Corvallis, OR - The Certificate Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation has in its first year graduated 5 students! And, despite the economic times, the program is growing at a steady pace, with currently, an estimated 15 individuals working towards the Certificate. These numbers consist of both on campus and distant students. They are either typically pursuing the certificate as a stand-alone credential, to enhance their portfolio in leading ways to effectively work in contentious water situations; or are pursuing the same goals, while also working towards an advanced degree.

The certificate program invites instructors, students, and professionals from across the state, the country and internationally to participate in case-based, interactive course and fieldwork in a multicultural and multidisciplinary learning environment. This 18-credit graduate certificate provides in-depth skills-building training to enhance personal and institutional capacity in water governance issues and strategies across distinct and overlapping contexts: Water Governance, Water and Ecosystems, Water and Society, and Water and Economics (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Overall programmatic framework.

A highlight of the certificate program is a capstone course (Water Governance and Conflict Management) coupled with an intersession practicum working with watershed councils, landowners, and agencies in Northeast Oregon; and a guided and critiqued project in which two teams take on, for example, the roles of Jordan and Israel to negotiate a treaty for water resource allocation in a simulated water negotiation. These techniques will hone student skills, understanding and thought development. Students will also take part in fieldwork in a watershed or basin at risk of, or in, water conflict. Read about the 2007 practicum, in the article entitled "Outside looking in: OSU students get a taste of community-based restoration in the Grande Ronde Watershed."

It is expected that candidates entering the certificate program will already have a Bachelor's Degree and will enroll in the university, either into a graduate degree program or into the certificate program. All the courses listed in the certificate program are offered at OSU, and some are offered as online courses through OSU Extended Campus (Ecampus). As such, distant students also have an opportunity to successfully complete the entire program online.

See the Curriculum for the Certificate in Water Conflict Management and Transformation.

For admissions to the program, additional information can be found on the Admission Requirements page.

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