Water is one of our most vital natural resources and the source of all life on earth, yet its future is anything but certain. The Hydrology and Water Resources major teaches students the physical and chemical principles underlying Earth’s water cycle, preparing them to solve water resource challenges all over the world.

Why hydrology?

Hydrologists focus their studies on Earth’s most precious resource: its water. With this degree, students interested in protecting water resources and the environment will learn the geological principles that inform how water flows through the subsurface, soils, and rocks, and the foundational knowledge that can be applied to a wide range of environmental problems.

What do hydrologists do?

Hydrologists help maintain safe and secure water resources for society and ecosystems. They work in areas such as flood forecasting, groundwater management, and contaminant remediation and analyze water quality and quantity.

Career and graduate school opportunities

The Hydrology and Water Resources degree gives students a quantitative understanding of how water flows through the environment and how water quality evolves. They’ll be prepared for technical roles that help protect the environment and people, such as assessing water quality and prior contamination, flood forecasting, water resource allocation, sustainable land use, law, and policy.

Wage data for related jobs

Median annual wage data courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Research opportunities

All students in this major will participate in a three-week immersive field course specifically focused on hydrology research. Students use state-of-the-art equipment to collect and analyze real-world samples. These field courses are open only to hydrology majors.

Jackson School faculty members are conducting a wide range of hydrology-focused research right here on campus. Undergraduate students can join research teams studying everything from coral reef preservation to flood forecasting, from urban hydrology to forests’ response to drought and wildfires.

All Jackson School undergraduates have an abundance of research opportunities at their fingertips. Explore more on our Undergraduate Research page.

Degree requirements

Every Jackson School undergraduate is required to take foundational courses that cover the breadth of the geosciences, along with advanced courses specific to their major. Students will explore these fields, advancing their quantitative reasoning skills, developing computational literacy, applying geospatial tools, and learning how to manage, evaluate, and visualize data.

Hydrology foundation courses

These are the courses every hydrology and water resources major is required to take.

Geoscience courses

These are the courses required of all Jackson School undergraduates. They will typically be completed within the first two years of study.

Building block requirements

These courses take place outside of the Jackson School and are required of all hydrology and water resources majors. The hydrology major requires a robust understanding of mathematics, physics, and chemistry to prepare students for advanced classes specific to the degree.

Read more about these courses in the University of Texas course catalog. The 2024-2025 catalog will be available soon.

The 2024-2026 hydrology and water resources degree plan is coming soon.

Past degree plans: 2022-2024 | 2020-2022 | 2018-2020 | 2016-2018 | 2014-2016

Complementary minors

Hydrology majors can select any minor available to University of Texas undergraduate students. Here are a few that we recommend pairing with a hydrology degree in order to further your expertise in policy, sustainability, renewable energy, or risk management.

• Leadership in Global Sustainability
• Public Policy
• Environment and Sustainability
• Social Inequality, Health, and Policy
• Business and Public Policy
• Energy Management
• Risk Management
• Communicating Social Issues
• Sustainable Energy

Next steps: Applying and transferring

Ready to start changing the world? If you’re a high school student interested in applying to the Jackson School to be a hydrology and water resources major, please select Geological Sciences during the process of your undergraduate application to The University of Texas at Austin. Additional application information can be found on the UT Office of Admissions website and the Jackson School’s Admissions page.

Thinking of transferring to the Jackson School to be a hydrology and water resources major? If you’re an undergraduate student already enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin, you may enter the Jackson School through an internal transfer process which occurs twice a year. Please visit the Jackson School’s Internal Transfers webpage for details about the internal transfer process, deadlines, and upcoming information session dates to learn more about our school and programs. We also encourage you to contact academic advising before you start this process.