About
Tufts University has been a premier center of environmental leadership for over five decades. In recent years, Tufts has also cultivated a dedicated water studies program that has contributed to strong institutional expertise and a campus network of water organizations, experts, and faculty members that collaborate in both academic and real-world settings. Pursuing the SWM degree program means you will also be joining this broad and diverse network of water professionals.
Leadership
Erum Khalid Sattar
SWM Program Director, Lecturer (Core Faculty)
Water Diplomacy Track Leader
Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
The SWM Story
In 1962, Tufts University became one of the first academic institutions that prioritized environmental issues by offering courses that responded to the growing concerns of humanity’s impact on the environment. As the next decades saw further need for increased environmental action, Tufts established the Center for Environmental Management (CEM) in 1984 that supported projects, training, and outreach for faculty members who were conducting environmental research. A precursor to TIE, the CEM was established with EPA support and in 1986 began several initiatives that worked towards increased sustainability at Tufts and campus greening. Evolving out of CEM’s early enterprises, the Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE) was founded in 1998 to respond to the need for a university-wide organization that worked toward environmental research, learning, outreach, and service across all schools in the Tufts community. Following the incubation of SWM at TIE, the program was transferred to the Friedman School of Nutrition as the primary administer of the degree.
History of Water at Tufts
Sustainable Water Management
The Sustainable Water Management (SWM) degree is Tufts’ newest initiative and combines almost fifteen years of interdisciplinary research and experience to promote further advancement in the water sector. Supported by the excellence of the WSSS certificate and the Water Diplomacy program, the SWM degree builds off of the tenants and values of the two programs. With faculty contributions and assistance across Tufts, the SWM degree is able to build off existing water conversations and research across departments in order to provide an interdisciplinary and intensive degree program that could not be conducted in any one school or department at Tufts University. The SWM degree continues to expand the water conversations at Tufts with a new and exciting opportunity for students which enables them to pursue a variety of futures within the water discipline.