Water in the West Program - A Deep Dive into Complex Water Resources Issues
What is the Water in the West Program?
A high-impact learning experience that was offered for the first time in the spring of 2023.This program is a deep dive into learning about water issues first-hand through experts and experience. The program satisfies requirements for honors students, natural and environmental science majors, and geology majors. The program is offered during the first spring term and includes one week of online coursework before and after a 4-week trip to the southwestern United States (Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico).
GV Magazine recently released an article about the program with more details. You can find it here
Water in the West 2023 Highlights
2023 WIWP students at Observation Point in Zion National Park.
What credit can I get for participating in the water in the west program?
List of possible course credits that could be granted. Maximum of 6 credits per student.
|
Course |
College |
Student Pool/Requirement Met |
|---|---|---|
|
HNR 350 - Problem Based Learning (3 credits) |
FMHC¹ |
Honors Students |
|
HNR 351 - Problem Based Learning (quantitative) (3 credits) |
FMHC |
Honors Students |
|
HNR 300 - Campus/community engagement experiences (3 credits) |
FMHC |
Honors Students |
|
HNR 401/499 Senior Project (3 credits) |
FMHC |
Honors Students |
|
ENS 280 - Special Topics in ENS |
CLAS² |
Upper level credit applicable to ENS and Honors |
|
ENS 380 - Special topics in ENS |
CLAS² |
Geology elective; possibly ENS |
Geology students can also petition the geology department that the credits count for other geology courses such as GEO 220 - Earth Surface Materials and Systems or GEO 320 - Geomorphology
ENS majors can get credit for up two of the following categories: Triple Bottom Line Overview – Physical and Life Sciences. The Focus Area of Water Resources within the Social and Cultural; Physical and Life Science; or Political and Economic Perspectives. ENS minors can also get credit for Physical and Life Science Perspectives.
¹Frederik Meijer Honors College (FMHC)
²College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS)
Dr. Peter Riemersma
Who leads the program?
Both instructors have PhDs in a water-related field with Wampler’s Ph.D. in fluvial geomorphology (surface water) and Riemersma’s Ph.D. in hydrogeology (groundwater). Wampler has successfully led study abroad trips to Haiti and Ghana since 2015 and both Wampler and Riemersma have led together multi-day field trips for geology students in the Pacific Northwest on several occasions and have traveled extensively in the southwestern United States.
Dr. Peter Wampler
2023 Participants at Observation Point in Zion National Park
