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Water Security Cluster

By engaging questions that span individual wellbeing, community resilience, institutional governance, and environmental sustainability, the cluster equips participants with the conceptual frameworks and collaborative skills needed to advance research and practice in one of the defining challenges of this century.

The Water Security Cluster focuses on water security broadly as the ability to access and benefit from affordable, adequate, reliable, and safe water for wellbeing and a healthy life. Water security is foundational to human flourishing, yet it is increasingly threatened by climate change, uneven access to water, population growth, aging infrastructure, and competing social, economic, and environmental demands.

Addressing water insecurity requires integrated perspectives from the social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, law, and policy. Accordingly, the Water Security Cluster supports interdisciplinary investigations of the causes, consequences, and solutions to water insecurity across local, regional, and global contexts.

Water Security Cluster Course List:
Explore our curated list of water-related courses available here.

What is a Cluster?
A graduate cluster is an interdisciplinary learning community that brings together graduate students, faculty, and postdoctoral scholars around a shared research theme. Clusters foster intellectual exchange across disciplinary boundaries, create opportunities for collaboration, and build a cohort of scholars to address complex societal challenges. Through coursework, shared activities, and community-building events, clusters provide a structured yet flexible framework for interdisciplinary training beyond their primary degree program.

Interested in being a member in the future? Reach out towater@northwestern.edu to find out more.