This CUAHSI Master Class is intended for graduate students in Hydrology and Water Resources science and engineering programs requiring focused training on modern research methods in water footprinting and environmental impact accounting in a regional and global network-economy context. An overview of major modern methods is provided to help the student identify the most appropriate tools for their current research problems. In the past three years the conversation about global water sustainability has merged and evolved into the “Food Energy and Water Systems” theme area, of which water sustainability is a leading component. This class is an evolution of the previously offered class “Water Sustainability in a Global Economy.”

The course has eight topics:

1. FEW system scales, boundaries, components, problems, and leaders
2. Water systems (Water sustainability in a global economy)
3. Food systems (Food sustainability in a global economy)
4. Energy systems (Energy sustainability in a global economy)
5. Data sources: global, federal, scientific, remote sensing, census, FEWSION project
6. Analysis tools; economics, network theory, shocks and buffers, resilience, vulnerability, exposure, footprints
7. Examples, exercises, and best practices for FEW research
8. FEW educational resources
   Notes:

This is a research-oriented class. Students must be enrolled in research degrees and intend to use this course to inform their research.