Interdisciplinary Programs
Water Science and Policy
Welcome from our Interim Director
I am delighted to be appointed by the provost and the dean as the interim director of the University of Delaware Graduate College’s interdisciplinary program in water science and policy. Established in 2014 by authorization of the Faculty Senate, the program began as an experiment in multidimensional thinking and is the oldest interdisciplinary degree program housed in the Graduate College. We have awarded close to four dozen doctoral and master’s degrees over the last decade to students who come from all over Delaware, America and the world to study about water.
Interdisciplinary graduate programs have the benefit of flexibility by allowing the students, with their advising faculty, to design their own course curriculum and choose from the full depth and breadth of the colleges and departmental programs at our University. As the foundation of our planet’s environment and economy, water is found in all strands of society and therefore it's entirely appropriate that our graduate program in water science and policy have an interdisciplinary approach to thinking and learning. Because after all, isn't this our real mission here at UD: to take a broad-based approach to critical thinking and create new knowledge? That's exactly what water science and policy students have been doing here by researching and studying and then going on to get good jobs in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
Our graduates are working on climate science in Spain, drought in California, the Puget Sound in Seattle, drinking water in New York City, water management in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and water treatment in Wilmington, Delaware. They are doing great things for society and before long, they become our next generation of leaders, which is reassuring to me in today’s world. So welcome to the interdisciplinary graduate program in water science and policy. I hope you consider joining us!
Gerald Joseph McAdams Kauffman, Jr.
Director and Associate Professor
University of Delaware - Water Resources Center
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration
Institute for Public Administration
Gerald Kauffman is a frequent water science and policy media source.
By choosing to study Water Science & Policy at the University of Delaware, you will be embarking on an exciting intellectual journey that will challenge you to synthesize knowledge from a number of different fields. No matter what aspect of water you choose as your research focus, you’ll be encouraged to look at how it intertwines with other natural and human aspects of water quality and quantity.
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Program Director Gerald Kauffman in the News
July 29, 2026 | Graduate College Communications StaffUD's Water Science and Policy program director Gerald Kauffman is a frequent water science and policy media source. -
Alexis Yaculak presents at brown bag seminar
April 16, 2026 | Alexis YaculakAlexis Yaculak, UD water science and policy Ph.D. student, presented “Back from the past: Use and recovery of historic soil microbiome in contemporary restorations and implications for water quality and biodiversity” at a brown bag seminar in Penny Hall, which was hosted by the water science and policy program. -
Emma Ruggiero presents at brown bag seminar
March 31, 2026 | Article by Emma Ruggiero, Carolyn VoterEmma Ruggiero, UD water science and policy Ph.D. student; and Carolyn Voter, assistant professor in the UD Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; presented “Evaluating long-term ecological performance in DC's residential gardens” at a seminar, which was hosted by the water science and policy program.
Connect
234 Hullihen Hall, Newark, DE 19716 USA grad@udel.edu General: (302) 831-6824 Fax: (302) 831-8745