If you're a member of a watershed group or similar environmental nonprofit in West Virginia or southwestern Pennsylvania, we want to work with you! We are always accepting watershed group needs and project ideas to compile for students with the goal of pairing students with you to complete the project. We will reach out to you to discuss potential partnerships before moving forward with a student on your project. Potential student projects include:
- Creative ventures (e.g., video production, photography, art displays)
- Collecting/analyzing water quality data
- Evaluating erosion and sedimentation
- GIS assistance
- Researching topics in the literature, performing interviews, etc.
- Preparing newsletters, infographics, or social media posts
- Assisting with restoration planning
We are currently seeking interested watershed groups to participate in the Multidisciplinary
Studies (MDS) 489 course in the Spring of 2024.
Watershed group responsibilities:
- Meet with student(s) three times over the semester.
- Provide the students with background information, files, etc. needed to complete their project.
- Providing feedback/grading the students' work with you at the end of the semester.
- Optional - attend the end of semester symposium.
Common Waters responsibilities:
-
Serve as the liaison between watershed group and students/professors.
-
Provide students with a list of project ideas, compiled from identified group
needs.
-
Provide funding towards supplies and travel for the student projects.
-
Assist students in utilizing our water quality database and mapping tool (if
applicable).
-
Share student products (reports, infographics, etc.) on our website.
-
Organize an event to bring students from various disciplines as well as the watershed
groups together to share their projects.
MDS 489: Capstone (CS1; 10966) Spring 2025
- Are you interested in the environment and ecological issues?
- Do you want to gain real-world experience and use your education and skills to help your community?
- Are you interested in networking with professionals and building a career profile?
Then MDS 489 is your course!
This semester, students will have the opportunity to work with the Common Waters Collaborative to address key needs in the community. By partnering with watershed groups, students will not only work on a project with real-world impact, but also elevate their project through access to existing data, local knowledge, resources, and physical sites for research. Students will learn how to engage communities in research and will be exposed to potential career options.
This course will allow students the opportunity to engage in:
- Traditional scientific research projects
- Smaller-scope projects meant as a practice exercises for a specific technical application (e.g., creating a map or infographic) or topic (e.g., desktop research or interviews)
- Creative ventures (e.g., video production, photography, art displays)
At the end of the semester, students will present their work at the NRCCE (National Research Center for Coal and Energy) at WVU to various stakeholders and community leaders.