Hydrology Courses - Centre for Hydrology | University of Saskatchewan

The Bachelor of Science in Hydrology program at the University of Saskatchewan was developed for students who are interested in how the hydrological cycle controls the wide variety of natural processes on Earth. For more information, please visit the Department of Geography and Planning website.

There is a strong tradition of interdisciplinary graduate training and collaboration in graduate hydrology research programs on campus, and more than a dozen classes in hydrology are typically offered each year from eight different departments in the colleges of Arts & Science, Agriculture and Engineering. A full list of courses offered at the University of Saskatchewan is available here.

The University of Saskatchewan also offers a Master of Water Security (M.W.S.). The Master of Water Security program is an interdisciplinary project‐based program that focuses on a holistic approach to water security. More information about this program is available here.

The following classes are currently offered by the Geography and Planning Department (as of Fall 2020):

Undergraduate Classes

GEOG 225 Term 1 Dr. Cherie Westbrook	Hydrology of Canada The geographic distribution of hydrologic processes in Canada is examined. The types of processes and their rates of operation are related to regional physical environments.
GEOG 233 Term 1 Dr Krystopher Chutko	Introduction to Weather and Climate This physical geography course introduces the fundamentals of climatology and meteorology. The various physical properties of the atmosphere are studied with respect to both their dynamics and their regional expression. Emphasis is placed on energy and moisture balances along with their associated spatial and temporal variations around the globe. By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze meteorological data and identify real-world weather phenomena.
GEOG 323 Term 1 Dr. Xulin Guo	Remote Sensing Advanced lectures, seminars and laboratories for those specializing in resource and environmental studies. It includes inductive and deductive evaluation of air photo patterns and the interpretation of multi-spectral imagery and remote sensing imagery.
GEOG 325 Term 2 Dr. Cherie Westbrook	River Systems Processes responsible for river form and hydrological functioning are investigated conceptually and analytically. Topics covered include watershed controls on streamflow generation, river forms, river flow regimes, stream chemistry, and the impacts of climate and land use changes on stream ecohydrology.
GEOG 390 Term 2 Dr. Krystopher Chutko	Methods in Hydrometeorology This experiential learning course will introduce students to the use of environmental monitoring equipment and the development of plans and procedures for research projects. The course will focus on using monitoring equipment, specifically an eddy covariance meteorological station, to monitor energy and moisture fluxes from the ground surface into the atmosphere. Students will have opportunities to help setup of the station through sensor calibration and testing, and data logger programming. In class discussions will focus on monitoring, project planning, implementation, and analyses, as well as theory of energy and water balances. This is a fieldwork-based course, and students are expected to participate in regular field trips in all weather conditions.
GEOG 421 Term 1 Dr. Corinne Schuster-Wallace	Local Water Security, Oct 28 – Nov 15, 2024 Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.
GEOG 423 Term 2 Irini Soubry	Advanced Remote Sensing Deals with advanced remote sensing techniques including satellite imagery calibration, spectral data transformation and land use cover classification, and detection of environmental change. The course consists of three interrelated components: lectures, laboratory exercises and group projects.
GEOG 427 Term 1 Peter Lawford	Advanced Hydrology Examines the physical principles governing hydrological processes. Topics covered include precipitation, interception, snow accumulation, snowmelt, evaporation, infiltration, groundwater movement, flood and drought frequency analysis and stream flow. Lectures and tutorials with hydrology instrumentation will be supplemented by problem solving assignments and an essay.
CE 319 Term 2 TBA	Hydrology Basic hydrological processes such as precipitation, evapotranspiration, runoff, infiltration, interception, and depression storage are introduced. Engineering applications such as streamflow and storm hydrographs, flood routing, hydrologic analyses and design, and watershed simulation are covered.

Graduate Classes

GEOG 803 Term 1 and 2 Dr. Cherie Westbrook	Research in Geography The purpose of this course is to introduce graduate students to theoretical and practical issues in geographical research. Its specific objective is to demonstrate and promote professional practices in geography culminating in a research plan that will serve as the basis for developing a graduate research proposal.
GEOG 827 Term 1 Dr. John Pomeroy	Principles of Hydrology This course aims to describe and explain the physical principles and processes that govern hydrology with special reference to Canadian conditions and with an emphasis on the application of coupled mass and energy balance calculations in hydrology. Students will learn the primary Canadian hydrological processes, assess the effects of variable boundary conditions on these processes, and apply coupled energy and mass balance equations to calculate hydrological flows. Lectures are held in an intensive 10 day period at the Biogeoscience Institute, Barrier Lake Field Station, Kananaskis Valley, Alberta. The course is described in full here.
GEOG 849 Term 2 Dr. Ryan Walker	Advanced Planning with Indigenous Communities The course focuses on the theory and methods of indigenous community planning in reserve, rural, urban, northern, and international contexts. Students will apply course content in classroom discussions and to produce a research essay. Guest lectures from practitioners and a field trip are additional highlights to the learning experience.
GEOG 884 Term 2 Dr. Bob Patrick	Water Resource Planning and Management This course focuses on water planning and management in Canada. Concepts and theory will be augmented with practical, applied learning to prepare students to engage as practitioners in the field. Specific topics include: water law and governance, planning process models, watershed assessments, source water protection, innovation in urban stormwater management, Indigenous water issues and integrated water resource management.
ENVS 819 Term 1 Dr. Jeffrey McDonnell	Catchment Hydrology This course introduces students to the field of catchment hydrology. The course learning objectives include learning the fundamentals of catchment hydrology, developing an understanding of the fundamentals of the catchment water balance and diagnosing key hydrological process associated with how catchments store and release water.
ENVS 826 Term 1 Dr. Palash Sanyal	Climate Change This course will help the student develop a fundamental knowledge of the consequences of climate change from the environmental and social aspects. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of climate change, and its impacts on the different parts of the Earth systems, such as the water cycle, arctic hydrology and how it is related to sea level rising. Climate change impacts on human society will also be discussed.