Water Management
How do we tackle floods, sea level rise, drought, water pollution, and plastic pollution? How can cities remain livable despite extreme heat? And how do we ensure there is enough clean drinking water for a growing global population? With the Water Management programme, you’ll work on developing solutions to today’s and tomorrow’s most pressing water challenges.
Steps to study abroad
About the programme
As a water manager, you work on practical solutions to local and global water problems. With your knowledge, you help keep areas safe, liveable and ecologically balanced. Will you improve the protection of delta areas when sea levels rise? Will you make urban areas resistant to extreme rainfall, heat or drought? Or do you want to contribute to sufficient fresh water, clean seas or healthy ecosystems? With this programme, you will become a widely employable water manager, with plenty of room to follow your own interests.
Why study Water Management at HZ?
Small classes, lots of attention
Learn in a supportive environment where small class sizes mean more interaction, personal guidance, and closer contact with lecturers and fellow students.
Gain practical experience
From your first year you work on real projects with organisations in Zeeland and beyond. Fieldwork, teamwork, and applied research are central, so you’re not just learning theory, you’re solving real-world water challenges
Access to cutting-edge facilities
Study in the brand-new Joint Research Center Zeeland (JRCZ), where you use ultramodern labs and work alongside researchers and students from various disciplines, putting you right at the heart of innovation in water science.
Customize your studies with a minor and internship
At HZ, you have plenty of opportunities to tailor your Water Management degree to your interests. You can choose a minor that aligns with your specialisation or explore a different area within the field—either in the Netherlands or abroad. For example, you might follow an in-depth minor at one of the HZ research groups focused on water, or spend a semester studying at another university.You will also complete an internship, either in the Netherlands or abroad, with an organisation in your field. You are free to choose where you want to do this.
"The most valuable part about Water Management is that it focuses deeply on all different levels of creating a sustainable future, such as economical, ecological, spatial and social aspects. After I found a passion for surfing, I felt more connected to nature and wanted to study something with environmental sciences. Since water is the most valuable resource we have, it feels as I can contribute positively to our society and environment by studying something that matters."
Water Management in short
Study at HZ
Learn how water systems work from biological, ecological, social, and economic perspectives. Understand the impact of soil, flow, waste, and temperature on ecosystems, and how people and nature interact with water. From day one, this hands-on programme takes you outside to work on real projects with organisations in Zeeland. You develop practical skills in observation, analysis, and communication. collaborating with students and professionals to solve real-world water challenges.
Study at HZ
You work together with fellow students, HZ research groups and Dutch and foreign organisations on increasingly challenging problems. Three areas of expertise always come together in each project, in which you choose which role to play.
- Are you the aquatic ecologist with knowledge of water quality and ecosystems?
- The creative designer who designs areas from the drawing board?
- The delta manager who sets out a strategy, runs projects and takes all stakeholders into account?
For each project, you choose the role you want to play in the team and what you want to learn more about. You take in-depth courses with experienced HZ researchers.
Minor and internship in the Netherlands or abroad
You complete a six-month minor, giving you the chance to specialise further in water management or explore a different field. Dive deeper with HZ research groups or study at another university of applied sciences, either in the Netherlands or abroad. In the second semester, you apply your knowledge during an internship with an organisation of your choice, in the Netherlands or internationally.
Study at HZ and internship in the Netherlands or abroad
You dive into a specialised theme from an HZ research group: Aquaculture, Water Technology, Building with Nature, or Resilient Deltas. At the same time, you take part in the Coastal Challenge, collaborating with Civil Engineering and Architecture students to tackle a complex, real-world problem that demands cross-disciplinary expertise.Your final semester is all about your graduation internship. While working in the field, you stay connected to HZ through online classes and group sessions. These moments of exchange keep you inspired, supported, and on track toward your bachelor’s degree.
Water Management in 3 years
With your pre-university diploma, Dutch VWO or an international equivalent, you can qualify for the three-year track of the Water Management programme. After applying to the Water Management study programme, you can indicate your interest for the 3-year track through the study choice check. After that, your diploma is checked by our student office to see if you’re eligible. Subsequently, a motivation interview is planned with a study coach from the programme. If you want to check if your diploma meets this entry requirement, you contact HZ student administration: csa@hz.nl.
Study in a cutting-edge research environment
Right next to the campus of HZ Middelburg, you find the Joint Research Center Zeeland (JRCZ), a state-of-the-art research institute where several educational institutions collaborate on real-world challenges. As a student, you have access to ultramodern laboratories equipped with the latest technology and techniques, giving you the chance to work and learn at the forefront of innovation.
Entry requirements
There are three 3 different requirements for your admission: 1. General requirements: Diploma Equal to Dutch HAVO, determined by Nuffic (Organisation for International Education in the Netherlands.) To see if you would be admissible, check the list of foreign diplomas on our website: www.hz.nl/requirements. 2. Specific study programme requirements Depending on your chosen programme, you may need to meet additional requirements. Check www.hz.nl/requirements for additional requirements. 3. Language requirements As an international student you might need to submit an official English language certificate, proving you have a sufficient command of written and spoken English. Your level of English needs to have an equivalent of the IELTS score of 6.0. For exemptions to this language requirement, see www.hz.nl/requirements.
Further studies at HZ
Have you become passionate about your study and would you like to further develop yourself in your professional field? Would a Master programme be something for you? You could choose for the Master programme in River Delta Development, which is a collaboration of HZ University of Applied Sciences, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences and Van Hall Larenstein. This way, you can obtain both your Bachelor and your Master’s degree in 5 years. Employers will be lining up for you upon graduation, because you are both practically and analytically trained.
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