WATER RESOURCES SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (WATR)

In response to the high demand for the workforce in the water industry and the rapid economic and population growth in Texas, Texas A&M University-San Antonio launched a degree-conferring program in Water Resources Science and Technology. The WATR program specifically addresses the need to develop workforce-ready, college-level graduates who are trained and certified/licensed to enter basic water industry positions. The Program aims to become a major contributor to the continuing development of the blue economy, and as a leading program in the cross-cutting characteristics (technology, management, and policy) of the water industry.

The degrees offered include a Bachelor of Science, a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, and a Master of Science program. 

Photo credit: TxH2O/Texas Water Resource Institute. Full article 

Project BREDEI (Broadening Research Experience for HSI STEM Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)

Project BREDEI (2021-2023), funded by the National Science Foundation, is a field-oriented educational intervention for emerging environmental scientists to be guided under the traineeship of practicing professionals from environmental institutions and university faculty. BREDEI's core values are to implement STEM education programs in a culturally diverse and equitable environment by providing field research skills that are not adequately addressed in the existing natural and applied science curricula.

The Project allows the WATR program to build its own field-oriented program that will eventually become a part of the WATR degree curriculum, partnering with Biology and Geology programs. 

Learn more here.

Project WaTER (Water for Texas through Education and Research – A transdisciplinary undergraduate sustainability program)

Project WaTER (2023-2025), fully funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (USDA). The project aims to (i) improve professional development and career counseling opportunities for undergraduate students, by engaging early- and mid-career master's- and doctorate degree-level ecosystems professionals as mentors from the Hispanic Leaders in Agriculture and the Environment (HLAE) program. (ii) identify water-FANH nexus research topics that address regional agricultural and natural resources issues, by engaging undergraduate students in faculty-mentored and field-centric research experiences with the collaboration of Texas Stream Team instructors. (iii) develop critical thinking skills in water resources to promote a college-going culture among high school, and middle school students by collaborating with A&M-San Antonio's ASPIRE partnership on project- and inquiry-based field training and citizen science programs mentored by undergraduate students. (iv) improve the recruitment and retention of students pursuing studies in water, agricultural, natural resources, and related science disciplines, by developing a transdisciplinary regional education and research program at A&M-San Antonio. 

Project S-STEM (STEM Scholarship) 

Project S-STEM is also sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The project financially supports 10-12 students every year and offers mentored research training. The project designs a scholarship program to better understand how to maximize its effectiveness, from the standpoint of scholars' performance improvement, by incorporating various supporting activities to help scholars develop a sense of scientific and professional identity. It will also differentiate the effects of scholarship selection criteria, length of scholarship, the status of cohorts, and the types of mentorship practices on the academic achievement of the scholars. 

The project runs for five years, starting in 2021 and ending in 2026. Learn more here.