Water & Human Health: Graduate Diploma Program at Queen’s University

Water is the essential foundation to all of nature’s living things. All of Earth and its inhabitants rely on water for survival and it plays many roles in our daily lives. As the environment becomes more complex, we will need leaders to deeply understand the many implications water has in the political, public health, engineering, environmental, and human health landscape.

At Queen’s University, the Online Graduate Diploma in Water and Human Health, hosted by the Beaty Water Research Centre (BWRC) is designed to give recent graduates and professionals an enhanced understanding of the role of water in driving health outcomes and ultimately the sustainability of populations and communities. This diploma will investigate water in its natural state, with an emphasis on the chemical and biological contaminants of concern for human health. The movement of water throughout watersheds will be explored to give students an understanding of hydrological processes, while water regulations and policy will be discussed within the context of driving governance issues in many jurisdictions around the world.
water and human health program

There are many exciting courses that will be offered through this diploma such as:

  1. Chemistry and Biology of Natural Waters – Water within the natural environment both drives and supports a complex web of chemical and biological processes and populations. This course covers several topics of prime importance related to understanding the underlying water quality conditions important to human health.
  2. Watershed Hydrology – The movement of water throughout the natural and built environment plays an important role in the sustainability and health of water resources. This course will introduce the concept of a watershed, covering general aspects such as surface water hydrology, groundwater, ecosystems, anthropogenic, and meteorological influences.
  3. Water Policy and Governance – Water governance or the lack thereof, permeate the global human experience. This course will investigate water governance from the science, engineering and policy aspects found around the world.
  4. Water and Human Health – Bringing it all together, this course is designed to give students an enhanced understanding of the role of water in driving health outcomes and ultimately the sustainability of populations and communities.

The program consists of 4 – online courses which are offered at a full-time (4 courses over one term) or part-time (4 courses over two terms) basis. The length of the program aligns with the current 12-week structure of Queen’s on campus semesters. Diploma graduates may ladder their 4-course credits into two types of Master’s degrees at Queen’s: 1) Research Based Thesis or 2) Course-based.

water and human health 2

The Water and Human Health Graduate Program prepares students to be unprecedented and impactful in their decisions when it comes to challenging water issues concerning the environment and human health. Students will be able to develop a depth of understanding of the role of water in the environment and its impact on human health as well as be able to have the capacity to critically evaluate water issues. The Graduate Diploma will prepare students for a career in a variety of industries and organizations such as public health, engineering and environmental consulting, conversation authorities, non-profit organizations and government planning and management. If you are interested in shaping the future of Earth’s most fundamental resource, find more information online here.

OSPE is glad to see Ontario universities, like Queen’s, expanding their offerings of STEM courses. Looking at water from all angles, especially from a governance and engineering perspective, can have great impacts on the students’ ability to think critically. OSPE proudly supports education in STEM fields, and hopes to see a new generation of engineers emerge from this kind of programming.

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