Groundwater is the planet’s largest reservoir of liquid freshwater and therefore a critical environmental and economic resource. It will increasingly serve as a cornerstone for climate-change adaptation and for reducing socio-economic vulnerability—especially in regions where surface water is scarce or highly variable. Because groundwater interacts with the entire water cycle and is tightly linked to human development, its availability and management have direct consequences for public water supply, irrigation, land use efficiency and poverty alleviation in low-income regions.
Human pressure and climate change are already altering groundwater systems worldwide: over-abstraction drives depletion, seawater intrusion, reduced river baseflows and ecological flows, and land subsidence. Climate change is projected to reshape freshwater availability in many hotspots (for example, the Mediterranean region of southern Europe and North Africa, northeast China, parts of Latin America, large areas of Australia and the western United States). Important feedbacks also exist between groundwater, the atmosphere and surface waters — from shallow groundwater affecting the atmospheric boundary layer to groundwater-fed evapotranspiration and irrigation influencing regional moisture and potentially precipitation patterns.
This Master’s programme fills gaps in higher education by taking a multidisciplinary approach to the complex interactions among groundwater, surface water, climate change and societal development, and by focusing on adaptation strategies. Teaching and research are organised around six core themes:
Requirements (check the official programme webpage for full details)
Curriculum overview
You begin the programme in September at ULisboa IST with a certified introductory QGIS course and then take mandatory modules that build core competencies across thematic areas A–D, along with elective courses from areas E–F. These first-semester courses develop practical GIS skills and foundational knowledge of groundwater systems, policy and socio-environmental dimensions. In February you complete targeted preparatory training in interdisciplinary science and fieldwork to get ready for an interdisciplinary project scheduled for the second semester.
At the end of February you move to IHE Delft for the second semester, where you take at least 30 ECTS of mandatory and elective courses spanning all thematic areas. The Delft semester also offers the option to choose an ECTS‑credited internship with one of the associated partners. After the second semester finishes in late July you may extend an internship or take a summer break before relocating to TU Dresden in mid‑September to start the third semester with summer school courses and a thematic seminar.
The third semester at TU Dresden includes at least 30 ECTS focused on thematic areas A, C and F. Core compulsory modules cover climate modelling and groundwater–soil–land–climate feedback mechanisms, supplemented by a study project and additional electives that may address other thematic areas. In March (end of the third semester) you start your 30 ECTS MSc thesis, which you carry out under the supervision of a professor at one of the full partner universities; lecturers or researchers from associated partners can act as mentors. The programme seeks an even distribution of thesis projects across the three partner institutions, and the final thesis is defended at the university where your supervising professor is based, following that institution’s rules.
Key modules and expected learning outcomes
Concise programme requirements
This master’s program expects applicants to hold a relevant, completed undergraduate degree with a strong academic record and adequate quantitative preparation. Your prior degree must be comparable to a Bachelor of Science of 180 ECTS and your final transcript should show a good overall grade (for example, CGPA at least B / B+ in the US system or at least an upper‑second / 2:1 classification in the UK system). International applicants should be prepared to document equivalence and submit official transcripts or grade conversions where required.
Admissions also require that your bachelor’s study be in a closely related field and that you have sufficient background in mathematics to follow the program’s analytical components. If your degree title differs from the examples below, it should still demonstrate strong overlap with the listed subject areas.
Admission requirements (bullet points)
Graduates are prepared for professional roles that require integrated groundwater and climate expertise, including positions in water resources management, environmental and engineering consultancies, utilities, international and regional organisations, NGOs, and research institutions. The programme’s blend of fieldwork, modelling, monitoring and policy-relevant training supports careers in planning and implementing adaptation strategies for water-scarce and climate-vulnerable regions.
The international and multidisciplinary training—together with experience from internships, interdisciplinary projects and a research thesis—builds transferable skills in data analysis, GIS, modelling, project design and communication, increasing employability for roles in both the public and private sectors as well as for PhD research pathways.