlapping goals associated with assisting hostile countries to work together and to protect their common water resources for current and future generations. These programs place great emphasis on building the capacity of institutions through human resources training to ensure a high level skill base across these large basins to address complex water resources challenges before they become conflicts.
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What are the water-related graduate programs at OSU?
Students with an interest in water and watersheds have many graduate degree options at Oregon State University. For a comprehensive list, please visit http://water.oregonstate.edu/teaching/grad_degrees.htm.
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Does OSU offer a Master’s Degree or PhD in Water Conflict Management?
There is no specific Master’s Degree or PhD in Water Conflict Management, but with coordinated efforts with program-affiliated faculty ( http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/training/affiliates.html ), and OSU’s Water Resources Graduate Program http://oregonstate.edu/gradwater/degreeprograms/, a PhD thesis with an emphasis in water conflict management can be designed. In fact, it is common practice for students to pursue the 18-credit Graduate Certificate in Water Conflict Management and Transformation, while simultaneously earning degrees in OSU’s Water Resources Graduate Program. For more information about the Water Resources Graduate Program, please contact Dr. Mary Santelmann, Program Director, at santelmm@onid.orst.edu.
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How much does it cost to earn the certificate?
A number of factors determine the exact cost. To determine the cost, please visit the following websites:
The Tuition and Fee Information is available at http://oregonstate.edu/fa/businessaffairs/studentfinance/tuition/tuition_info.
The Tuition Estimator is accessible at http://oregonstate.edu/fa/businessaffairs/studentfinance/tuition/calculator.php.
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Can I transfer credits earned at another institute?
Up to 6 graduate credits may be transferred toward an 18-credit graduate certificate. Please keep in mind that courses completed no more than seven years prior to the graduate certificate award may be used to satisfy certificate requirements. For the complete Graduate School guidelines, please visit http://catalog.oregonstate.edu/ChapterDetail.aspx?key=38#Section1802.
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I am interested in online classes, are there any scholarships or financial aid that I can apply for?
There is no financial support available within the certificate program, however through the university, you may qualify for scholarships, loans, or financial aid. Receiving financial aid depends on ones financial need. To be considered for aid one must submit formal application. This process is described at the following web sites: OSU’s Financial Aid - http://oregonstate.edu/financialaid. OSU’s Ecampus Financial Aid - http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/services/tuition/financial-aid.htm. Ecampus students (and potential Ecampus students) that have additional questions on this matter can contact, Joan Oakes, Ecampus’ Student Services Specialist, by e-mail at joan.oakes@oregonstate.edu, or by telephone at +1-541-737-4166. Unfortunately, there is no financial aid in place for international Ecampus students at this time. However, this is something that Ecampus is exploring. Regarding scholarships for international students, please click here to download information that may be of value. Also, consider applying to The Fulbright Program, which is a U.S. government flagship program in international educational exchange http://www.cies.org/about_fulb.htm.
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What is the policy regarding the graduate certificate study program
The policy states that students will be required to take a minimum of 50 percent graduate-level stand-alone courses. The remaining credits may be the 500 component of 400/500 slash courses (http://catalog.oregonstate.edu/ChapterDetail.aspx?key=50). This means that if you complete 19 credits towards earning the certificate, 50% of those credits (at least 10 credits) should be 500 level courses. It is essential that you verify if a course is a graduate-level stand-alone course before registering. For example let’s see of GEO 524 is a graduate-level stand-alone course:
Step 1 - Go to http://catalog.oregonstate.edu/QuickJumpHelp.aspx
Step 2 - At “Quick-Jump” enter “GEO 524”.
Step 3 - Press “go”.
Step 4 - Scroll down to the bottom of the page and scroll all the way over to the right until you get to the column that says, "comments”.
If the wording in the comments column says, “Does not meet Graduate School's stand-alone requirement.” Then GEO 524 is regarded as a 400/500 slash course. If the statement “Does not meet Graduate School's stand-alone requirement” is not displayed, then this course is considered a graduate-level stand-alone course.
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What are some of the (university) resources that I should know about?
The Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation - http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/.
Oregon State University (OSU) Official Site - http://oregonstate.edu/.
OSU Ecampus - http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/.
Water Resources Graduate Program http://oregonstate.edu/gradwater/degreeprograms/.
Institute of Water and Watersheds - http://water.oregonstate.edu/.
Hydrophiles Student Club - http://oregonstate.edu/groups/hydro/.
Oregon-water-list - http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/oregon-water-list.
Online Orientation for New Students - http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/services/student-services/library_services.htm Academic Success Center - http://success.oregonstate.edu/introducing-vault .
The Center for Writing and Learning (CWL) - http://cwl.oregonstate.edu/home/.
Services & Resources - Library Services - http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/services/student-services/library_services.htm .
Mathematics Learning Center - http://www.math.oregonstate.edu/mlc.
Policies Governing All Graduate Programs - http://catalog.oregonstate.edu/ChapterDetail.aspx?key=38#Section1800. Student Health Services - http://studenthealth.oregonstate.edu/.
Counseling and Psychological Services - http://oregonstate.edu/counsel/.
Oregon State University Official Athletic Site - http://www.osubeavers.com.
Outreach and Engagement - http://outreach.oregonstate.edu/.
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